Policy and Regulations

View policy and regulations that may pertain to the research you are conducting.

Standard Operating Procedures

ISU IACUC Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) provide basic information regarding institutional oversight, responsibilities of researchers, protocol review, training, occupational health and safety, and many other topics. IACUC SOPs are only accessible to ISU researchers and IACUC members in Microsoft Teams.   

Please contact the Compliance Coordinator for assistance if you are having problems accessing them.

Federal and State Regulations and Agencies

Multiple federal, state, and local laws pertain to animal use.  Of these, the Animal Welfare Act and the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals form the foundation of all other guidance, regulations, and policies.  Also relevant are federal and state laws as those pertaining to free ranging wildlife, Veterinary Licensing, Controlled Substance Handling and Radiation Use.

• Animal Welfare Act: This federal law administered by the USDA through the Animal Welfare Regulations covers non-human primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc.. Typical strains of laboratory rats and mice, birds, fish, reptiles, or farm animals used in production are exempted.
• Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals: This federal policy applies to any vertebrate animal used in research and teaching funded by the Public Health Service. Many institutions choose to expand its use to all research and teaching using vertebrate animals.
• Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW): An agency under NIH, OLAW oversees PHS funded research.
• Centers for Disease Control 
• Federal and state endangered species acts
• Federal and state wildlife permit regulations
• Herptiles-Herps Act (Illinois)

Guidelines

In addition to the regulations, the following guidelines are available: 

• Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals: This guide contains detailed standards for IACUC administration, animal husbandry, facilities, and occupational health, etc.
• Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching: While the laboratory animal guide above includes some information about agricultural animals, this guide provides much greater detail.
• Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Guidebook: Provides information for IACUC administration.
• USDA/APHIS Animal Care Policy Manual 
• APHIS Inspection Information 
• APHIS IACUC Guidelines/Checklist 
• AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2020 Edition
• NIH Office of Extramural Research-List of Publications and Databases
• Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals In Research 
• Ornithological Council Guidelines to the Use of Wild Birds in Research 
• American Fisheries Society, American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists, and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Guidelines to the Use of Fishes in Research 
• American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Guidelines to the Use of Amphibians and Reptiles in Research 

Professional Development Organizations

View organizations that provide additional information on animal care and use: 

• Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR)
• American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) 
• Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) 
• Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R)
• Canadian Council on Animal Care