May the IACUC approve deviations from the Guide for rodent (mice and rats) cage density?
OLAW supports the Guide’s approach to applying performance standards to achieve specified outcomes, and expects institutions to use the Guide’s engineering standards as a baseline. The Guide clearly states that the need for adjustments to the recommendations for primary space enclosures should be made at the institutional level by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and should be based on performance outcomes. The Guide further identifies examples of performance indices to assess adequacy of housing, including health, reproduction, growth, behavior, activity, and use of space (Guide , pages 25-26). IACUC determinations of the need for adjustments in the space recommendations should be based on veterinary considerations or scientific justification relative to the nature of the protocol and its requirements. Blanket, program-wide deviations from the Guide for reasons of convenience, cost, facility capacity, and other non animal welfare considerations are not acceptabl
OLAW supports the Guide’s approach to applying performance standards to achieve specified outcomes, and expects institutions to use the Guide’s engineering standards as a baseline. The Guide clearly states that the need for adjustments to the recommendations for primary space enclosures should be made at the institutional level by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and should be based on performance outcomes. The Guide further identifies examples of performance indices to assess adequacy of housing, including health, reproduction, growth, behavior, activity, and use of space (Guide, pages 25-26). IACUC determinations of the need for adjustments in the space recommendations should be based on veterinary considerations or scientific justification relative to the nature of the protocol and its requirements. Blanket, program-wide deviations from the Guide for reasons of convenience, cost, facility capacity, and other non animal welfare considerations are not acceptable
