May 2002 News

Updated Guidebook for IACUCs Available

May 9, 2002

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Guidebook has been updated, the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) and the Applied Research Ethics National Association (ARENA) recently announced.

This second edition of the Guidebook, a joint effort between ARENA and OLAW, addresses multiple issues facing IACUCs in their oversight of institutional animal care and use programs. It contains valuable guidance based on the collective judgment and experience of the authors, as well as OLAW precedent and interpretation of Public Health Service (PHS) Policy.

The Guidebook is not a regulatory document and neither establishes nor reflects a change in PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Following the recommendations of the Guidebook will ease implementation of institutional animal care and use programs but is not required. PHS Policy does require compliance with the ILAR Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and Animal Welfare Act regulations.

Printed copies of the Guidebook will be available shortly and one will be mailed to the IACUC Chairperson of each institution holding a PHS Animal Welfare Assurance. To order additional copies send an email to: olaw@od.nih.gov.

The Guidebook also is available electronically on the OLAW web site via two different connections: FTP and HTTP. This file is large and may take a few minutes to download.