Category Archive

Due to dangers to personnel and animals as a result of liver toxicity and flammability, the ARC prohibits the use of ether for the purpose of anesthesia and/or euthanasia.

In nature, food is typically not available on a continual basis, and laboratory animal health is substantially improved by less than ad libitum access to chow (McCay, Crowell, & Maynard, 1935; Weindruch & Walford, 1988). That said, restricted access to food has the potential to cause distress to laboratory animals, so its use must be clearly justified and refined to produce the least chance of impairing the welfare of the subject. Therefore, the Animal Research Committee (ARC) has established the following guidelines.

Prolonged physical restraint should be avoided unless essential to the research objectives. All physical restraint, other than routine manual restraint, must be described in the protocol.

For experiments involving the use of electrical stimulation, the ARC has developed the following guidelines for pain categorization of animals.

The use of neuromuscular blocking agents will only be approved for research procedures where scientific justification is provided for paralysis of the animal. Few indications exist for the use of neuromuscular blocking agents in research involving animals; therefore, proposed use will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

“As a method of identification of small rodents, toe-clipping should be used only when no other individual identification method is feasible.”

The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals states, “Animals should be cared for by qualified personnel every day, including weekends and holidays, both to safeguard their well-being and to satisfy research requirements.” The Guide [2] also notes that “All animals should be observed for signs of illness, injury, or abnormal behavior by a person trained to recognize such signs. As a rule, such observations should occur at least daily, but more frequent observations may be required, such as during postoperative recovery, when animals are ill or have a physical deficit, or when animals are approaching a study endpoint.”

This Policy delineates the responsibilities and obligations of the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DLAM) and Investigators concerning sick or injured animals.

Information on the Authority of the Attending Veterinarian