Additional Sites & Resources
List of useful sites and resources in Animal Care and Use
The Basics
- NIH's Tutorial on the Public Health Service Animal Welfare Policy will introduce you to the regulations and guidelines governing the use of animals in biomedical research.
- UC Davis P&P Manual 290-30 describes process by which animal use is regulated at UC Davis.
- UC Davis P&P Manual 290-25 describes the Occupational Health program for those who work with animals.
- First Aid for Animal Bites
- Home Safety Tips for Research Personnel (Prepared by the UC Davis Police Department)
- Researcher's Protection Strategies (Prepared by the UC Davis Police Department)
Animal Alternatives
- Search the literature for Alternatives using the University of California Center for Animal Alternatives
Specific Laws and Related Documents
- ILAR's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals 8th addition (2011), available from the National Academy Press, provides standards for the care and use of live, vertebrate animals in biomedical research. A free PDF version is available from NIH at http://olaw.nih.gov.
- Title 9, Code of Federal Regulations contains large sections of regulation enforcing the federal Animal Welfare Act. These regulations have the force of law and govern many aspects of laboratory animal care and use.
- The Health Research Extension Act (HREA) is the law that provides funding for the National Institutes of Health and certain other federal funding agencies. It's animal welfare provisions apply to all facilities that accept federal funds and use live vertebrate animals in research.
- The passage of the HREA led to the drafting of the US Public Health Service Policy which instructs research facilities how they must conduct themselves to receive federal funding for research involving live, vertebrate animals.
The Institute for Laboratory Animal Resources (ILAR)
- Receipt of federal funding requires institutions to provide animal care in accordance with the National Research Council's ILAR Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
- ILAR also publishes a number of useful documents about laboratory animals including:
- Principles and Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Pre college Education. The use of animals in secondary schools is unregulated. If you work with pre-college students or science fairs, this is a must read document.
- Standardized Nomenclature for Transgenic Animals
- Amphibians: Guidelines for the Breeding, Care, and Management of Laboratory Animals
Biological Safety in Animal Facilities
- CDC publishes several documents about Hantavirus, including guidelines for working with wild rodents in laboratory situations.
- Agents Listed by Biosafety Level.
- Biosafety Levels - The Short Version.
- Full text of CDC's Biosafety Guidelines.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
- The AVMA's Guidelines on Euthanasia uses the best scientific evidence to determine what methods of euthanasia are professionally acceptable. This document has been incorporated into both the Animal Welfare Act and the Public Health Service Policy as the single authoritative document determining how research animals may be euthanized.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - Animal Care enforces the federal Animal Welfare Act. They have a network of Animal Welfare Inspectors throughout the US. They have been known to visit UC Davis as frequently as 50 times per year. All USDA inspections are unannounced, and they have a right to visit any animal holding area and any research lab in which animals are used.
- Of particular interest is their Policy Manual and their Research Facility Inspection Guide. These documents determine many of the actions that our IACUC must take as they inspect facilities and review protocols. Among these are:
- USDA's policies on Adequate Veterinary Care (Adobe Acrobat PDF format)
- USDA's guidelines for a adequate literature search for alternatives to potentially painful procedures. (Adobe Acrobat PDF format)
- Definitions of major and multiple survival surgery. (Adobe Acrobat PDF format)
- What procedures are considered painful or distressful. (Adobe Acrobat PDF format)
- USDA's requirement for an annual report of animal numbers for research facilities. (Adobe Acrobat PDF format)
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- The National Institutes of Health's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) ensures that facilities receiving federal funds follow all current federal Guidelines. OLAW is responsible for both human subjects and animal welfare issues.
- In order to receive federal funds for animal research, and institution must file an Animal Welfare Assurance with OLAW. OLAW maintains a database of all US institutions that have filed Animal Welfare Assurances. NIH also maintains the CRISP Database of federally funded research projects.
- OLAW has also recently issued a policy statement about the production of monoclonal antibodies in mice (Adobe Acrobat PDF format). Investigators who produce monoclonal antibodies in mice are are now required to specifically justify why an in-vitro method would not be suitable for their project.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets the standards for research performed in the act of proving the safety and efficacy of new drugs.
AAALAC
- The Association for Accreditation and Assessment of Laboratory Care, International (AAALAC) is a voluntary accrediting body that visits institutions and assures their compliance with all existing laws, regulations, and guidelines. Over 80% of the top 100 federally funded research facilities in the United States are accredited by AAALAC. AAALAC publishes a list of AAALAC Accredited Institutions. They also provide a series of carefully considered position statements about a variety of program issues, including adequate veterinary care, occupational health programs, farm animals, survival surgical facilities, etc.
ACLAM
- The American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine is a professional specialty board that certifies veterinarians with special expertise in Laboratory Animal Medicine. Of particular interest is their public policy statement on Adequate Veterinary Care, which provides a professional consensus as to what constitutes adequate veterinary care for research animals.
Other Research Intsitutions
- IACUC Web Pages at other research facilities.
Advocacy Groups
- The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) provides a certification program for animal care staff. AALAS promotes responsible animal care through its programs of training and education.
- Americans for Medical Progress (AMP) is a pro-research lobbying group. They have a page about discoveries made through animal research as well as a gateway to other websites about animal research. If you receive requests for general information about biomedical research, this is a great place to refer them.
- Animal Research Info - One of the most comprehensive websites for information on the contribution of animal research.
- Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) - US NGO supporting animal research.
- The Kids for Research web site provides information to students, teachers, and parents on responsible laboratory animal care and use in biomedical research, testing, and education. The site also provides information on the benefits of such research to animals, humans, and the environment.
- The National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) is a lobbying group that represents the research community in Washington, D.C.
- Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R ) - Advancing Ethical Research through Education and Policy.
- Pro-Test - A UK-based student run organization supporting animal research.
- Research Defence Society (RDS) - Leading British NGO supporting animal testing.
- Speaking of Research (SR) is a campus-oriented group that seeks to provide university students and faculty with accurate information and resources about the importance of animal research in medical science.
