Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

The St. Cloud State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) assures  research, teaching and testing activities involving live vertebrate animals are in compliance with applicable federal, state and local regulations as well as university policies and assurances. The committee is responsible for the oversight and evaluation of all laboratory-based and selected field-based animal use activities occurring on campus and/or utilizing university facilities or equipment.

The IACUC assesses compliance based on:

• Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (8th ed., National Research Council, 2011);
• Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Institutes of Health, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, Aug. 2002);
• Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching (3rd ed., Federation of Animal Science Societies, Jan. 2010); and
• Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations (November 2013).

As the principal advisory source on humane care and use of animals within the university, the IACUC is the appropriate body for reviewing and investigating concerns or complaints regarding the care and use of animals. The committee has the authority to negotiate modifications and suspend or terminate animal use activities deemed not in compliance with applicable regulations, policies or procedures.

About St. Cloud State University’s IACUC

• Primary oversight responsibilities of the animal care and use program rest with the institutional official, the attending veterinarian and the IACUC. Together they establish policies and assurances, ensure regulatory compliance, monitor program performance and support basic science and biomedical research and teaching activities involving the use of live vertebrate animals.
• The IACUC adheres to the US Department of Agriculture’s standards and practices for Animal Health and Welfare.
• The IACUC supports the Research Involving Animal Subjects policy.