| Guidelines for Animals Involved in Research |
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Download the Guidelines here: pdf Found Animals Foundation, Inc. Michelson Prize and Grants in Reproductive Biology Guidelines for Animals Involved in Research
Background: Found Animals Foundation, Inc. (Found Animals) and the Michelson Prize and Michelson Grants in Reproductive Biology (Michelson Prize and Grants) seek to end companion animal overpopulation by funding research to develop a safe, effective and practical single dose sterilant for use in cats and dogs. Research to develop such a sterilant holds great hope for continued progress in the fight against pet overpopulation and the elimination of euthanasia for population control.Found Animals and the Michelson Prize and Grants recognize that studies involving animal subjects are sometimes necessary to improve the health and well-being of animals. Found Animals and the Michelson Prize and Grants work to assure that each and every animal involved in a Michelson Grant funded research study receives excellent, compassionate care; and that no animal is harmed when another workable alternative is available. These guidelines are crucial to the grant evaluation process, and help to ensure the health and well being of all animals affected by our work. Guidelines: 1. Use of animals shall be humane and consistent with laws and regulations that have been approved by local governing bodies whose function is the regulation of animals in research. One example is the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). When an IACUC is unavailable (e.g., foreign country, veterinary practice, animal ranch/sanctuary, wildlife preserve, etc.), Found Animals requires the review of the proposed animal use by an equivalent institutional review committee/agency or an established collaborating institution’s IACUC. All animal care, husbandry procedures, and IACUC member structure shall meet or exceed the guidelines set forth in the U.S. government’s Animal Welfare Act (Title 9 CFR Subchapter A – Animal Welfare) and the National Research Council’s Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (1996), and/or further required regional regulations. 2. Investigators and animal care staff shall have appropriate qualifications and experience for conducting procedures on living animals per IACUC approval. Each investigator on the study shall provide the required biographical sketch indicating those qualifications and experience. It is the specific responsibility of the principal investigator to ensure that his or her staff is adequately trained and adequately supervised in this regard.1 3. Found Animals requires IACUC, or equivalent institutional review, and approval from the submitting institution for all clinical trials even though such approval may not be a requirement of the institution. 4. If a study utilizes archived samples, Found Animals reserves the right to request a copy of the application and approval (IACUC) covering the original collection of those samples. 5. Found Animals will require informed owner/responsible agency consent in all clinical trials. An informed owner/responsible agency consent form of minimum standards shall be provided by Found Animals and executed by the Principal Investigator. Projects that employ owned animals also shall require IACUC approval. 6. Found Animals and the Michelson Grants reserve the right to perform unannounced site visits and/or independent audits for program assessment and/or to investigate concerns with animal welfare. 7. Funding requests shall include statistical evidence that the number of animals proposed in the study is appropriate and adequate to achieve the proposed results. It also is imperative that scientists requesting support review relevant literature (national and international) to prevent unnecessary replication of research, unnecessary utilization of animals, and/or unnecessary expenditure of health study funds. 8. The housing and environmental enrichment of research animals shall be appropriate for their species and contribute to their health and comfort in accordance with the National Research Council’s Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (1996), or further required regional regulations. 9. Every animal shall have compassionate care, comfort, and protection from abuse and unnecessary pain. Investigators also shall minimize stress and fear in individual animals or populations of animals in accordance with the National Research Council’s Recognition and Alleviation of Distress in Research Animals (2008), or further required regional regulations. It is the specific responsibility of the principal investigator to ensure that his or her staff is adequately trained and adequately supervised in this regard.2 10. Investigators shall ensure that animals are appropriately socialized for their species, and provide environmental enrichment. In addition, established and written guidelines for adequate preventative care must be followed. It is the specific responsibility of the principal investigator to ensure that his or her staff is adequately trained and adequately supervised in this regard.3 11. Whenever possible and when in the animal’s best interest, investigators shall return the animals to the owner/responsible agency or make animals available for adoption at the end of the study.4 Animals must not be moved into other research studies at the end of a project funded by the Foundation. 12. The Scientific Advisory Committee for the Michelson Grants will evaluate each proposal for scientific merit, relevance for optimizing animal health, and for consideration of animal welfare (minimizing discomfort, distress, pain). 13. Found Animals considers the issue of companion animal overpopulation to be of such importance to global animal welfare that a terminal endpoint to research studies may be justified in some cases. The Michelson Grants will not fund health studies on an animal that require euthanasia as the study endpoint, unless meaningful information can be obtained no other way (i.e., alternative models have been thoroughly evaluated). Investigators shall be required to address euthanasia in all Michelson Grants applications (see pre-proposal and proposal guidelines). 14. Michelson Grants will not fund any study that induces or allows pain or distress, other than short term minor pain or distress that can be controlled by appropriate anesthetic, analgesic or tranquilizing drugs. All invasive procedures shall require balanced anesthesia and preemptive, multimodal analgesia. 15. Michelson Grants reserves the right to terminate a study and/or withdraw grant funding if progress is deemed unsatisfactory or if there are concerns about animal well-being. REFERENCE LIST 1. United States Animal Welfare Act (Title 9 CFR Subchapter A – Animal Welfare) |
