The health and welfare of research animals is a top priority at UCSC. The campus follows stringent internal, governmental, and third-party regulations to ensure research integrity and ethical practices in all of its facilities.
UCSC has earned accreditation from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC). This means that, in addition to following all the requirements governing animal welfare outlined by the federal government, the campus has voluntarily taken additional steps to comply with AAALAC standards, which are internationally recognized as the most stringent in the business.
UCSC's animal facilities are overseen by a research veterinarian and staffed by animal care technicians who monitor every animal daily to ensure its physical comfort, providing clean water, food, bedding, and environmental enrichment.
Every procedure involving animals must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which is composed of members with varied backgrounds. In addition to the campus veterinarian and scientists, there is at least one nonscientist member from the campus, and at least one member is a volunteer from the Santa Cruz community who does not have a scientific background. UCSC's IACUC also includes a student representative and additional members with expertise in areas such as animal control and environmental impact, for a total of 13 people who review the applications. This committee is charged with both oversight and enforcement; it performs surprise inspections and has authority to suspend research funding should any concerns arise.
The UCSC community holds itself to the highest standards of animal husbandry, and research scientists take their responsibilities very seriously. The oversight process ensures that research using animals is conducted only if there are no non-animal alternatives; the research will be performed in an ethical and humane way; and the research has the potential to: 1) improve the welfare of humans; 2) improve the welfare of animals; or 3) increase the body of basic knowledge in a way that serves criteria 1 or 2.
© 2008 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Maintained by pioweb@ucsc.edu