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The USDA Animal Welfare Act Regulations (AWARs) and the Public
Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory
Animals (PHS Policy) stipulate that the ARC must conduct
continuing reviews of previously approved research activities.
Both the AWARs and PHS Policy also invest in the ARC the
authority to suspend a previously approved study if the
activities are not conducted in accordance with applicable
provisions of the AWARs, PHS Policy, or the Guide for the
Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Conducting
research activities
under a protocol that has expired or been suspended by the ARC
constitutes a serious violation of both the AWARs and PHS
Policy, and is therefore unacceptable in any circumstance.
However, the ARC expects that investigators and their research
staff will continue to monitor and treat their animals.
This includes providing analgesic or antibiotic treatment
to animals that have recently undergone surgery, treating animal
health cases as directed by DLAM veterinarians, observing
tumor-bearing animals, maintaining indwelling catheters and
other chronic implants, weaning litters of pups or separating
overcrowded cages, and euthanizing animals as required by any ARC
policy or as requested by DLAM veterinarians.
USDA AWARs § 2.31(d)(5-6)
and PHS Policy IV.C.5-6
"Research
activities" includes any experimental manipulations
(e.g., surgery, collection of blood, collection of tissue
for genotyping, behavioral testing), special housing
conditions (e.g., special diet or feeding/watering schedule,
special light cycle, special cage changing cycle),
collection of tissues at euthanasia for postmortem analysis,
setting up breeding pairs, or any other collection of data
from animals under that protocol.
Approved
3/28/05
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