The Animal Welfare
Act (AWA) regulates the use of animals in research, teaching, and
testing, with the notable exception of rats and mice specially bred for
research. The US Department of Agriculture oversees AWA enforcement through its
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS). The major species regulated by the USDA include guinea
pigs, rabbits, hamsters, cats, dogs, non-human primates, and farm animals used
in medical research. The AWA regulations apply to regulated animals regardless
of who provides financial support for the research.
However, that is not the end of the oversight story. In order to be eligible
for federal funds, a research institution must agree to abide by animal welfare
rules that apply to all vertebrate species, including rats and mice. The
research must be conducted within the framework of the
US Government
Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing,
Research, and Training and must comply with the requirements of the
well-respected Guide
for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The National Academy
of Sciences’ Institute for Laboratory Animal
Research (ILAR) publishes the Guide and periodically brings in animal
care experts to review and update its recommendations.
Both the AWA and the ILAR Guide require that research proposals pass
through an ethical review committee known as an Institutional Animal Care and
Use Committee or “IACUC.” The IACUC determines whether the use of animals is
necessary to the research and makes certain that the researcher will do
everything possible to minimize the animals’ pain and distress.
Universities, medical schools, and independent institutions conduct much of
the medical and biological research in this country, and a significant amount of
that research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In order to
receive NIH funds, institutions must agree to follow the
Public
Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
This includes providing an Assurance to
The NIH Office of
Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) that the institution has an animal care and
use program that can provide for the welfare of all its research animals. This
Assurance is a legal requirement for the institution to receive federal funds,
and if it is withdrawn, the funding will be halted.
There is also a third major oversight body, namely the
Association for the Assessment and
Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC),
International. AAALAC is a nongovernmental organization that provides
independent, voluntary accreditation of animal care programs in industry,
academia, and government. To earn AAALAC accreditation, a research institution
must demonstrate that its animal care and use program for all vertebrate animals
(including rats and mice) meets the standards set forth in the ILAR Guide.
AAALAC accreditation is broadly accepted in both the pharmaceutical industry and
academic research institutions as a mark of excellence in animal care.