Re: Field animal protocols Charles E. Graham, Ph.D. 03 Apr 1996 11:30 EST
Dick, according to the Animal Welfare Act (CFR, Title 9, subchapter A), ANY research with vertebrate animals is subject to federal regulation and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) oversight, if you receive any federal funds. It makes no difference wether the animals are captive or not, or whether they are captured, bled, or not. Even passive observation of animals in their natural habitat could interfere with feeding and mating behavior, so being potentially deleterious to them. It is the IACUC's job to assess the extent of such impact and balance any impact against the other considerations that have to be weighed when deciding whether to approve the protocol. At the time I quit my activity as an active zoologist and chair of an IACUC about 5 years ago, wildlife studies were a hot topic, because the fed. regs were being interpreted increasingly broardly to protect categories of animals that people had not thought about much before, and observation of wildlife was one of several grey areas. It is possible that some IACUC's have since adopted policies that assist in reaching a decision on wildlife studies. For example, there is a lot of difference between cruising down the river counting alligators, and using live-traps for population surveys; a policy that the former does not require specific IACUC approval might be acceptable to OPRR. It would be interesting to hear about examples of such policies. You could approach OPRR (the Office for Protection from Research Risks, NIH) to see if they have provided any guidelines on this topic, or are aware of any IACUC policies that have withstood audit. Regards, Charlie > Quoting from NCURA's Regulation and Compliance manual (1991, p29): "Prior to receiving an award involving the use of vertebrate animals in the field or laboratory activities, an institution must provide an acceptable written assurance to OPRR...." regarding compliance with the Act and oter requirements. It is my recollection that if you file an assurance, you must agree that all research done by your instituion will meet the same standard, whether federally funded or not. I hope someone else will confirm this. Hope this helpful: Charlie. On Tue, 2 Apr 1996 10:58:29 EST, <Research Administration Discussion Group> wrote: >I am looking for sources of information on animal use in field >research. Aside from getting necessary state and federal permits - >what regulations apply to vertebrates which are to be trapped (live >trapped - not injurious to the critters), marked and released for >subsequent observation? How about taking blood or other tissue >samples? >Any information or sources I can go to would be appreciated. > > >Richard H. Moore >Assistant Vice President for Grants and Sponsored Research > >Coastal Carolina University E-MAIL: >P.O. Box 1954 VOICE: (803) 349-2050 >Conway SC 29526 FAX: (803) 349-2990 ********************************************************************* * Charles E. Graham, PhD. xxxxxx@UNIX1.SNCC.LSU.EDU * Director, Office of Sponsored Research 504-388-8692 * 117D David Boyd Hall, Louisiana State University FAX 388-6792 * Baton Rouge, LA 70810 * * http://www.osr.lsu.edu/ gopher: gopher.osr.lsu.edu *********************************************************************