It is important for IACUCs to carry out thorough reviews of protocols and equally important for them to implement good animal use monitoring systems. By monitoring a protocol, an IACUC can make sure the protocol is being carried out as it was approved. The Animal Welfare Act1 requires IACUCs to conduct continuing reviews of activities involving animals at intervals determined by the IACUC but not less than annually. Monitoring of animal care and use is required by OLAW2. However, neither the Public Health Safety Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals3 nor the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals4 specifically addresses a requirement for post-approval monitoring procedures to compare actual study activities with the description in a protocol. The main charge of an IACUC is to oversee the animal care and use program, which includes reviewing protocols, evaluating programs, reporting noncompliance, ensuring that individuals working with animals are properly qualified and trained, and responding to concerns about animal care and use.
Each member of the Best America IACUC is responsible for overseeing and monitoring Holmes' study protocol. How can this be accomplished? The Best America IACUC should rely on a well established veterinary program to provide an additional level of monitoring. The authority and responsibility for animal activities are delegated to the veterinarian and animal care staff. This team of trained individuals observes animals daily, provides post-operative animal care, evaluates outcomes of procedures by principal investigators and reports incidents that may involve occupational health and safety as appropriate. The veterinarian supervises the aforementioned activities, follows up with animal concerns voiced by animal care staff and provides hands-on training in animal procedures. The animal care staff may choose to implement a post-approval monitoring system to provide an additional level of monitoring for procedures and practices associated with Holmes' study.
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