Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

SLU has 3 000 employees and 6 000 students. It is the only university in Sweden offering study programmes in veterinary medicine, animal science, agronomy, equine studies, animal health, ethology, and animal welfare.

SLU has four main campuses — in Alnarp, Skara, Umeå, and Uppsala — organized into four faculties:

• Landscape Planning, Horticulture, and Agriculture Science (Alnarp)
• Natural Resources and Agriculture Sciences (Uppsala)
• Forest Sciences (Umeå)
• Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (Uppsala)

Every SLU faculty uses animals in research and teaching. For instance, animals are used in research projects on veterinary medicine, feeding, breeding, and food production. Types of animals used in research include everything from fish and traditional laboratory animals (e.g. mice and rats) to farm animals and animals used for sports and companionship (e.g. dogs, horses, and cats).

General policy and strategy questions concerning animals in research and teaching are addressed by the committee on laboratory animals.

The Government has commissioned SLU to establish the Swedish Centre for Animal Welfare. This initiative was launched in November 2008 and aims at developing indicators for good animal welfare.