Policies and Guidelines

Policies

In order to ensure consistency and quality in the conduct of an organization’s people and activities, policies are not only established to provide limits for certain activities, but also to explain why those restrictions exist for those particular activities. Because federal, state or institutional regulations and guidance documents are the primary reason for any limitations on an activity, these documents should be strictly adhered to; however, the interpretation of the more general policies can allow some flexibility in the actions of the applicable parties.

Topics	Policies	Last Revised
General	Animal Care and Use Program	5/26/2020
	Animal Occupational Health and Safety Program (effective 2/10/2023)	2/8/2023
	Media Recordings of Institutionally Owned Animals	5/14/2014
	Principal Investigator Responsibilities	4/10/2019
	Record Disposition	6/11/2014
ACUC Functions	IACUC Membership	3/9/2022
	Policy on Protocol Review	9/13/2023
	Post-Approval Monitoring Policy	3/9/2022
	Site Inspections	11/15/2021
	Training and Education	3/9/2022
Special Considerations and Exceptions	Fasting Animals, Special/Regulated Diets/Water/Housing Policy	9/26/2018
	Multiple Partial Ovariectomies in Xenopus (MPOX)	3/23/2021
Introduction of Biologicals and Compounds	Testing Biologicals Used in Laboratory Rodents	2/12/2020
	Use of Non-Pharmaceutical Grade Compounds	3/9/2022
Animal Facilities	Admission of Visitors to Animal Facilities	5/2/2014
	Food, Beverage and Smoking Policy in Animal Facilities	10/14/2015
Other	Change in Animal Ownership for Research Purposes	9/25/2019
	Animal Adoption	9/1/2019

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Guidelines

Guidelines provide specific advice on how to go about completing an activity, acceptable methods to remain compliant with regulations, or even what to expect during institution’s mandated activities. The overarching purpose of guidelines is to clarify how policies are implemented.

Topics	Guidelines	Last Revised
General	Reporting Suspected Deficiencies in Animal Care or Treatment	7/31/2012
Writing the Animal Use Protocol	Assigning Pain and Distress Categories to ACUC Protocols	4/8/2021
	Justification of Animal Numbers	5/7/2012
	Literature Searches for Alternatives	11/14/2012
Common Procedures	Antemortem Tissue Collection for Genotyping/Identification	6/1/2017
	Blood Collection Techniques and Limits	1/12/2023
	Dosing Techniques and Limits	10/12/2016
	Guidelines for the Production of Antibodies in Laboratory Animals	1/6/2014
	Guidelines for the Use of Rodents in Experimental Neoplasia	6/14/2017
	Physical Restraint of Unanesthetized Animals	10/23/2013
Surgery	Guidelines for Anesthesia and Analgesia in Laboratory Animals	8/2021
	Recordkeeping Guidelines for Surgical Procedures on Laboratory Animals	11/20/2015
	Surgical Procedures	9/13/2023
	Use of Neuromuscular Blocking Drugs in Anesthetized Animals	10/24/2013
Animal Transportation	Acclimation and Stabilization Guidelines	9/14/2016
	Animal Transportation	8/22/2012
Animal Housing and Breeding	Aquatic Frog Housing	7/11/2018
	Cage Card Notification System Guidelines	3/15/2021
	Environmental Enrichment	9/8/2023
	Guidance on Exceptions Regarding Housing or Husbandry of Laboratory Animals	7/1/2019
	Investigator Care of Vertebrate Animals	10/12/2016
	OLAC Care of Vertebrate Animals	11/9/2016
	Overcrowded Mouse Cage Guidelines	7/1/2019
	Rat Housing Guidelines	12/14/2016
Euthanasia	Euthanasia Guidelines	10/14/2021
	Guidelines for Humane Endpoints in Animal Studies	10/29/2018
	Guillotine Use and Maintenance	11/20/2015