Under the Animal Welfare Act the principal investigator is required to provide the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) with a written description of all activities that involve the care and use of animals that are covered by the regulations. Each member of the committee is to be provided with a copy of the protocol to be reviewed. (See correction in Volume 8, No. 3-4, 1997/1998) Some of the protocols may, by nature of the pain or distress to which the animals will be subjected, require a full committee review. Also, any member of the committee may obtain, upon request, a full committee review of the protocol.
If a full committee review is not apparently necessary and a full committee review is not requested, then an expedited review of the protocol may be made. For an expedited review the committee chairman is to designate at least one member of the IACUC who is qualified to conduct the review to review the protocol. This designated individual(s) is to review the protocol and has the authority to: (1) approve the protocol, (2) require modifications to the protocol, or (3) request a full committee review of the protocol (Section 2.32(d)(2)). If a full committee review is requested, approval may be granted only after review, at a convened meeting of a quorum of the IACUC, and with approval vote of a majority of the quorum present. No member of the IACUC may participate in a protocol review or approval, or be part of a quorum, if that member has a conflicting interest in the protocol, except to provide requested information to the IACUC. The IACUC member making the expedited review does not have the authority to disapprove a protocol. Disapproval, or suspension, of a protocol may only be done by a majority vote of a quorum at a convened meeting of the IACUC. Consultants may also be used for reviewing complex issues in protocols but may not approve or disapprove the protocol and may not vote with the IACUC unless they are a member of the IACUC. If you have any questions about expedited protocol reviews, you should contact your Animal Care Regional Office.
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The Animal Welfare Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service
National Agricultural Library
10301 Baltimore Ave.
Beltsville, MD 20705-2351
Phone: (301) 504-6212
FAX: (301) 504-7125
E-mail: awic@nal.usda.gov
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