External Resources - Animal Care & Use

• The AVMA Panel on Euthanasia develops the content of the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals​.

National Institutes of Health

• ​Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PDF) is generally called the "The Guide." It is the most influential document relating to animal care and use programs in existence in the United States. Institutions are required by the PHS Policy to follow The Guide.
• Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals: Most recently updated 2013, it is based in Federal Law 99-158, the Health Research Extension Act. The Policy applies to any institution receiving PHS funds for vertebrate animal research and teaching.  At SDSU, this is applied to all vertebrate animal research and teaching regardless of funding. SDSU submits reports annually and maintains an Assurance of Compliance approved by the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW).
• Animal Research Covered under NIH Guildelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (PDF)
• Zebrafish OLAW

​USDA

• USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) administers the Animal Welfare Act (PL 89-544 and subsequent amendments) that establishes animal care standards for most laboratory animal species. The USDA regulations implement the Animal Welfare Act. SDSU maintains a Registration with the USDA and is monitored by periodic, unannounced inspections by the Animal Care (AC) arm that includes the USDA Veterinary Medical Officer of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
• USDA Policies and Links
• USDA Regulations on Wildlife Research

Wildlife

• US Fish and Wildlife Service is the federal agency charged with enforcing the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). These regulations designate endangered or threatened species and, with limited exceptions, prohibit their use. Institutions that seek to use species covered by the Act for scientific research must obtain a permit from the Federal Wildlife Permit Office. If an institution needs to import an endangered or threatened species, appropriate export and import documents must be obtained in advance as required by CITES.
• California Department of Fish and Wildlife administers state laws regulating the importation, quarantine and housing of nonindigenous wildlife species and the collection and use of California native species (California Administrative Code, Title 14, Sections 671-671.4). Institutions seeking to import restricted or prohibited species for research must obtain the appropriate permits through the Animal Welfare section of this department. These regulations are intended to protect native Californian wildlife and the public from diseases that may be carried by imported wildlife.

• Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Animals
• Guidelines For The Use Of Reptiles And Amphibians In Laboratory And Field Research
• Recommendations for Care of Amphibians and Reptiles in Academic Institutions
• Guidelines For The Use Of Wild Birds In Research
• Guidelines for Use of Fishes
• Code of Best Practices For Field Primatology Oct 2014
• The Zebrafish International Resource Center (ZIRC)  ​- Considered to be an SDSU Office of Laboratory Animal Care Approved Vendor
  • The Zebrafish Book - A guide for the laboratory use of zebrafish Danio (Brachydanio) rerio​
• Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN)​

Pharmaceutical grade substances and materials must be used when available or the IACUC must approve justification for not using them.  The following resources can be used to determine whether there is a human or veterinary pharmaceutical grade substance available:

• ​FDA Orange Book for Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations
• FDA Green Book for Approved Animal Drug Products