Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources
National Academy Press 1996
Facilities receiving funds from the Public Health Service, National
Institutes of Health are obligated to follow the Guide for
the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. For the purposes of
this publication, references and other notations have been removed.
A full-text version of the Guide is available at
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats/
The size of the institution and the nature and extent of the
research, testing, and educational programs will determine the
number of members of the committee and their terms of appointment.
Additional information about committee composition can be found
in the PHS Policy and the AWRs.
The committee is responsible for oversight and evaluation of the
animal care and use program and its components described in this
Guide. Its functions include inspection of facilities; evaluation
of programs and animal-activity areas; submission of reports to
responsible institutional officials; review of proposed uses of
animals in research, testing, or education (i.e., protocols);
and establishment of a mechanism for receipt and review of concerns
involving the care and use of animals at the institution.
The IACUC must meet as often as necessary to fulfill its responsibilities,
but it should meet at least once every 6 months. Records of committee
meetings and of results of deliberations should be maintained.
The committee should review the animal-care program and inspect
the animal facilities and activity areas at least once every 6
months. After review and inspection, a written report, signed
by a majority of the IACUC, should be made to the responsible
administrative officials of the institution on the status of the
animal care and use program and other activities as stated herein
and as required by federal, state, or local regulations and policies.
Protocols should be reviewed in accord with the AWRs, the PHS
Policy, U.S. Government Principles for Utilization and Care
of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training,
and this Guide.
Animal Care and Use Protocols
The following topics should be considered in the preparation
and review of animal care and use
protocols:
Occasionally, protocols include procedures that have not been
previously encountered or that have the potential to cause pain
or distress that cannot be reliably controlled. Such procedures
might include physical restraint, multiple major survival surgery,
food or fluid restriction, use of adjuvants, use of death as an
end point, use of noxious stimuli, skin or corneal irritancy testing,
allowance of excessive tumor burden, intracardiac or orbital-sinus
blood sampling, or the use of abnormal environmental conditions.
Relevant objective information regarding the procedures and the
purpose of the study should be sought from the literature, veterinarians,
investigators, and others knowledgeable about the effects on animals.
If little is known regarding a specific procedure, limited pilot
studies designed to assess the effects of the procedure on the
animals, conducted under IACUC oversight, might be appropriate.
General guidelines for evaluation of some of those methods are
provided in this section, but they might not apply in all instances.
Physical Restraint
Physical restraint is the use of manual or mechanical means to
limit some or all of an animal's normal movement for the purpose
of examination, collection of samples, drug administration, therapy,
or experimental manipulation. Animals are restrained for brief
periods, usually minutes, in most research applications.
Animals can be physically restrained briefly either manually or
with restraint devices. Restraint devices should be suitable in
size, design, and operation to minimize discomfort or injury to
the animal. Many dogs, nonhuman primates (e.g., Reinhardt 1991,
1995), and other animals can be trained, through use of positive
reinforcement, to present limbs or remain immobile for brief procedures.
Prolonged restraint, including chairing of nonhuman primates,
should be avoided unless it is essential for achieving research
objectives and is approved by the IACUC. Less-restrictive systems
that do not limit an animal's ability to make normal postural
adjustments, such as the tether system for nonhuman primates and
stanchions for farm animals, should be used when compatible with
protocol objectives. When restraint devices are used, they should
be
specifically designed to accomplish research goals that are impossible
or impractical to accomplish by other means or to prevent injury
to animals or personnel.
The following are important guidelines for restraint:
Multiple Major Surgical Procedures
Major surgery penetrates and
exposes a body cavity or produces substantial impairment of physical
or physiologic function. Multiple major survival surgical procedures
on a single animal are discouraged but may be permitted if scientifically
justified by the user and approved by the IACUC. For example,
multiple major survival surgical procedures can be justified if
they are related components of a research project, if they will
conserve scarce animal resources or if they are needed for clinical
reasons. If multiple major survival surgery is approved, the IACUC
should pay particular attention to animal well-being through continuing
evaluation of outcomes. Cost savings alone is not an adequate
reason for performing multiple major survival surgical procedures
(AWRs).
Food or Fluid Restriction
When experimental situations require food or fluid restriction,
at least minimal quantities of food and fluid should be available
to provide for development of young animals and to maintain long-term
well-being of all animals. Restriction for research purposes should
be scientifically justified, and a program should be established
to monitor physiologic or behavioral indexes, including criteria
(such as weight loss or state of hydration) for temporary or permanent
removal of an animal from the experimental protocol. Restriction
is typically measured as a percentage of the ad libitum or normal
daily intake or as percentage change in an animal's body weight.
Precautions that should be used in cases of fluid restriction
to avoid acute or chronic dehydration include daily recording
of fluid intake and recording of body weight at least once a week
or more often, as might be needed for small animals, such as rodents.
Special attention should be given to ensuring that animals consume
a suitably balanced diet because food consumption might decrease
with fluid restriction. The least restriction that will achieve
the scientific objective should be used. In the case of conditioned-response
research protocols, use of a highly preferred food or fluid as
positive reinforcement, instead of restriction, is recommended.
Dietary control for husbandry or clinical purposes is addressed
in Chapter 2. (Ed. Note: This is not included in this excerpted
version.)
VETERINARY CARE
Adequate veterinary care must be provided, including access
to all animals for evaluation of their health and well-being.
Institutional mission, programmatic goals, and size of the animal
program will determine the need for full-time, part-time, or consultative
veterinary services. Visits by a consulting or part-time veterinarian
should be at intervals appropriate to programmatic needs. For
specific responsibilities of the veterinarian, see Chapter 3.
Ethical, humane, and scientific considerations sometimes require
the use of sedatives, analgesics, or anesthetics in animals. An
attending veterinarian (i.e., a veterinarian who has direct or
delegated authority) should give research personnel advice that
ensures that humane needs are met and are compatible with scientific
requirements. The AWRs and PHS Policy require that the attending
veterinarian have the authority to. oversee the adequacy of other
aspects of animal care and use. These can include animal husbandry
and nutrition, sanitation practices, zoonosis control, and hazard
containment.
PERSONNEL
QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING
AWRs and PHS Policy require
institutions to ensure that people caring for or using animals
are qualified to do so. The number and qualifications of personnel
required to conduct and support an animal care and use program
depend on several factors, including the type and size of institution,
the administrative structure for providing adequate animal care,
the characteristics of the physical plant, the number and species
of animals maintained, and the nature of the research, testing,
and educational activities.
Personnel caring for animals should be appropriately trained and
the institution should provide for formal or on-the-job training
to facilitate effective implementation of the program and humane
care and use of animals. According to the programmatic scope,
personnel will be required with expertise in other disciplines,
such as animal husbandry, administration, laboratory animal medicine
and pathology, occupational health and safety, behavioral management,
genetic management, and various other aspects of research support.
There are a number of options for the training of technicians.
Many states have colleges with accredited programs in veterinary
technology (AVMA 1995); most are 2-year programs that result in
associate of science degrees, and some are 4-year programs that
result in bachelor of science degrees. Nondegree training, with
certification programs for laboratory animal technicians and technologists,
can be obtained from the American Association for Laboratory Animal
Science (AALAS). There are commercially available training materials
that are appropriate for self-study. Personnel using or caring
for animals should also participate regularly in continuing-education
activities relevant to their responsibilities. They are encouraged
to be involved in local and national meetings of AALAS and other
relevant professional organizations. On-the-job training should
be part of every technician's job and should be supplemented with
institution-sponsored discussion and training programs and with
reference materials applicable to their jobs and the species with
which they work. Coordinators of institutional training programs
can seek assistance from the Animal Welfare Information Center
(AWIC) and ILAR. The Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental
Animals by the Canadian Council on Animal Care and guidelines
of some other countries are valuable additions to the libraries
of laboratory animal scientists.
Investigators, technical personnel, trainees, and visiting investigators
who perform animal anesthesia, surgery, or other experimental
manipulations must be qualified through training or experience
to accomplish these tasks in a humane and scientifically acceptable
manner.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
AND SAFETY OF PERSONNEL
An occupational health and
safety program must be part of the overall animal care and use
program. The program must be consistent with federal, state, and
local regulations and should focus on maintaining a safe and healthy
workplace. The program will depend on the facility, research activities,
hazards, and animal species involved. The National Research Council
publication Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use
of Research Animals contains guidelines and references for establishing
and maintaining an effective, comprehensive program. An effective
program relies on strong administrative support and interactions
among several institutional functions or activities, including
the research program (as represented by the investigator), the
animal care and use program (as represented by the veterinarian
and the IACUC), the environmental health and safety program, occupational-health
services, and administration (e.g., human resources, finance,
and facility-maintenance personnel). Operational and day-to-day
responsibility for safety in the workplace, however, resides with
the laboratory or facility supervisor (e.g., principal investigator,
facility director, or veterinarian) and depends on performance
of safe work practices by all employees.
Return to:
Title Page |
Main Contents |
Last updated February 16, 2001