Institutional Animal Care and Use

Institutional Animal Care and Use

I. Purpose

Fort Lewis College is committed to observing Federal Policies and Regulations for the humane care and use of research animals. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) has the authority to review applications involving the use of animals in an ongoing basis. All activities and projects involving animals conducted by Fort Lewis College Faculty, Students or Staff are subject to IACUC review.  

1. Activities subject to review by the IACUC prior to initiation:
   1. Activities conducted by Faculty, Staff, or Students affiliated with Fort Lewis College as part of their College related responsibilities.
   2. Activities performed on the premises of the College.
   3. Activities performed with or involving the use of Fort Lewis College funds, facilities or equipment.
   4. Activities satisfying a requirement imposed by Fort Lewis College for a degree program or completion of a course of study.
   5. Activities conducted on a grant with researchers affiliated with Fort Lewis College.
2. Projects subject to review by the IACUC prior to initiation:
   
   1. The use of live animals, animal blood or tissues in research, including medical, biological, behavioral and research with free-ranging wildlife.
   2. The use of live animals in educational settings, such as courses that use animals, animal blood or tissues to teach techniques, animal husbandry, veterinary procedures, or other demonstrations.
   3. The use of live animals for any testing, such as clinical tests, vaccine trials, and screening or diagnostic assays.
   4. Research projects conducted with other institutions.
3. Projects that are exempt from IACUC review
   1. Use of tissues, organs or other parts of dead animals if the animals were not euthanized for the collection of these tissues.
   2. Observation of wild animals in their natural habitat without any capture or handling of the animals nor any manipulation of their habitat.

III. Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Guidelines

1. Guidelines:
   Fort Lewis College adheres to the IACUC guidelines specified by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), wildlife guidelines specified by the American Society of Mammologists (ASM), wild bird guidelines specified by the American Ornithological Council (AOC) and amphibian and reptile guidelines specifed by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH):
   
   1. NIH Guidelines
   2. ASM Wild Mammal Guidelines
   3. AOC Wild Bird Guidelines
   4. ASIH Amphibian and Reptile Guidelines

V. Procedures Involving Animals

1. Unless provided with explicit written permission from the IACUC, Students are not permitted to collect blood from subjects, administer anesthesia, give injections or euthanize subjects. These activities must be performed by Faculty. Students may be granted permission to perform these activities if their skills have been demonstrated and determined to be acceptable by an appropriate supervisor.

2. All invasive, disruptive or manipulative work (e.g. blood collection, euthanasia) must be performed outside of the animal room and may not be done in the presence of other animals.

3. Proposed Student projects will be evaluated on the degree of pain and suffering inflicted upon subjects relative to the contribution of the proposed work to the body of knowledge in the subject area.  This will be evaluated with the following criteria:

   1. Will the work be published in a peer-reviewed journal?

   2. Will this work positively contribute to a Faculty mentor's ongoing research program?

   3. Is the research significant enough to justify the anticipated pain and suffering?

   4. Are there alternatives to the protocol or can the number of subjects be reduced?

   5. What methods can be used to reduce pain or distress of animal subjects?

   6. Applications submitted to the IACUC should address the three R's of research with living subjects: reduction, replacement and refinement.

4. For more information about the IACUC or questions about the submission of proposals to the IACUC, please visit the Contact Us page on the Fort Lewis College's Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee website.

V. Consequences of Non-Compliance

The department chair in consultation with the dean will determine appropriate consequences for non-compliance according to the provisions in the Faculty Handbook, Part II, Section 17, "Dismissal and other Disciplinary Actions." Disciplinary action up to and including termination as described in the Classified Employees Handbook, Exempt Employees Handbook.