Legal Basis for ACUC Activities
The Animal Welfare Act of 1966, as amended in 1970, 1976, 1985 and 1990, mandates that research with warm-blooded, non-farm animals, such as dogs, cats and nonhuman primates be monitored and regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS), through the Health Research Extension Act of 1985, has enlarged this regulatory umbrella to cover all vertebrates, including cold-blooded species such as fish and frogs (Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals).
Research using vertebrate species must, according to the Animal Welfare Act (under guidelines promulgated by the Department of Agriculture) and PHS Policy, be monitored and approved by an official Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). This is accomplished via a document submitted to the IACUC, an Animal Study Proposal (ASP). The ASP must be prepared according to an approved format, and must address each point in a clear and legally satisfactory way. The IACUC is responsible for certifying that this is done before any animals are used and that pertinent regulations are being following during the course of the research. This provides an assurance to the general community that research with animals is scientifically legitimate and necessary, and is carried out in an ethically responsible and humane manner. The IACUC should be regarded as a protective shield, both for animals in the laboratory, and for investigators who must comply with the USDA regulations and PHS Policy or face undesirable consequences, including possible legal sanctions, and/or interference from animal rights activists.
During review of ASPs, the ACUC is mindful of the "three Rs" put forth by British zoologist William M. S. Russell and microbiologist Rex L. Burch in 1959. This principle sets out three goals for the conscientious researcher: replacement of animals by in vitro methods, reduction of their numbers by means of statistical techniques, and refinement of the experiment so as to cause less suffering. These three Rs define the modern search for alternatives.
