Guide Must Statements

Question 1

All who care for, use, or produce animals for research, testing, or teaching MUST assume responsibility for their well-being.

Question 2

Veterinary consultation MUST occur when pain or distress is beyond the level anticipated in the protocol description or when interventional control is not possible.

Question 3

The institution MUST provide the AV with sufficient authority, including access to all animals, and resources to manage the program of veterinary care.

Question 4

If there is not a full-time veterinarian available on site, there MUST be an individual assigned responsibility for daily large animal care and use and facility management.

Question 5

All personnel involved with the care and use of animals MUST be adequately educated, trained, and/or qualified in basic principles of lab animal science to help ensure high-quality science and animal well-being. Veterinarians providing clinical and/or Program oversight and support MUST have the experience, training, and expertise necessary to appropriately evaluate the health and well-being of the species used in the context of animal use at the institution.

Question 6

Each institution MUST establish and maintain an occupational health and safety program as an essential part of the overall Program of animal care and use. The OHSP MUST be consistent with federal, state, and local regulations and should focus on maintaining a safe and healthy workplace. Regarding medical evaluation for an OHSP, confidentiality and other medical and legal factors MUST be considered in the context of appropriate federal, state, and local regulations. Regarding preemployment or preexposure serum collection, identification, traceability, retention, and storage conditions of sampled should be considered and the purpose for which the serum samples will be used MUST be consistent with applicable federal and state laws.

Question 7

Institution MUST develop methods for reporting and investigating animal welfare concerns, and employees should be aware of the importance of and mechanisms for reporting animal welfare concerns.

Question 8

Regarding IACUC, the committee MUST meet as often as necessary to fulfill its responsibilities, and records of committee meetings and results of deliberations should be maintained.

Question 9

IACUC members named in protocols or who have other conflicts MUST recuse themselves from decisions concerning these protocols.

Question 10

The identification of humane endpoints is often challenging, however, because multiple factors MUST be weighed, including model, species (and sometimes strain or stock), animal health status, study objectives, institutional policy, regulatory requirements, and occasionally conflicting scientific literature.

Question 11

Restraint devices should not be considered a normal method of housing, and MUST be justified in the animal use protocol. Veterinary care MUST be provided if lesions or illness associated with restraint are observed.

Question 12

When applicable, the IO MUST submit a request to the USDA/APHIS and receive approval in order to allow a regulated animal to undergo multiple major survival procedures in separate unrelated research protocols.

Question 13

Facilities MUST have a disaster plan. Animals that cannot be relocated or protected from the consequences of the disaster MUST be humanely euthanized.

Question 14

Social animals should be housed in stable pairs or groups of compatible individuals unless they MUST be housed alone for experimental reasons or because of social incompatibility.

Question 15

Animals maintained in outdoor runs, pens, or other large enclosures MUST have protection from extremes in temperature or other harsh weather conditions and adequate opportunities for retreat.

Question 16

At a minimum, animals MUST have enough space to express their natural postures and postural adjustments without touching the enclosure walls or ceiling, be able to turn around, and have ready access to food and water. There MUST be sufficient space to comfortably rest away from areas soiled by urine and feces.

Question 17

Hazardous wastes MUST be rendered safe by sterilization, containment, or other appropriate means before their removal from facility.

Question 18

Emergency veterinary care MUST be available after work hours, on weekends, and on holidays.

Question 19

Chlorine and chloramines used to disinfect water for human consumption or to disinfect equipment are toxic to fish and amphibians and MUST be removed or neutralized before use in aquatic systems. The biofilter MUST be of sufficient size (contain a sufficient quantity of bacteria) to be capable of processing the bioload (level of nitrogenous waste) entering the system. Chlorine and most chemical disinfectants are inappropriate for aquatic systems containing animals as they are toxic at low concentrations; when used to disinfect an entire system or system components, extreme care MUST be taken to ensure that residual chlorine, chemical, and reactive byproducts are neutralized or removed.

Question 20

The number, species, and use of animals housed in an institution may influence the complexity of the veterinary care program, but a veterinary program that offers a high quality of care and ethical standards MUST be provided, regardless of the number of animals or species maintained.

Question 21

All animals MUST be acquired lawfully, and the receiving institution should ensure that all procedures involving animal procurement are conducted in a lawful manner.

Question 22

Institutions should contact appropriate authorities to ensure compliance with any relevant statutes and other animal transportation requirements that MUST be met for animals to cross international boundaries, including those not of the country of final destination.

Question 23

Procedures MUST be in place to provide for emergency veterinary care both during and outside of regularly scheduled hours. Such procedures MUST enable animal care and research staff to make timely reports of animal injury, illness, or death. A veterinarian or the veterinarian’s designee MUST be available to expeditiously assess the animal’s condition, treat the animal, investigate an unexpected death, or advise on euthanasia. In the case of a pressing health problem, if the responsible person is not available or if the investigator and veterinary staff cannot reach consensus on treatment, the veterinarian MUST have the authority, designated by senior administration and the IACUC, to treat the animal, remove it from the experiment, institute appropriate measures to relieve severe pain or distress, or perform euthanasia if necessary.

Question 24

All those involved in animal care and use MUST comply with federal laws and regulations regarding human and veterinary drugs and treatments.

Question 25

Researchers conducting surgical procedures MUST have appropriate training to ensure that good surgical technique is practiced - that is, asepsis, gentle tissue handling, minimal dissection of tissue, appropriate use of instruments, effective hemostasis, and correct use of suture materials and patterns.

Question 26

Antinociception occurs at a surgical plane of anesthesia and MUST be ascertained before surgery.

Question 27

Agents that provide anesthesia and analgesia MUST be used before their expiration dates and should be acquired, stored, their use recorded, and disposed of legally and safely.

Question 28

Death MUST be confirmed by personnel trained to recognize cessation of vital signs in the species being euthanized.

Question 29

If animals MUST be maintained in a laboratory to satisfy the scientific aims of a protocol, that space should be appropriate to house and care for the animals and its use limited to the period during which it is required.

Question 30

Because cryogen boil-off can lead to asphyxiation of both personnel and animals, rooms with MR scanners or in which cryogen gases are stored MUST be equipped with oxygen sensors and a method for increasing room ventilation to exhaust inert gases during cryogen filling.

Question 31

Biologic agents and toxins pose a threat to animal and plant health or public health and safety, and facilities in which they are used MUST adhere to APHIS, USDA, and CDC Select Agent Regulations.