Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee

Articles (36)

Pinned Article Policy on the Care and Use of Vertebrate Animals for Research, Training, and Teaching Purposes

This policy provides those involved in animal care and use at the University with the resources needed to enhance animal well-being, the quality of research, and the advancement of scientific knowledge that is relevant to both humans and animal and to remain in compliance with all animal welfare regulations.

IACUC: Mission, Responsibility, Membership

The standards and procedures described below provide guidance regarding expectations for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) member participation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("UNC-Chapel Hill" or "University").

Standard for Administered Agents

The standards described provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers administering chemical agents, whether they be pharmaceutical or non-pharmaceutical grade.

Standard for Amendments and Other Protocol Changes

The standards described below provide guidance to Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) members and UNC researchers/investigators on changes and amendments to UNC approved IACUC protocols.

Standard for Inhaled Anesthetics

To maintain safe and effective operation, all anesthetic vaporizers must periodically be serviced by a trained professional. Service and maintenance should be performed on an established schedule, consistent with the manufacturer’s recommendations. The manufacturer of your vaporizer should have recommended intervals for calibration and maintenance.

Standard for Reporting Non-Compliance with the Approved Animal Use Protocol, Animal Welfare Issues, and Unanticipated Adverse Outcomes

The standards and procedures described below provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers experiencing non-compliance with the approved Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocol, animal welfare issues, and/or unanticipated adverse outcomes.

Standard for Rodent Blood Withdrawal and Tail Biopsy

The standards and procedures in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for performing blood withdrawals and tail biopsies in mice and rats.

Standard on Acclimation Period for Animals Received/Transferred to UNC-Chapel Hill from Outside Vendors/Animal Facilities

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for the acclimation period for received animal transfer/shipments.

Standard on Adoption of Companion Animals

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for the adoption process of companion animals at UNC when they are no longer appropriate for research or teaching purposes.

Standard on Anesthetized Non-Surgical Procedures for Rats and Mice

Anesthesia may be utilized by researchers to temporarily sedate a rodent for procedures that are not classified as survival or nonsurvival surgeries. This document serves to describe the University's Standard for planning, documenting, using, and monitoring anesthesia and analgesia use in rodents that are not undergoing surgical procedures.

Standard on Animal Monitoring and Record Keeping

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for the maintenance of required standard documentation.

Standard on Animal Procedural Space Exception (APSE)

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for the responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI) to ensure that all institutional regulations are implemented within the PI maintained areas, for animals maintained and tested for limited periods greater than 12 hours for USDA-regulated species and 24 hour for non-USDA regulated species.

Standard on Animal Transport and Biosecurity

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all investigators and animal handlers on how to safely transport animals across UNC facilities and between UNC facilities and off campus sites.

Standard on Assignment of Animals Into Pain Categories

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is required to report an annual census of the number of animals used in research and teaching, the type of species used, and the number of animals placed in each of the four “Pain Categories (B, C, D and E).” The intent of this document is to provide general recommendations and guidance on how to assign animals to the different pain categories.

Standard on Disposal of Rodent Carcasses

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for safely disposing of rodent carcasses across UNC research animal facilities.

Standard on Documentation of "Monthly Principal Investigator (PI) Check Sheet"

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance in documentation to all researchers and animal handlers performing duties that would normally be performed by Division of Comparative Medicine (DCM) Husbandry staff (i.e. feed, water, cage change).

Standard on Environmental Enrichment for Research Animals

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for the environmental enrichment of research animals.

Standard on Exceptions

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers on submitting requests for exceptions to federal and institutional Standards in place for the humane care and use of animals used in teaching and research at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Standard on Exercise and Socialization for Canines

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for the exercise and socialization of canines at UNC-Chapel Hill according to current Animal Welfare Act Regulations (AWA) and "Guide" recommendations.

Standard on Food and/or Water Restriction and/or Deprivation

The standards and procedures described in this document describe the requirements to all researchers and animal handlers for experimental procedures that utilize either dietary restriction or deprivation schedules. It does not, however, address fasting procedures used prior to anesthesia or surgery, veterinary recommendations for the care of an animal, or specialized diets which do not entail caloric restriction.

Standard on Humane Endpoints in Rodents

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers regarding the humane endpoints for laboratory rodents utilized in research, teching, or testing.

Standard on Monitoring Animals on Neuromuscular Blocking Agents (NMB)

The purpose of this standard is to ensure that any proposed neuromuscular blocking drugs are properly utilized in conjunction with appropriate analgesics and anesthetics and users are aware of autonomic nervous system changes that can be indicator of pain related to an inadequate depth of anesthesia.

Standard on Mouse Cage Density

This document is intended to ensure sufficient space for mice with litters that will allow pups to develop to weaning without detrimental effects, and to house adult mice in space that is sufficient for their needs. This Standard is a blend of the requirements in the 8th edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the long-standing, performance-based UNC policy.

Standard on Pain Identification and Post-Operative Analgesia

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers regarding identification of pain in animals and appropriate analgesia for post-operative and Pain Category D procedures to prevent pain.

Standard on Preparation, Storage, and Use of Tribromoethanol (Avertin)

This document is intended to provide uniform guidance to researchers in the preparation, storage and use of Tribromoethanol.

Standard on Rat and Mouse Euthanasia

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for the euthanasia of rodents. Performing euthanasia correctly is an ethical imperative. Proper euthanasia minimizes pain/distress and reliably causes death. This document does not contain details for conduct of certain procedures.

Standard on Rat Cage Density

The purpose of this Standard is to ensure sufficient space for rats with litters that will allow pups to develop to weaning age without detrimental effects, and to house adult rats in space that is sufficient for their needs.

Standard on Reporting and Veterinary Care for Research Animals

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers to ensure that sick animals are identified and adequate veterinary care is provided to all animals utilized in our research program.

Standard on Rodent Identification

The purpose of this standard is to ensure that the advantages and disadvantages for animal identification methods in addition to the required training for certain techniques are communicated to animal users.

Standard on Rodent Survival Surgery

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for ensuring adequate aseptic technique for all non-USDA regulated rodent (i.e., mice and rats) survival surgeries.

Standard on Satellite Animal Facilities

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for the establishment and maintenance of a Satellite Animal Facility.

Standard on Survival Surgeries for USDA-Covered Species

This document serves to describe the University’s Standards for creating and maintaining aseptic conditions during survival procedures in USDA covered species, while also providing a standard for the pre and post-operative management.

Standard on Survival Surgery in Amphibian Oocyte Harvest

This document is intended to describe aseptic technique for amphibian oocyte harvesting survival surgeries. This Standard allows for five survival surgeries and one non-survival surgery to be performed on a single amphibian.

Standard on Tumor Production and Cancer Research In Mice and Rats

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for requirements for humane endpoints for mice and rats in cancer studies.

Standard on Use of Adjuvants for Antibody Production

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers utilizing adjuvants for antibody production with a special emphasis on Freund ’s adjuvant. This standard is adopted from National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Animal Care and Use’s (OACU) Guide.

Standard on Weight Loss in Research Animals

The standards and procedures described in this document provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for managing potential weight loss that may occur due to experimental variables or conditions that could interfere with eating and / or drinking (e.g. difficulty with ambulation).