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RESEARCH GUIDES

IACUC: Animal Use Alternatives

This guide provides information on searching the literature for alternatives to painful and distressful procedures in animal research.

Animal Use at the University of Maryland

The UMD IACUC adheres to the belief that the development of knowledge necessary to improve the health and well-being of human beings and other animals, to optimize agricultural production, and to provide high-quality education in biological and animal sciences is reliant upon the use of a wide variety of animal species.

In particular, the UMD IACUC observes the principles and requirements espoused in the Animal Welfare Act and the Animal Welfare Regulations, as well as the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The principles described in these primary documents include:

  • Procedures should be designed and performed on the basis of relevance to human or animal health, advancement of knowledge, and/or the good of society.
  • The appropriate species, quality, and number of animals should be used.
  • Discomfort, distress, and pain should be avoided or minimized in concert with sound science.
  • Appropriate sedation, analgesia, or anesthesia should be used.
  • Humane and experimental end points should be established.
  • Appropriate animal husbandry should be directed and performed by qualified persons.
  • Experimentation on living animals should only be conducted by or under the close supervision of qualified and experienced persons.

The Search for Alternatives

Additionally, the IACUC advocates the use of animal alternatives as described by the 3 Rs in The Principles of Humane Experimental Techniques (Russell & Burch, 1959), specifically:

  • Replacement of animals when possible,
  • Reduction in the animal numbers used, and
  • Refinement of the animal procedures to minimize discomfort as much as possible.

The aim of this Research Guide is to provide investigators with the appropriate tools to perform two critical components of conducting animal research activities at UMD: the consideration of alternatives to the use of animals in research, and conducting a search for alternatives to the use of painful procedures. Such considerations are required by the federal regulations, and may provide important new guidance to the investigators with regard to the use of animals in their research.  

The search for alternatives to painful procedures is required by the Animal Welfare Regulations for USDA-regulated animal activities that fall into pain category D or E. The UMD IACUC extends this requirement to all animal activities in these categories in order to ensure program-wide efforts to minimize pain and distress to animals in research. This Research Guide is designed to assist in that search process, and ensure that we, as active participants in animal research, are making every effort to treat animals ethically and humanely.

IACUC

All animal research, teaching, and training at the University of Maryland is under the direction of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Please visit their webpages for information on the protocol approval process, standards and guidelines for animal research, and more.