IACUC.org is now IACUC Central, a comprehensive repository for all things IACUC. IACUC Central is a valuable resource for institutional animal care and use committee members and staff. Updated quarterly, IACUC Central organizes information into pages containing links to governmental agencies, databases, examples of institutional websites, training resources, and more.
NEWS
Conferences
PRIM&R:
- 2018 Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Conference:
- March 20-21, 2018; Columbus, OH
- Pre-conference programs on March 19
Workshops
Interagency Collaborative Animal Research Education Project (ICARE Project)
An interagency initiative of the National Institutes of Health Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (NIH OLAW), the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
2017 ICARE Academy:
- July 25-26 - Philadelphia, PA
- August 28-29 - Richmond, VA
AWIC Workshop: Meeting the Information Requirements of the Animal Welfare Act
- One and a half day workshops in Beltsville, Maryland.
- Upcoming session: November 1 and 2, 2017
Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) - IACUC 101 Series - Workshops provide information about the role and responsibilities of an IACUC and federal policies and regulations governing the welfare of animals in laboratories. The program includes scenarios at each level so that participants can practice what they have learned in each course. See the schedule for dates and locations.
Best Practices Meetings
IACUC Administrators' Best Practices Meetings: open, roundtable discussions initiated by 10-minute presentations
2017 Schedule:
- November 1st, 2017 - San Antonio, TX
- November 29th, 2017 - State College, PA
USDA Animal Care
USDA Animal Care has redesigned the Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations booklet.
The new version has:
- A more complete table of contents
- A reference table for acronyms
- Regulatory changes made since previous version (Nov 2013)
The electronic copy can be accessed here, or you may request a printed copy by emailing acwest@aphis.usda.gov or aceast@aphis.usda.gov or by calling 970-494-7478 (West) or 919-855-7100 (East).
OLAW: Change in Animal Welfare Assurance Numbering System
OLAW has implemented a new Animal Welfare Assurance database with a new numbering format (D00-00000) effective July 25, 2016. The old numbers (A000-01) are being retained for the life of the Assurance. Institutions with an Assurance will receive a new number, but may use the new or old number in communications with NIH. OLAW will reference both numbers in any Assurance-related correspondence. To view Assurance numbers, go to the OLAW website list of Assured Institutions (Domestic | Foreign). Institutions seeking a new Assurance will receive their number in the new format only.
USDA Transparency
April 2017: Release of New Animal Welfare Inspection Reports
After restricting public access on February 3, 2017, the USDA has released Animal Welfare inspection reports conducted between January 10 and March 24, 2017. Reasons for the restriction cited by the USDA were an ongoing review of the information on the APHIS website, privacy concerns and court rulings. There were many complaints that the restriciton resulted in an overall lack of transparency and that it violated the Freedom of Information Act.
Animal inventories were not posted with the inspection reports, but will be again sometime in the future. A comprehensive review of information on the APHIS website is still underway.
Enforcement Transparency Act of 2015
Addressing concerns from the biomedical research community, Congressman Rod Blum (R-IA), along with Congressman Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Congressman Dr. Dan Benishek (R-MI), introduced H.R.3136, the Enforcement Transparency Act (ETA) of 2015. This legislation would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to publicly release the guidelines used to calculate fines for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Research Animal Statistics
USDA APHIS recently posted the Annual Report Animal Usage by Fiscal Year, 2015 (PDF). A summary analysis of the 2014 data was provided by Speaking of Research.
Ethological Standards for NHPs
In response to a petition submitted by some animal rights groups, APHIS requested public input on modifying standards for nonhuman primates in research facilities. Various organizations have responded to the petition.
Responses:
- AALAS - American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
- APA - American Psychological Association
- APS - American Physiological Society
- ASP - American Society of Primatologists
- FASEB - Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
- NABR - National Association for Biomedical Research
