1. Care of Research Animals
Unit II-5.1

2. Care of Research Animals
Caring for animals used in research is a major concern
Scientist try to reduce any pain or distress to research animals
Animals that are treated well provide a normal biological and behavioral responses that scientist need to measure
Animals that are undernourished, poorly housed or stressed make poor research models.

3. Who takes care of the animals?
Technicians take care of the research animals
Check health and environment
Take blood samples and x-rays, give meds, assist in surgery and provide care following surgery
Trained in two-year or four-year college or in service training

4. Care of Animals
AALAS-American Association for Laboratory Animal Science ensures high quality standards for the animal care by certifying technicians at three levels
Technicians are supervised by veterinarians who are specially trained to take care of laboratory animals
The AALAS requires accreditation of animal research facilities

5. Animal Facilities
Like a hospital for humans, these facilities are kept clean, and animal care technicians wear lab coats, surgical mask and gloves, when necessary.
Special care is given to make sure the animals are fed, healthy and comfortable
Except for rare cases in which pain-killing drugs or anesthesia will interfere with a study’s results, researchers make every effort to make sure the animals are pain free.

6. Laws, Regulations and Guidelines
Several federal laws require that the public be protected from hazardous products.
To ensure this, federal regulations exist to implement these laws.
These regulations require animal testing.
There are four principal federal agencies involved in administering these regulations:

7. Federal Requirements for Animal Testing
1. FDA: Food and Drug Administration; Responsible for regulating human and animal food and drugs, medical devices, cosmetics and radiological products. The FDA requires that laboratory animal tests be conducted for prescription and over the counter ddrugs before they can be tested in humans.
2. EPA: Environmental Protection Agency; Identifies and regulates substances in the environment that may be hazardous to humans.

8. Federal Requirements:
3. CPSC: Consumer Product Safety commission; Relies on animal data in identifying and regulating risks to consumers from household and other products.
4. OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Uses data from animal tests and other sources to set regulations that protect workers in the workplace.

9. Federal Laws Governing Animals
When animals are used in research, their care is governed by the following laws, regulations and guidelines:
1. U.S. government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research and Testing: In 1984, representatives from all the federal agencies developed a set of principles that cover the current system of federal regulations.

10. Laws continued: The current system include requirements that:
*procedures involving animals be relevant to human or animal health
*the minimum number of animals be used to obtain valid results
*alternatives to animals be considered
*animal pain or distress be avoided or minimized
*living conditions for animals be appropriate
* properly trained and qualified workers

11. Laws continued:
2. Animal Welfare Act: The AWA was enacted into law in 1966 and amended in 1990; The act applies to all public and private research facilities in this country.
*Species covered: The species of animals included under the act are determined by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA)
These currently include guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, dogs cats, nonhuman primates, marine mammals, farm animals and warm-blooded wild animals.

12. AWA: Rats, mice and birds are not included among the species covered.
*All research facilities covered by the law must be registered with USDA and comply with the USDA animal welfare regulations.
The USDA is required to inspect each facility at least once a year on an unannounced basis to ensure compliance with these standards.

13. AWA:
* Animal Care and Use Committee: The amendments to the AWA required all research facilities to establish and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) that is responsible for reviewing and approving procedures involving animals before they take place and for inspection facilities twice a year for compliance with the AWA.

14. Laws and Regulations
3. USDA Animal Welfare Regulations: Define the responsibilities of research facilities.
*Before scientists can use any animals, they must assure the IACUC that any animal pain and distress is minimized, that they have considered alternatives to animals and that the activities do not duplicate previous experiments.

15. Laws and Regulations:
The USDA Animal Welfare Regulations include requirements for handling, housing, cage size, feeding, watering, sanitation, ventilation, temperature, humidity and veterinary care.
The research facilities must also have individualized, written exercise programs for dogs as well as written plans for addressing the psychological well being of human primates.

16. Laws and Regulations
4. Health Research Extension Act: This1985 federal law applies to all facilities that receive funding to conduct research (grants and contracts) form the federal government.
*PHS: The Public Health Service includes the NIH, The National Institute of Health, The FDA, and CDC, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
*They apply to all PHS conducted research that involves rats, mice and birds.

17. Laws and Regulations: Voluntary Professional Standards:
Since 1965, the scientific community has sponsored an independent, peer review accreditation program
The AAALAC or Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.
Promotes the highest standards of animal care
Gives random inspections of research facilities