"A Committee is questioning my ideas and methods!"

Once a testable hypothesis is formulated and experiments designed to test the hypothesis are devised, Dr. Roebuck suggests that the investigator view the proposal from the viewpoint of the experimental animals to be used in the research. Is the type (species, sex, age, etc.), the number and the manner of treatment of the animals consistent with the hypothesis to be tested? Reflection on these questions might suggest changes in the stated hypothesis or the experimental design. Will the use of newer drugs or techniques provide the opportunity to collect more consistent data while utilizing fewer animals? Dr. Roebuck suggests that at the IACUC review process can result in ". . .the enhanced scientific value of the experiments. . . while meeting the institutional and societal obligations [to assure animal welfare]."

Finally, Dr. Roebuck praises the idea of dialogue between the principal investigator and the IACUC. Members of NDSU's IACUC agree. We wish to work with principal investigators on a professional one-on-one basis to ensure that our self-interests and concerns (those of the investigator and those of the IACUC) are respected.

ANIMAL WELFARE REGULATIONS AND RESOURCES ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB

NDSU's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee hopes that our "in-house" efforts will assist principal investigators in their efforts to ensure the humane care of animals used in biomedical and behavioral research, teaching, and testing.

• Animal Welfare Act

• Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

• Essentials for Animal Research - A Primer for Research Personnel

• 1993 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia (J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 1993: 202:229-249)

• USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Regulatory Enforcement and Animal Care (REAC)

• AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION's Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Animals

• University of Connecticut Health Center Policy on Survival Surgery and Post-Surgical Monitoring of Animals Used in Research, Teaching, and Testing

• University of Connecticut Health Center Guidelines for the Use of Freund's Adjuvant in Laboratory Animals