The Care and Feeding of an IACUC

Book excerpt: The framers of the 1985 amendments to the Federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) envisioned the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) as the linchpin--the central and cohesive element--of the laboratory animal care and use program at research, education, and testing organizations. Effective operation of this committee is essential if these organizations are to achieve full regulatory compliance, and, more importantly, retain the public's support for activities involving the use of animal subjects. In 1987, the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare, in cooperation with the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, published a compilation of presentations made at five regional workshops on effective operation of IACUCs. In the decade since this compilation was published, nearly all of the 18 consensus recommendations developed by the workshop participants and the Center's Board of Trustees have either been incorporated into the AWA regulations or have been voluntarily adopted by institutions using animals subjects. The Care and Feeding of an IACUC: The Organization and Management of an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee superbly illustrates the progress and advances the animal-using communities have made in implementing these and other improvements in their animal care and use programs. The highly qualified contributors provide twelve information-packed chapters and ten appendices that provide IACUC chairs and members with an indispensable reference. This book summarizes information critical to the effective and efficient management and operation of an IACUC, and, as such, should be made available to IACUC members and administrative officials in every institution using laboratory animals.