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
Conference
PRIM&R 2017 IACUC Conference: March 19-21, 2017 in New Orleans, LA.
Webinar
PRIM&R September 2016 IACUC Webinar: Reducing Self-Imposed Regulatory Burden in Your Animal Care and Use Program, September 22, 2016, from 1 to 2:30 ET.
Workshops
Scientist Center for Animal Welfare (SCAW) IACUC Training Workshop: Los Angeles, CA on October 7, 2016. This workshop is for individuals who work with laboratory animals, including IACUC members and administrators, principal investigators, attending veterinarians, regulatory personnel, and laboratory animal care staff.
Sessions of the NIH workshop, "Meeting the Information Requirements of the Animal Welfare Act," will be held in October 2016, Beltsville, MD.
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.
AAALAC International
Dr. James R. Swearengen has been appointed Global Director of the organization. He will oversee the accreditation program and promote AAALAC's mission on a worldwide basis and assist Dr. Kathryn Bayne in implementing policies and programs. He has served as a member and president of AAALAC's Council on Accreditation, and also was Senior Director for Education and Outreach from 2004-2009. He will assume the duties of Global Director on September 6, 2016.
Dr. Kathryn Bayne has been the new Executive Director since July 1, 2016.
The organization changed their legal, official name to "AAALAC International" and no longer spells out its acronym. This allows greater inclusion of wildlife and agricultural animal research programs as the word "laboratory" will be dropped. All references to the organization should use the acronym only; the logo has not changed.
Animal Welfare Inspection Guide
USDA Animal Care has revised two chapters of the Animal Welfare Inspection Guide, Chapter 2: Required Inspection Procedures, and Chapter 6: Veterinary Care. This Guide will no longer contain Chapter 9, Animal Care Policies; the Policy manual will now have it's own link.
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.
OLAW: Veterinary Medical Officer
Announcement: Dr. Neera Gopee has been appointed to the position of Veterinary Medical Officer in the Divisions of Assurances and Compliance Oversight.
APHIS: Acting Deputy Administrator
Announcement: Bernadette Juarez is the new acting Deputy Administrator for the APHIS Animal Care (AC) program.
USDA Transparency
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
IACUC Members
Issued by National Institutes of Health: Guidance on Qualifications of IACUC Nonscientific and Nonaffiliated Members, Release date: June 9, 2015, Notice Number: NOT-OD-15-109
