IACUC Guidelines Procedures and Criteria

General care and housing All vertebrate animals used for teaching and research must be housed and used in areas approved by the Committee; facilities used to house birds or mammals must

SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE INSTITUTIONAL ANIMAL CARE AND USE COMMITTEE (IACUC)

V GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF NON-HUMAN VERTEBRATE ANIMALS

IN TEACHING AND RESEARCH These rules apply to all persons who are employed by the College or who use its facilities

A Introduction

The Committee is responsible for monitoring approved cases of animal use and care, and for preventing or terminating any exercise it considers improper

All federal, state, and other laws and regulations on animal experimentation shall be followed These include, but are not limited to, Public Law 89-544, amended, U.S Department of

Agriculture; U.S Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, NIH Publication No 85-23, revised 1985, and the Good Laboratory Practices Act, Food and Drug Administration (where applicable); Public Law 93-205, Department of the Interior, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service Online addresses for these and other relevant online publications may be found

in the Resources section of this document

The recommendations for an adequate policy of good care contained in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Department of Health and Human Services Publication NIH

85-23, revised 1985) shall be followed Members of the faculty who submit proposals to the

IACUC on a regular basis are strongly encouraged to obtain a current copy of this guide

B General care and housing

All vertebrate animals used for teaching and research must be housed and used in areas approved

by the Committee; facilities used to house birds or mammals must be registered with the U.S Department of Agriculture and will be designated as Animal Care Facilities The Committee will inspect all designated Animal Care Facilities at least once each semester

Every vertebrate animal used in research and teaching must be lawfully obtained and maintained

in compliance with the law No vertebrate animal(s) may be brought into dedicated Animal Care Facilities, whether from outside facilities or research areas, from the wild, or from supply

companies or other sources, without prior approval of the Committee and the persons authorized

to supervise the Animal Care Facility

All animals and cages must be appropriately identified or labeled to assure correct use and care More than one species of bird or mammal may not be housed in a single cage or other container,

or in a single facility (room), without the approval of the Committee Pets and other animals not acquired or authorized for research or laboratory exercises will not be admitted to any Animal Care Facility or area approved for research

Animals in the laboratory must receive every consideration for their bodily comfort They must

be kindly treated and properly fed, under appropriate environmental conditions, and their

surroundings must be maintained in the best possible sanitary condition

The housing and care regimes established for the commonly used laboratory animals are not necessarily suitable for wild animals or for individuals of wild species born in captivity

Different conditions may be needed to assure the comfort and safety of these animals Normal maintenance of captive animals should incorporate, as much as possible, aspects of the natural living conditions deemed important to welfare and survival

Eating, smoking, and drinking are not permitted in Animal Care Facilities Cages and animal rooms in which radioisotopes, toxic chemicals, or infectious agents are employed must be

properly labeled Animal technicians must be furnished suitable protective clothing or other gear (e.g., gloves), and must remove this before entering other work areas or leaving areas in which animals have been exposed to agents that may present hazards to personnel All areas in which animals are kept are to be considered restricted areas not to be entered by unauthorized persons

Generally, outside visitors are not allowed in the animal facilities without an escort Prospective students may be shown the facilities as part of a tour when accompanied by a faculty member of the respective departments No animals are to be disturbed The chair of the Committee should

be informed of any request from an outside body to visit or inspect College facilities before individuals are admitted, and the principal investigator and/or a representative from the

Committee should be present during the inspection

C Pain and risk

All procedures must be designed to use the smallest number of animals necessary and sufficient

to accomplish the research or pedagogical goal, and to minimize the pain and risk to the animals The following categories should be used to classify the category of pain involved with each research project or laboratory exercise The principal investigator must justify the infliction of any level of pain, with consideration given to the necessity of the procedure and its potential benefits

Category 1: Use of animals is expected to produce little or no pain or distress Examples:

a handling animals for teaching or research

b simple, group behavioral observations

c physical examinations

d standard, approved methods of euthanasia

e procedures on anesthetized animals which do not regain consciousness

Category 2: Use of animals involves minor pain or distress of short duration Examples:

f behavioral studies or procedures that involve short term restraint

g food/water deprivation for short periods

h exposure of blood vessels or implantation of chronic catheters

i surgical procedures that may result in minor postoperative pain or distress

(i.e., injections, blood sampling, etc.)

j diagnostic procedures such as laparoscopy or needle biopsies

Category 3: Use of animals that involves significant but unavoidable pain or distress to animals

Examples:

l deliberate induction of behavioral stress, loss of sight, or similar impairment

to test its effect

m induction of an anatomic or physiologic deficit that will result in major pain or distress

n application of noxious stimuli from which escape is impossible

o prolonged periods of physical restraint

p deprivation studies

q induction of aggressive or self-mutilating behavior

r major surgical procedures such as the invasion and exposure of body cavities,

orthopedics, or major dental work, and those that result in significant postoperative pain or distress

s procedures that produce pain or distress in which anesthetics are not used, such as

toxicity studies, radiation sickness, certain infections, and stress or shock research

t infliction of minor burns or trauma

Category 4: Use of animals involves infliction of severe pain or distress, or chronic, unrelieved

pain or distress, or death Examples:

u infliction of severe burns or trauma without anesthetics

v attempts to induce psychotic-like behavior

w killing by inhumane means

x inescapable severe stress, terminal stress, or long-term or permanent physical restraints

y performing any major surgical procedure without anesthesia

z performing terminal procedures without euthanasia

Appropriate anesthesia must be used to eliminate sensibility to pain during operative procedures Surgery must be carried out in appropriate facilities by an instructor or investigator qualified by experience or training, or under the direct supervision of such a person The instructor or

investigator in charge must be prepared to terminate a procedure whenever continuation may result in unnecessary injury or suffering to the animal Muscle relaxants and sedatives are not anesthetics and should not be used alone for surgical restraint They may be used for surgery in conjunction with drugs known to produce analgesia The postoperative care of animals shall seek to minimize discomfort and pain

D Disposition of animals

Where a study does not allow recovery from anesthesia, an animal will not be able to carry out normal life functions without significant impairment, or an animal poses a significant health or environmental risk to humans or other organisms, the animal must be euthanized in a humane manner (i.e swift and painless death following loss of consciousness) at the conclusion of the procedures Standard and widely approved methods of animal destruction and disposal must always be used

In projects that do not require euthanasia, alternate disposition must be provided for animals Except as prohibited by federal, state, or local laws, animals may be donated to other institutions

or individuals, provided that the investigator or instructor is confident that they will be treated

humanely and ultimately disposed of appropriately Except as prohibited by federal, state, or local laws, field-trapped animals may be released if this is practical and feasible However, the researcher must assess whether releases into the wild might be injurious or detrimental either to the released animal or to existing populations in the area Animals should be released at the same site where they were trapped (unless conservation efforts dictate otherwise), and only when their ability to survive in nature has not been impaired and when they do not constitute a health

or ecological hazard to existing populations Under no circumstances may a vertebrate be

released into the wild at a site that is outside of its natural range

E Animal health

Every death, infection, or infestation of laboratory animals that is not induced experimentally must be promptly reported to the responsible instructor or investigator Any such problem that (1) may potentially disrupt a research project, (2) may potentially spread to animals being used for other projects, or (3) requires the assistance of a veterinarian, must be reported to the IACUC immediately

A practicing veterinarian is a member of the IACUC In cases where the instructor or

investigator is not qualified to administer anesthesia, medications, or other forms of care, the Committee may require that procedures be performed by this member or by another licensed veterinarian

The cost of any veterinary aid will be the responsibility of the instructor or researcher

VII VERTEBRATE ANIMAL USE PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCEDURES Every use of non-human postembryonic vertebrate animals (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) in teaching or research must be approved in advance by the IACUC To obtain

approval, an instructor or investigator must submit a Vertebrate Animal Use Proposal to the

chair of the committee When there is a recurring use of animals in teaching that remains the same every year, the detailed animal use proposal form need only be filled out once; it will remain on file with the IACUC and will be reviewed annually A significant change in the use may require submission of a new form

The proposal form may be obtained from the chair of the IACUC or the academic secretaries, or from the faculty forms web site maintained by the Office of the Dean The form includes

specific questions that provide detailed information to the Committee, and an assurance of

compliance

Each proposal will be assigned a unique number, and will be reviewed by the Committee in a timely manner in accordance with the criteria described in this document and with local and federal guidelines Thorough processing may take several weeks; it is the responsibility of the researcher or instructor to submit the documents well ahead of the desired starting time for the project

The proposal will be reviewed by at least three members of the Committee Any Committee member who has an interest in a proposal under consideration will be excluded from the

decision-making process regarding that particular proposal, although that member’s assistance may be solicited in explaining the proposal or its merit If necessary, the Committee may call on

an outside expert for assistance in reviewing a proposal

A proposal will be either Approved, Approved Conditionally Subject to Modification, or

Rejected The chair will promptly notify the instructor or investigator of the Committee’s

decision in writing

An approved Assurance of Compliance Statement must be attached to any IACUC application an investigator submits

A proposal may be approved conditionally if the Committee decides that a) changes should be made in the protocol (altering, adding, or deleting procedures), b) additional information should

be submitted, or c) reassurance should be given concerning compliance and necessity of

procedures The investigator of a proposal receiving conditional approval may submit the

proposal to an outside sponsor or granting agency, but may not procure animals or begin the project until documentation that the questionable components of the original proposal have been addressed is provided to the Committee In cases involving significant and lengthy changes, the Committee may request that the entire proposal be resubmitted in amended form

If a proposal is rejected, the proposed teaching and/or research may not be undertaken The Committee must provide reasons for a negative decision After discussing the decision with one

or more members of the Committee, the instructor or investigator may resubmit the proposal, addressing the IACUC concerns At the instructor/investigator's request, an outside expert, mutually agreed upon by the instructor/investigator and the Chair of the Committee, will be consulted by the Committee during the reconsideration

VIII CRITERIA FOR VERTEBRATE ANIMAL USE PROPOSAL APPROVAL

In order to approve a proposal, the Committee must be satisfied that all of the following

conditions have been met:

1) The proposal represents a valid, ethical research project, laboratory exercise, or classroom

demonstration

2) Selection of experimental subjects is reasonable, and their use is necessary for the proposed

work

3) For those proposals involving original research, the investigator has made an attempt to

survey the published literature to a) review what similar work has been previously

conducted and b) gain relevant background to place the work in context

4) Pain and risks to experimental subjects (including, but not limited to, handling, surgery, and

anesthesia) are minimized and reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits

5) Adequate provisions have been made to ensure ethical, humane use and care of subjects

6) An appropriate disposition of the animals at the completion of the project (euthanasia, release,

continued maintenance, or transfer to another facility) has been arranged

7) Methods of euthanasia, where used, are standard and widely approved

8) The instructor or investigator is competent and qualified to perform or supervise the work 9) All persons who will be involved in the research project or laboratory exercise understand the

experimental and/or observational procedures and are familiar with ethical concerns of animal use and care