USING WILD VERTEBRATES IN RESEARCH

Any researcher or instructor using VESR, from the University of California or any other institution, who proposes to use vertebrate animals in research or teaching, must have approval of the UCSB Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The only exception to this policy is strict animal observation with no affect on animal behavior (i.e. bird watching). More information may be obtained at the UCSB IACUC home page: http://research.ucsb.edu/iacuc/iacuc.shtml.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee:

Federal law requires an institutional animal-use oversight committee. The committee is referred to as the "institutional animal care and use committee" or more commonly, the IACUC. This committee is further required by UC and campus policy. Vertebrate animal use must be reviewed and approved by the IACUC prior to that use occurring. Review is required regardless of animal use site, funding source, species, or animal number.

The committee's composition is determined, in part, by regulations. There must be at least one of each of: a scientist familiar with animal use, a nonscientist, a veterinarian familiar with research animals, and someone with no other affiliation with the university. The IACUC has more than the minimum number of members and the committee includes a graduate student member, as well.

Animal Use Protocol:

Approval by the IACUC is obtained by submitting an Animal Use Protocol. An approved protocol must be procured by anyone using vertebrate animals in teaching, research, or testing. This is required regardless of animal use site, funding source, species, or animal number.

The Review Process:

The protocol review process takes at least one month. If problems are encountered during the review, the process can take even longer

Protocol applications must be received in the IACUC office before the first working day of the month in which it is to be reviewed. The IACUC Coordinator logs the received protocols, collates them into packets, and distributes them to the IACUC members. The committee members are generally given 5-6 working days to preview the applications and submit questions regarding them to the Campus Veterinarian. During the next 3-4 days, the Campus Veterinarian attempts to contact the Principle Investigator (PI) to discuss questions that have been noted by the Committee members. The PI is then frequently asked to submit a modified application or selected pages of the application based on changes agreed upon during the conversation. The revised pages need to be submitted within 3-4 working days as a final meeting packet is distributed to the committee. The convened meeting itself is held as late in the month as possible.

At the convened meeting, the committee reviews any revisions to the application and discusses remaining or additional issues relating to the proposed animal use. A vote is taken and the outcome of the application is decided upon. The PI is subsequently notified on the status of the application and on any additional issues that need to be resolved before it can receive approval.

During routine months, the process can be comfortably completed; however, in months with several holidays or with a meeting attended by several committee members, it is quite difficult to complete within one month. Many of the committee members are away during the summer months. Protocols for summer research at VESR should be submitted in February or March.

See http://research.ucsb.edu/iacuc/docs/UCSB_Protocol_2003.doc for the protocol application form.

Training:

The UCSB Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee is mandated by the Federal Animal Welfare Act (9 CFR Chapter 1, Subpart C, Section 2.32 Personnel qualifications) to ensure that all scientists, research technicians, animal technicians, and other personnel involved in animal care, treatment, and use are qualified to perform their duties. This responsibility shall be fulfilled in part through the provision of training and instruction to those personnel. The qualifications of personnel are reviewed when animal protocols are submitted and the level of training required is assessed. Training documentation for the Basic Level must be completed prior to activation of an Animal Care Protocol. Training is reviewed annually in conjunction with the Annual Review of the Animal Care Protocol. Training material is available on the World Wide Web. It is important that the training completed is documented for the IACUC records. Training logs must be completed and submitted to the IACUC Coordinator.

Basic Training:

1.) Review the UCSB Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee home page at http://research.ucsb.edu/iacuc/iacuc.shtml.

2.) Review the Office for Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) Tutorial at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/tutorial/index.htm

3.) Review the UC Davis Employee Health Services & Animal Use and Care Administrative Advisory Committee (AUCAAC) Risk Analysis Tools Website located at http://ehs.ucdavis.edu/animal/risk/index.cfm

ADDITIONAL BASIC TRAINING REQUIRED FOR FIELD STUDIES:

UCSB IACUC has adopted these field research guidelines. If field studies are involved in your protocol, the species appropriate field guidelines should be reviewed as part of basic training.

1.) If the protocol covers birds, please review the Ornithological Council Guidelines for Wild Birds in Research at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/GuideToUse/guidelines_use.html?Operation=ENTE

Additionally, review the West Nile Virus Fact Sheet at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/WNV.html

2.) If the protocol covers small mammals, please review the American Society of Mammalogists Guidelines for the Capture, Handling, and Care of Mammals at http://www.mammalsociety.org/committees/index.asp Select Animal Care and Use Committee from the left hand section, and then the 1998 Guide and Use Guidelines Document located on the right hand section.

3.) If the protocol covers amphibians or reptiles, please review the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) and the Herpetologists' League (HL) Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) Guidelines for use of live amphibians and reptiles in field research at http://199.245.200.110/pubs/herpcoll.html

4.) If the protocol covers fish, please review the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH), American Fisheries Society (AFS) and American Institute of Fisheries Research Biologists (AIFRB) Guidelines for use of fishes in field research from Fisheries, Vol. 13, No. 2, p. 16-23, 1988. These guidelines are found on the web at http://199.245.200.110/pubs/fishguide.html

A protocol cannot be approved until everyone on the protocol roster has completed the basic level training, including the appropriate field guidelines. If you are being added to an existing protocol, you cannot be added to the protocol until the basic level training has been completed. This level of training can be completed at any location with web access. To document web-based training, provide written verification to the IACUC Coordinator at IACUC@lifesci.ucsb.edu.

Procedural Training:

Please contact the Campus Veterinarian at (805) 893-2804 to arrange for any needed specialized procedural training. All surgery training must be coordinated through the Campus Veterinarian.

Page last updated Wednesday, October 29, 2003