Regulations Protecting Vertebrate Animal Use in Research and Instruction

The federal regulations protecting vertebrate animal use in research are contained in Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 1996 and the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. These documents are administered by the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) which is located within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The primary objectives of these documents are to ensure:

1) appropriate housing for animal subjects.
2) that researchers have carefully considered the applicability of their animal model.
3) that appropriate numbers of animals are used.
4) that animals are euthanized in an ethical manner.
5) that pain and distress to animal subjects is minimized.
6) that all research using vertebrate animals is overseen by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the researcher’s institution.

The federal regulations can be viewed at the OLAW website. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/olaw.htm