IACUC policies for special procedures

Policy on the use of multiple surgical procedures:

  1. The nature of the protocol requires it to achieve the desired physical or physiological effect.
  2. There is no other alternative available.
  3. The surgical procedure is needed to create the animal model.
  4. Sufficient time between surgeries is allowed for proper recovery.
  5. Written scientific justification is provided to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee(IACUC) and approved.

Policy on the use of physical restraint:

Prolonged restraint should be avoided unless it is essential for achieving the research objectives

  1. The period of restraint should be the minimum required to accomplish the research objective.
  2. Animals should be given training to adapt to equipment and personnel.
  3. Provision should be made for observation of the animal at appropriate intervals.
  4. Veterinary care must be sought and provided if lesions or illness are observed.
  5. Restraint devices are not to be considered normal methods of housing.
  6. Restraint should not be used simply as a convenience in handling or managing animals.

Policies on the use of food/water restriction:

Protocols involving the use of Food/Water Restriction are required to include the following provisions:

  1. Food/water restriction for research purposes must be scientifically justified and a program to monitor the physiologic and behavior indexes must be established.
  2. At a minimum, daily logs of food or water intake should be maintained and body weight recorded at least once a week.
  3. Specific criteria indicating an animal’s early removal from the study must be clearly defined.
  4. For food restriction, special attention should be given to ensure animals are consuming a balanced diet.
  5. For conditioned-response protocols, use of a highly preferred food or fluid as positive-reinforcement is recommended in place of restriction.