190.4 Animal Care and Use Committee

190.4 Animal Care and Use Committee

A. Background

The Public Health Service (PHS) requires that educational institutions establish and maintain proper measures to ensure the appropriate care and use of all nonhuman animals used for research, research training, or biological testing activities supported by PHS. "Animal" is defined as any live, vertebrate animal used or intended for use in research, research training, experimentation or biological testing or for related purposes.

B. Policy

The institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will operate according to guidelines for laboratory animal welfare as specified in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts (Vol. 14, No. 8, June 25, 1985). The membership requirements, functions, authority, recordkeeping, reporting, and other requirements of the committee are outlined in this publication.

Furman will comply with all applicable provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (Public Law 89-544, as amended by P.L. 91-579 and P.L. 94-279) and other federal statutes and regulations relating to animals. Guiding principles are specified by the U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research and Training. Furman has established and will maintain a program for activities involving animals in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (U.S. Dept. Health and Human Services, NIH Publication No. 85-23, 1985).

C. Guidelines

1. Membership of the IACUC:

There must be at least five committee members, including:

• One Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, with training or experience in laboratory animal science and medicine, who has direct or delegated program responsibility for activities involving animals at Furman;
• At least one practicing scientist experienced in research involving animals;
• One member whose primary concerns are in a nonscientific area (e.g., an "ethicist," lawyer, member of the clergy);
• One individual who is not affiliated with Furman in any way other than as a member of the IACUC and is not a member of the immediate family of a person who is affiliated with the institution.

An individual who meets the requirements of more than one of the categories listed above may fulfill more than one requirement.

2. Functions of the IACUC:

a. Review at least once every six (6) months the institution's program for humane care and use of animals;

b. Inspect at least once every six (6) months all institutional animal facilities, including satellite facilities;

c. Review concerns involving the care and use of animals;

d. Submit to the Provost semi-annual reports of Furman's Animal Care Program and animal facilities;

e. Make recommendations to the institutional official (the Provost) regarding any aspect of the animal program, facilities, or personnel training;

f. Review and approve, require modifications in, or withhold approval of sections of Public Health Service grant proposals related to the use of animals (according to NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts);

g. Review and approve, require modifications in, or withhold approval of proposed significant changes regarding the use of animals in ongoing activities;

h. Be authorized to suspend an activity involving animals if the activity is not in line with regulations (e.g., Animal Welfare Act, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals).

3. Animal Welfare Assurance

The committee is responsible for maintaining an approved "Assurance" ("Assurance of Compliance with Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals by Awardee Institutions") with the Public Health Service (PHS). This Assurance is submitted to the Office for Protection from Research Risks (OPRR), National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Assurance describes committee members, animal facilities, institutional procedures for the care and use of animal subjects, and other responsibilities of the committee.

4. Annual Report

At least once every twelve (12) months, the committee will prepare a letter for the Provost to send to OPRR. This report must:

a. Describe any changes in Furman's program for animal care and use, changes in committee membership, changes in animal facilities, and any other significant changes since the last annual report. If there are no changes to report, the letter must state that there are no changes.

b. Specify the dates that the committee conducted its semiannual evaluations of the program and facilities (See Guideline 2.a-d above), and the dates that the committee submitted the evaluations to the Provost.

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