Ethical Use of Laboratory Animals

The directive of the Thiel College Institutional Animal Care and Utilization Committee (IACUC) is:

Thiel College is committed to a set of principles governing the use of laboratory animals. These principles are not intended to limit an investigator’s or instructor’s freedom or his/her obligation to conduct rigorous scientific inquiry. All research involving animals is reviewed and approved by Thiel College’s IACUC before work is begun. It is hoped that knowledge of and adherence to these principles will encourage reduction of the number of animals used, refinement of procedures which result in less pain or distress to the animal, and replacement of animals with non-animal systems.

The principles that govern the use of animals at Thiel College are:

1. All work involving animals and procurement of tissues shall be performed by a qualified biological, behavioral or medical scientist or under the immediate supervision thereof.
2. The Thiel College IACUC veterinarian shall provide oversight to the housing, care, and feeding of all animals.
3. Work involving animals must yield fruitful results for the good of society and not be random or unnecessary in nature.
4. All work must be based on knowledge of the disease or problem under study and so designed that the anticipated results will justify its performance.
5. Statistical analysis, mathematical models, or in vitro biological systems should be used when appropriate to complement animal work and to reduce the numbers of animals used.
6. All work must be conducted so as to avoid all unnecessary suffering and injury to the animals.
7. Scientists in charge must be prepared to terminate animal work whenever they believe that continuation may result in unnecessary injury or suffering to the animals.
8. Procedures that may cause pain require that the animal be rendered incapable of perceiving pain by administration of adequate anesthesia, analgesia, or tranquilizer. The animal must be maintained in this condition until the procedure is ended. The only exception is where the anesthetization would defeat the purpose of the proposed work and the data cannot be obtained by any other humane method. Supervision of these exceptional cases by the principal investigator, attending veterinarian, or other qualified senior scientist is required.
9. Post-procedural care of animals must minimize discomfort and the consequences of any disability resulting from the procedure. This care must conform to generally accepted practice in veterinary medicine.