Office of Research Compliance Administration

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Guiding Principles

The privilege of using animals for research, teaching, and testing is accompanied by both ethical and legal responsibilities to use them appropriately, both scientifically and humanely. Individual faculty members who use animals in their research or teaching (including those whose research consists of field work involving animals) are, by law, accountable for conforming to the basic regulations and policies governing animal use on this campus. These regulations and policies cover:

1. the acquisition, care, and use of animals;
2. efforts to minimize animal pain and distress;
3. the training of personnel using animals;
4. consideration of alternatives to animal use; and
5. methods whereby deficiencies in animal care and treatment are reported

The "US Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training" were developed by the US Government's interagency research animal committee. Both PHS Policy and university policy require that all uses of animals conform to these principles:

1. The transportation, care, and use of animals should be in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et. seq.) and other applicable federal laws, guidelines, and policies.
2. Procedures involving animals should be designed and performed with due consideration of their relevance to human or animal health, the advancement of knowledge, or the good of society.
3. The animals selected for a procedure should be of an appropriate species and quality and the minimum number required to obtain valid results. Methods such as mathematical models, computer simulation, and in vitro biological systems should be considered.
4. Proper use of animals, including the avoidance or minimization of discomfort, distress, and pain when consistent with sound scientific practices, is imperative. Unless the contrary is established, investigators should consider that procedures that cause pain or distress in human beings may cause pain or distress in other animals.
5. Procedures with animals that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress should be performed with appropriate sedation, analgesia, or anesthesia. Surgical or other painful procedures should not be performed on unanesthetized animals.
6. Animals that would otherwise suffer severe or chronic pain or distress that cannot be relieved should be painlessly killed at the end of the procedure, or, if appropriate, during the procedure.
7. The living conditions of animals should be appropriate for their species and contribute to their health and comfort. Normally the housing, feeding, and care of all animals used for biomedical purposes must be directed by a veterinarian or other scientist trained and experienced in the proper care, handling, and use of the species being maintained or studied. In any case, veterinary care shall be provided as indicated.
8. Investigators and other personnel shall be appropriately qualified and experienced for conducting procedures on living animals. Adequate arrangements shall be made for their inservice training, including the proper and humane care and use of laboratory animals.
9. Where exceptions are required in relation to the provisions of these Principles, the decisions should not rest with the investigators directly concerned, but should be made with due regard to Principle II by an appropriate review group, such as the institutional animal research committee. Such exceptions should not be made solely for the purposes of teaching or demonstration.