Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
About the IACUC at WesternU
WesternU’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) was established in accordance with federal law, specifically the Animal Welfare Act, which requires that institutions that receive federal funds for animal research establish an IACUC to ensure the humane use of animals in teaching and research and that any such use of animals is done in compliance with all applicable laws and guidelines. As part of its duties, the IACUC reviews all proposed uses of animals in teaching or research by University personnel and must approve of the activities before any such activities may begin. The overriding concern of the IACUC is that the use of animals in teaching or research is justified and is performed in a humane manner with the fewest number of animals that will provide the desired outcome. The IACUC also conducts semiannual inspections of all animal housing facilities and animal research laboratories under the jurisdiction of the University to ensure that these facilities meet federally mandated standards.
Rules & Regulations
In its advisory role, the IACUC ensures that WesternU’s Animal Care & Use Program continues to operate in accordance with all applicable rules, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines that govern the humane, responsible, and judicious use of vertebrate animals.
A brief summary of the federal rules and regulations governing the use of vertebrate animals in research, teaching, or testing activities is outlined below:
- Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare: The Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) is a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the regulating body for all activities funded by the federal government, including the NIH and National Science Foundation (NSF). OLAW’s primary standards are the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS Policy), and the Guide for the Care and Use of Animals (The Guide).
- United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) oversees activities involving the use of vertebrate animals at government-registered research institutions. The USDA receives its authority through federal law (Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7 and 9). Veterinary Medical Officers enforcing the 7 and 9 CFRs inspect research organizations at least annually.
- Specific Funding Sources & Research Sponsors: Specific funding sources, such as the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and foundations, may require additional rules and regulations. Institutions receiving money from these organizations are responsible for following all other requirements for the humane care and treatment of any vertebrate animal used in field or laboratory research and educational training.
IACUC Anonymous Reporting
Any employee, student or volunteer may report concerns involving the care and use of animals at WesternU. Anyone wishing to report a concern regarding animal mistreatment, noncompliance or concern for human safety related to the use of animals for research, breeding teaching or testing may do so anonymously by using the Report button
Western University of Health Sciences ensures the protection of employees from reprisal for reporting possible occurrences of animal mistreatment, noncompliance with policies and procedures or practices that compromise human safety at any facility owned or operated by Western University (WesternU).
To Report Click the link below:
IACUC related forms can be found in the IRBnet Forms/templates library www.irbnet.org under Western University of Health Sciences IACUC – Documents for Researchers. For questions about IACUC forms or IRBNet please contact IACUCOffice@westernu.edu 909-469-5606.
From your IRBnet page: select Forms/Templates tab, then Select the Library “Western University of Health Sciences IACUC Documents for Researchers” from the drop down.
Guidelines for Submitting an IACUC Protocol through IRBNet
Each Step is accompanied by a Training Energizer (IRBNet step by step instructions) and Video tutorial.
Topics covered are listed below each step.
* For further guidance please contact: IACUC Office IACUCoffice@westernu.edu or 909-469-5606
Terms used within IRBNet:
Project= Protocol
Package= All documents for review (i.e. protocol application)
Step 1) IRBNet Access: www.irbnet.org
Step 2) Self Register: New User Registration
- Create and Activate your account in IRBNet
- Manage affiliations from User Profile
- Add and submit necessary Training & Credential Records
- Maintain T&C records
Step 3) Create and Submit Project: New Project Submission
**Be sure to select the correct board for review. Western University of Health Sciences IACUC
- Access Forms from Forms and Templates Library
- Create New Electronic Project
- Design and Assemble Project Submission
- Share submission with Research Team
- Send project email to Research team
- Sign project package
- Submit project package for review
- Manage Projects from you My Projects Page
- Revise Incomplete Submission
Step 4) Post- Submission; Revisions, Annual Renewals: Post-Submission Advanced Topics
- Review Project Messages and Alerts
- Create a New Package for your Project ( Revisions, Annual Renewals, Amendments)
- Add and Revise Documents
- Complete and Submit Subsequent Package
- Perform My Project Management
- Manage My Reminders
Do I Need IACUC Review?
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval is required before conducting research and teaching activities involving animals if ANY of the following categories apply:
- Animals involved are owned or leased by WesternU.
- Research or activities involve free-living wildlife, if studies involve more than unobtrusive observation of animals in their natural habitats. Examples include invasive studies and studies with the potential to cause harm or materially alter the behavior of the animals.
- Research or activities are conducted by WesternU employees in their official roles as faculty or staff members.
- Research or Activities are performed on property owned, leased, or managed by WesternU.
- Animals bred for the purpose of research
- Animals seen in a medical setting must have a medical record and service paid for by client; anything outside of these normal clinical conditions require IACUC oversight.
Submit an IACUC protocol for review using the www.irbnet.org submission platform
Teaching Activities
The use of animals in educational settings requires IACUC review. Examples include using animals to teach agricultural techniques, animal husbandry, and medical or veterinary procedures.
Review is required even when the results are not intended for publication, will not advance work in another area, or will not contribute to generalizable knowledge (i.e., is “research”).
Submit an IACUC protocol for review using the www.irbnet.org submission platform
Research and Teaching Activities Involving Cadavers or Tissues from Deceased Animals
Animal specimens donated through WAVE program are exempt from IACUC review.
Research and teaching activities using cadavers or tissues from dead animals require completion of the Use of Animal Carcasses, Tissues, or Bodily Fluids Request Form and submit along with vendor information, permits as needed etc. using the www.irbnet.org submission platform. UNLESS the cadavers or tissues are to be acquired from animals specifically purchased or euthanized for the activity, or if the recipient will influence the timing or method of euthanasia.
Examples of situations that do not require an IACUC protocol include the use of:
- Unused or discarded carcasses when the recipient has no influence over the timing or method of euthanasia
- Unused or discarded clinical samples
- Slaughterhouse tissues when the animal was not slaughtered specifically for the activity
- Archival tissues from tissue banks, museum collections, or similar sources
Field or Wildlife Studies
Non-invasive observation of wild animals in their natural habitat is exempt from IACUC review. Please contact the IACUC Office to confirm your study does not require IACUC and for compliance purposes.
Field research activities, that involve more than unobtrusive observation of animals in their natural habitats, require IACUC review.
Field studies that involve killing, capture, trapping, banding, darting, implantation of telemetry devices, behavioral modifications, sedation, or any study with the potential to cause harm or materially alter the behavior of the animal also require IACUC review.
To conduct such activities in the field, the investigator must provide the IACUC with the following information:
- Where the activity will be conducted;
- What procedures will be involved;
- A brief description of how those procedures are likely to affect the biology and ecology of the study animal(s). Investigators should describe the relationship of that species to the habitat and to other species found in the study area (including the nature and duration of potential effects); and
- Assurance that permit requirements of pertinent local, state, national, and international wildlife regulations will be obtained before work begins.
Privately owned animals
Teaching and research activities, including clinical trials, conducted with privately owned animals, must be reviewed by the IACUC.
PHS Policy covers live vertebrate animals used or intended for use in research, research training, and biological testing activities conducted or supported by the PHS.
PHS Policy and the Animal Welfare Act and Regulations (AWAR) do not distinguish between animals owned by the institution and privately-owned animals. Pets used in research must be covered under an IACUC-approved protocol.
The informed consent of the owner must be obtained prior to the conduct of the research.
What if I’m collaborating with another university?
Research or teaching conducted in collaboration with another institution or organization, including commercial entities, must be approved by an IACUC.
When a protocol has been reviewed and approved by another institution’s IACUC, the WesternU IACUC may not require additional review and approval.
Examples of situations in which the WesternU IACUC may accept another institution’s IACUC approval include:
- Sub-contracts using funds disbursed through WesternU, where animal use is conducted at the collaborating institution
However, the PI must inform the WesternU IACUC of the activity, and the WesternU IACUC must have documentation from the collaborating institution before an acceptance decision can be made. Contact iacucoffice@westernu.edu for more information.
What if I’m unsure if my activity requires WesternU IACUC approval?
We are here to help! Contact the IACUC Office for a consult IACUCoffice@westernu.edu
- IACUC Policies
- Occupational Health and Safety
- Contact information for Reporting Misuse, Mistreatment or Non-Compliance with Animal Regulations
- Animal Care Unit Disaster and Emergency Action Plan
- Restricted Species Emergency Action Plan
- Backup Vet Role
- Body Condition Score
- AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia
- Power Analysis Assistance – three different training links:
- USDA Certificate 93-R-0464 Research Approval, no expiration
- PHS Domestic Assurance Approval D16-00558 Valid through November 2025
- CA Department of Fish and Wildlife Restricted Species Permit RD-02896 valid through 10/08/2025
For Questions regarding reporting requirements, registrations, permits and assurance, please contact the IACUCOffice@westernu.edu
Reverence for Life
A Guiding Ethic for Western University Research
When Albert Schweitzer (1875 -1965) was at the height of his influence, he was considered the most famous and admired man alive. Schweitzer – an accomplished ethical philosopher, theologian, musician, organ builder, author and medical doctor – received a Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1899 and, a year later, received a second Ph.D. in theology, both from the University of Strasbourg. After establishing a successful career in theology and music, he changed directions at age 30, receiving a doctor of medicine degree in 913, also from the University of Strasbourg. He subsequently devoted much of his career to treating patients in equatorial Africa and became world-renowned as a humanitarian. Dr. Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for development of the reverence for life ethic. Summarized in his own words:
“Man’s ethics must not end with man, but should extend to the universe. He must regain the consciousness of the great chain of life from which he cannot be separated. He must understand that all creation has its value. Life should only be negated when it is for a higher purpose – not merely in selfish or thoughtless actions. What then results for man is not only a deepening of relationships, but a widening of relationships.”1
This ethic is the moral underpinning of our research efforts at Western University of Health Sciences. Dr. Schweitzer recognized reverence for life as an absolute ethic. This does not mean this ethic is to be applied absolutely or completely in every situation; rather, the reverence for life ethic is a goal, an ideal, for which we are to strive. Dr. Schweitzer states:
“It [reverence for life] cannot be completely achieved; but that fact does not really matter. In this sense, reverence for life is an absolute ethic. It does not lay down specific rules for each possible situation. It simply tells us that we are responsible for the lives about us. It does not set either maximum or minimum limits to what we must do”2
He goes on to state:
“True, in practice we are forced to choose. At times we have to decide arbitrarily which forms of life, and even which particular individuals, we shall save, and which we shall destroy. But the principle of reverence for life is nonetheless universal”2
Reverence for life means that all life is valuable and important and that no life (human, animal or plant) should be sacrificed without compassionate consideration of the life lost compared to the greater good the sacrifice may yield.
When a poor farmer’s wheat crop is attacked by an insect infestation that threatens to destroy his only means of supporting his family, what is he to do? When a lion is charging toward a child, what is the child’s father, who is armed with a rifle, to do? When mice are in an experiment that may lead to the discovery of new knowledge needed to cure multitudes of dogs, cats and people, what choice is to be made? Intuitively, most of us know what needs to be done in each case; yet, regardless of the decision made, life will be lost. Reverence for life posits that, though life may be lost, it should never be sacrificed in a callous or cavalier manner and that an act of potential harm should be committed only after determining that the potential greater good exceeds the harm that occurs from loss of life.
This is how we approach animal experimentation at Western University of Health Sciences.
No one at Western University wants to cause pain or loss of life during research. We recognize that each life is precious, important and valuable. It is only after carefully weighing the potential benefit against the loss or harm that occurs during an animal experiment – and determining that the potential good of the experiment greatly exceeds the harm caused by a life being sacrificed – that animal experiments are allowed to go forward. Each research protocol in which animals are used at Western University must go through a thoughtful and meticulous review by our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). This committee includes scientists, veterinarians and one or more community members not affiliated with the University. No animal study can begin until the IACUC has exhaustively reviewed and approved the study design.
Every animal used in a study must be fully justified. The “Three R’s – Replace, Reduce and Refine”3 are used when reviewing a protocol. The IACUC determines if the use of animals in the study is necessary or if animal use can be replaced with an alternative method e.g. cell culture or computer modeling experiments. Western University’s IACUC ensures that scientists reduce the number of animals used in experiments to the minimum number needed to get meaningful scientific results. Each proposal is examined to ensure that the techniques used on the animals are refined so that the animals undergo a minimum amount of pain and suffering. In addition, the IACUC determines whether or not the study needlessly repeats previous studies; that the information sought in the study is not already known and well-established.
At Western University of Health Sciences, we are committed to following a reverence for life principle for research animals as articulated by Dr. Schweitzer: “Life should only be negated when it is for a higher value and purpose – not merely in selfish or thoughtless actions.”1 We are determined that, before animal experiments are allowed to go forward, the value of a research animal’s life is always considered and weighed against the potential good derived from a proposed animal experiment.
- Albert Schweitzer, invited lecture, Sweden, 1920.
- Albert Schweitzer, “The Ethics of Reverence for Life”, Christendom (1:225-39) 1936.
- Willam Russell and Rex Burch in “Principals for Humane Experimental Technique” London, Methuen,1959.90