Transparency in the system is an objective shared by all the competent institutions and administrations and therefore a set of useful information and initiatives are accessible, some of which are reflected below:
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) publishes Reports and publications on the use of animals in research and teaching (mapa.gob.es), on an annual basis, on the number of uses of animals for scientific and teaching purposes, as well as the way in which these uses have been made. The data are provided in the first instance by the users who provide them to the respective competent authorities. MAPA also publishes a quinquennial report on the application of the regulations on the protection of animals used in experimentation and other scientific purposes, including the teaching that gathers information from the centres and competent authorities on the management carried out.
The information collected by the Member States of the European Union is integrated into the ALURES Statistical Database (environment.ec.europa.eu) by the Directorate-General for the Environment of the European Commission. The European Commission also produces an annual executive report and a relevant set of reports and documents on the implementation of this policy in the Member States, such as the document Animals in science (environment.ec.europa.eu). He recently published the status report on alternative methods in science and regulation, EURL ECVAM, in Non-Animal Methods in Science and Regulation (publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu).
On the basis of these reports are the non-technical summaries of the projects prepared by researchers so that their projects can be evaluated and which are published by the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities and are in turn integrated into the Commission database (ALURES), EU NTS Database on the use of animals for scientific purposes under Directive 2010/63/EU (app.powerbi.com), open access. The European Commission has published a working paper on non-technical project summaries, with indications of their content and publication in the Working Paper on non-technical project summaries (pdf).
Also in terms of transparency, the Confederation of Scientific Societies of Spain (COSCE) has promoted since 2016 the implementation in Spain of a Transparency Agreement (cosce.org) on the use of animals in scientific experimentation in Spain, and its accession by centers, institutes and universities dedicated to scientific research, promoting information and the exchange of good practices in animal research. In November 2025, 158 Spanish institutions joined. COSCE also publishes an annual results report.
The Spanish Network for the Development of Alternative Methods to Animal Experimentation - REMA (remanet.net), integrates and coordinates initiatives of industry, administration and society with the scientific world regarding the study, validation, application and legal implementation of the use of alternative methods, and also promotes the dissemination of this problem and the progress achieved in this field. REMA is a discussion forum to achieve a lower and more rational use of experimental animals, promoting the development, validation and use of in vitro methods, in order to achieve a better and more effective application of the principles of reduction, refinement and replacement of animal use in experimentation.
The Spanish Society for Laboratory Animal Sciences - SECAL (secal.es) also contributes significantly to enhancing quality and transparency in the system. It works to rationalize and improve the use of laboratory animals, in the service of human and animal health, promoting the relationship and cooperation between professionals in the sector. It has more than 400 members encompassing professionals of all academic levels related to the laboratory animal, from caregivers to researchers, as well as animal managers and technicians. On their website they collect relevant information about the system and training in this area. SECAL holds a biennial national congress and a scientific day, publishes books for teaching, informative material and the magazine “Laboratory Animals”, which is sent to several countries, in addition to organizing training courses and round tables. Likewise, it manages the most relevant email list in Spanish language in international laboratory animal sciences (SECAL-L)
For its part, the Spanish Network of Organs Responsible for Animal Welfare - ROEBA (secal.es) holds conferences that promote better knowledge about the functioning of these organs and the exchange of good practices. In one of these days about 400 professionals are informed at the Official College of Veterinarians of Madrid - COLVEMA (colvema.org) about the operation and objectives of the Organs Responsible for Animal Welfare (OEBA).
The bodies authorized in each Autonomous Community for the evaluation of research projects that include the use of animals, which generally coincide with the Ethics Committees constituted in universities and public research centers, are also integrated into the Network of Ethics Committees of Universities and Public Bodies of Spain - RCE (redcomitesetica.es) that promotes good practices and thereby brings transparency to the system.