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"IACUC 101 for Scientists" Summary

A symposium on the workings of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) was presented at Experimental Biology 2002 in New Orleans.

The symposium entitled "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the IACUC But Were Afraid to Ask" was organized by the American Physiological Society's Animal Care and Experimentation (ACE) Committee with support from the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW). The session was co-sponsored by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), American Society for Nutritional Sciences (ASNS), American Association of Immunologists (AAI), American Association of Anatomists (AAA), and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).

Similar "IACUC 101 for Scientists" symposia were also held at Experimental Biology 2003 in San Diego and at Experimental Biology 2004 in Washington, DC. Below is a summary of the EB 2002 presentations.

APS ACE Committee Chairman John Stallone moderated the symposium, which was adapted from the popular "IACUC 101" series. The program offered an overview of the IACUC process plus opportunities to pose questions to representatives from NIH's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)-Animal Care and the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International.

HISTORY OF ANIMAL WELFARE OVERSIGHT: Monte Matthews, the Director of the Office of Veterinary Services and Animal Care at the University of Oregon, described the evolution of the U.S. laboratory animal welfare system and the role played by the IACUC. The post-World War II origins of animal welfare oversight date to the post-World War II period when the U.S. began to increase its investment in biomedical research. In 1950, five Chicago-area veterinarians at research facilities began meeting to discuss ways to enhance science by improving the care provided to laboratory animals. By 1953 this group was publishing proceedings of its discussions and decided to become incorporated as the Animal Care Panel (ACP).

In 1952, the National Academy of Sciences established the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources (ILAR). Both ILAR and the ACP were addressing animal welfare issues 15 years before the first federal oversight law was approved. The ACP appointed an Animal Facilities Certification Committee that developed into the independent accrediting body now known as AAALAC. In 1963, the ACP sought NIH funding to develop a Guide for Laboratory Animal Facilities and Care, which evolved into the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Guide). The Guide is now periodically updated by ILAR and published by the National Research Council. The Animal Care Panel itself continued to grow and in 1967 was reconstituted as the American Association for Laboratory Animal Care (AALAS).

Matthews explained that the 1966 Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (later known as the Animal Welfare Act)was the first federal law mandating animal care standards. It was passed in the wake of public outcry after Life magazine published an article, "Concentration Camps for Dogs," describing the conditions in which dealers kept animals that were to be sold to research. The 1966 law set standards for areas where dogs and cats intended for research were housed. It also required facilities to maintain records on the dogs and cats they purchased.

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