Vertebrate animal projects carry the strictest pre-approval requirements in student research, and the rules differ meaningfully between fairs and between countries. Read your fair's current rules in full; this is orientation only.
Consistent principles across essentially all frameworks:
- Prior approval is mandatory, from a Scientific Review Committee and often an animal-care committee, before any work starts.
- A qualified supervisor is required — usually a designated supervisor with documented experience, and in many settings a veterinarian.
- The three Rs govern the design. Replace vertebrates with a non-animal model where possible; reduce the number of animals to the statistical minimum; refine the procedure to minimise distress.
- Studies causing pain, distress, or death are heavily restricted and frequently prohibited outright at school level.
- Observational studies of animals in their natural setting, with no interaction, sit under much lighter requirements — and are often the better project.
If your question can be answered with invertebrates, plants, cell culture, or existing published data, that route is faster, cheaper, and usually approved without difficulty. Take it seriously before committing to vertebrates.