» AAALAC, International Implementation of the New Guide

On November 3, 2011, AAALAC announced that it will grant institutions a phase-in period to make the necessary program modifications to conform with new “must” statements in the 8^th edition of the Guide. For a one-year period through September 1, 2012, AAALAC will classify any findings based upon new requirements in the Guide as “Temporary Suggestions for Improvement.” However, AAALAC expects that these issues will be resolved by September 1, 2012. After that date, uncorrected Temporary Suggestions for Improvement (with the exception of significant purchases such as new caging) will be considered Mandatory items for correction and may affect accreditation status. For additional details see the AAALAC announcement.

After the prepublication version of the 8^th edition was released in June, 2010, AAALAC convened its Council on Accreditation and sought input from its Board of Trustees to review the new Guide. A number of issues were identified as requiring clarification or interpretation, which led to the development of 6 position statements and nearly two dozen new Frequently Asked Questions responses. Despite the temporary halt in OLAW’s implementation plans, AAALAC announced in July, 2011 that it would begin utilizing the new Guide as one of its primary accreditation standards beginning with site visits during the fall of 2011.

Position Statements

Position statements on these topics were circulated for public comment in February, 2011 and finalized in July, 2011:

• Cage or Pen Space
• Social Housing
• The Attending Veterinarian and Veterinary Care
• Safety Requirements for Walk-In Cage/Rack Washers and Bulk Sterilizers
• Definition of Laboratory Animals
• Selecting the Appropriate Standard(s) for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals

Frequently Asked Questions

AAALAC has also provided these Frequently Asked Questions scenarios to illustrate how it intends to interpret the new Guide:

• AAALAC International’s Assessment Process

  • AAALAC International’s application of performance standards
  • AAALAC International’s three primary standards

• Institutional Responsibilities

  • Allergy Prevention
  • Frequency of program review and facility inspection
  • Harm-benefit analysis
  • Nonaffiliated member of the IACUC
  • Post-approval monitoring
  • Program-wide IACUC/OB exceptions
  • Reporting animal welfare concerns
  • Surgery in investigator laboratories

• Animal Environment, Housing And Management

  • Trio breeding
  • Cage sanitation frequency
  • Chick and piglet environmental temperature
  • Environmental enrichment

• Veterinary Medical Care

  • Aseptic surgery and alcohol as a disinfectant
  • Intraoperative monitoring

• Physical Plant

  • Hospital stops
  • Humidity control
  • Recycled air
  • Vibration detection and suppression
  • Windows in animal rooms