Animal Care and Use Committees
The Role of the IACUC in Protecting Laboratory Animal Welfare
Who is looking out for the silent voices of research animals? The IACUC is one way in which the rights of lab animals are protected from within the animal laboratories.
Animal research is possibly the most carefully regulated and heavily monitored area of animal care in this country. In addition to scrutiny by government agencies including the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Public Health Service, multiple private monitoring organizations set high standards including the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AALAC), and the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS). But perhaps the most critical role comes from inside, in the form of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, or IACUC.
What is the IACUC?
Everyone allowed to use animals for research by the USDA’s Animal Welfare Act is required by that same law to establish an IACUC committee. The IACUC is essentially a form of self-regulation by internal checks and balances. Although both the IACUC and the institution as a whole remain accountable to the USDA, its inspectors can’t be everywhere at once. Generally, inspectors are only able to visit each facility once or twice a year, so they rely heavily on the work and records of a properly functioning IACUC to ensure that the welfare act is being followed.
The basic structure, minimum responsibilities, and documentation requirements of the IACUC are outlined in the code of federal regulations. Additionally, medical research that receives funding from the Public Health Service is required to adhere to more stringent rules. The key requirements of the IACUC are as follows:
- Composed of at least three members including a veterinarian and someone who is not affiliated with the institution.
- Required to inspect all facilities and review the entire animal research program every 6 months, reporting all deviations from the regulations and ensuring that they are corrected.
- Responsible for reviewing and approving all proposed research activity involving animals, including making sure that the investigators have considered alternatives to any painful procedures and that the work does not duplicate any previous experiments.
The IACUC at each institution varies considerably in size, scope, and authority but is perhaps the single most important level at which the welfare of research animals is monitored. In general, a high ranking official appoints a number of people who have a variety of backgrounds, including laboratory animal care, animal research studies, non-scientific work, veterinary care, and at least one person who is not affiliated with the institution. The goal is to form an impartial body with a variety of perspectives.
What does the IACUC do?
This committee meets on a regular basis, anywhere from daily to twice a year, to discuss recommendations to improve the animal research program. They are responsible for reading all the proposals for animal research, and often help to edit and improve study protocols in order to gain maximum benefit with minimum animal suffering. The committee must vote to approve all research before it occurs at the facility, which can require days, weeks, or months of discussions and refinement.
At least twice a year, the committee members arrange to walk through and inspect all of the areas within their facility where animals are housed or used for testing. This requires a comprehensive review of staff training, animal conditions, veterinary care, and regulation enforcement. A good quality IACUC will work to constantly improve their animal program and will objectively critique animal husbandry, holding staff to much higher than the minimum USDA standards and making recommendations to executive officials to fund and approve facility improvement projects.
When the USDA inspectors do visit a facility, they will conduct their own walk-through, but they also review records from IACUC meetings, animal use protocols, and semi-annual inspections to ensure that animal use is being well monitored internally and the animal welfare act is being continually enforced. An outstanding IACUC that is rarely cited by the USDA is the mark of a truly progressive facility with the highest standards for laboratory animal care.
Where can you learn more?
- website.
- IACUC 101 course.
How can you get involved?
- If you work at an organization that utilizes animals for research, such as a university or medical center, find out more about your facility’s IACUC committee and inquire about being appointed.
- If you don’t work for an organization that uses animals, offer to serve as an outside member for one that does. Non-affiliated members often include lawyers, teachers, doctors, or other individuals that can offer an objective view representing the ethical concerns of the community as a whole.
