Policy and Procedure

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RESEARCH POLICY SERIES
POLICY AND PROCEDURE STATEMENT ON
LABORATORY ANIMAL WELFARE AT
AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY

PURPOSE

The use of laboratory animals is essential to teaching, testing, and research, and must be considered a privilege, not a right, of the academic and scientific communities. This policy and procedure is to ensure that animal care and use in biomedical research and teaching on campus are in compliance with local, state, and federal laws, regulations and polices concerning animal welfare.

REVIEW

This policy and procedure will be reviewed as needed (AN) by the university Laboratory Animal Veterinarian and by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee with recommendations for revisions presented to the Regulatory Compliance Officer for review and transmission to the Vice President for Research.

POLICY/PROCEDURE

To ensure that animal care and use on campus are in compliance with local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and policies, the University Laboratory Animal Veterinarian (ULAV) has been established in the Office of the Vice President for Research. This unit is a university-wide resource that provides or oversees health care, and technical and scientific support and compliance oversight for MSU programs using animals in biomedical research, testing and teaching.

The ULAV is advised on a university-wide basis by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, a standing committee reporting to the Vice President for Research. The committee is charged with (1) establishing and reviewing compliance with standards and procedures relating to laboratory animal welfare, and (2) advising individuals and agencies dealing with such animals.

University instructors and researchers planning projects that utilize vertebrate animals in biomedical research, testing, and teaching must submit their proposed protocol to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee for review and approval of animal care and use aspects, including animal costs, during the planning process. Also, researchers seeking outside funding for projects that utilize vertebrate animals must obtain IACUC approval before funding can be awarded.

In addition to this policy and procedure, ULAV shall be responsible for and perform duties in accord with its published "Users' Manual and Policies and Procedures" and "Laboratory Animal Techniques" manuals. Copies of both documents are available from the ULAV resident at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Note that the National Institutes of Health and the United States Department of Agriculture require that certain proposals involving the use of vertebrate animals contain sufficient information to allow for evaluation of the choices of species, the number of animals to be used, alternative and duplication considerations, necessary exposure of animals to discomfort, pain, or injury, and of euthanasia.