Regulations, Organizations, Guidelines and SOPs
The following links are to provide guidance and standard operating procedures to assist researchers in following the policies related to the ethical conduct of research involving animals.
Federal Regulations
- Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW)
- The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 8th ed., Insitute of Laboratory Animal Resources, Commission on Life Sciences, Naitonal Research Council
- U.S. Departemnt of Health and Human Services, NIH/OLAW, Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
- Animal Welfare Act , United States Department Of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
- National Institutes of Health (NIH), What Investigators Need to Know About the Use of Animals
Organizations
There are many organizations across the United States offering information and additional resources supporting the use of animals in research.
- National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR)
- Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR)
- American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS)
- Scientists Center for Animal Welfare (SCAW)
- Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R)
- American Veterniary Medical Association (AVMA)
- Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International (AAALAC)
Guidelines
- AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2020 Edition
- American Fisheries Society (AFS) Guidelines for the Use of Fishes in Research (2014)
- National Research Council Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research 2003
- "2016 Guidelines of the American Society of Mammologists for the use of wild mammals in research and education" Journal of Mammalogy, 97(3):663-688, 2016
- American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Guidelines for the Use of Live Amphibians and Reptiles in Field and Laboratory Research, 2004
- The Ornithological Council, Guidelines to the Use of Wild Birds in Research, 2023
- Guidelines for the Use of Zebrafish in the NIH Intramural Research Program
- OLAW Clarification and Guidance regarding animal care policies and compliance for Zebrafish
- Comparative Medicine Guidelines
- Guidelines for Determining USDA Pain/Distress Levels (UPDATED JANUARY 2024)
- Guidelines for Determining Pain Categories for Behavioral Testing
- Guidelines for Recognition of Pain/Distress, Use of Anesthetics and Analgesics in Laboratory Animals
- Guidelines for Lidocaine and Bupivacaine for Line Block Anesthesia in Rats and Mice (UPDATED JANUARY 2024)
- Guidelines for the Use of Buprenorphine (Buprenex) in Rodents (UPDATED JANUARY 2024)
- Guidelines for Drop Method of Anesthesia
- Guidelines for Rodent Survival Blood Collection (UPDATED JANUARY 2024)
- Guidelines for the Preparation and Use of MS222 (TMS, tricaine methanesulfonate) for Animal Procedures (UPDATED AUGUST 2023)
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- Rodent Anesthesia, Surgery and Analgesia SOP (UPDATED MAY 2023)
- Sanitization of Caging and Equipment used with Research Animals and Methods to Measure Sanitization Efficacy SOP (UPDATED AUGUST 2023)
- Fish Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Biological Sampling Procedures SOP - Captive Fishes (UPDATED NOVEMBER 2023)
- Fish Anesthesia and Surgery/Biological Sampling Procedures SOP - Field Studies (UPDATED NOVEMBER 2023)
- Maintenance and Use of Equipment for Decapitation of Animals SOP (NEW)