UL Lafayette has established an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which is qualified through the experience and expertise of its members to oversee the institution’s animal program, facilities, and procedures. The IACUC consists of at least five members, and its membership meets the composition requirements set forth in the PHS Policy at IV.A.3.b.

An Animal Procedure Statement is submitted to the office of the IACUC Chairperson and assigned a unique IACUC number. The submission may be on the Animal Procedure Statement form established by the University’s IACUC or on the form established by the outside client organization’s IACUC, provided that the statement includes all information needed to evaluate compliance with Federal regulations. Copies of all submissions are distributed to all IACUC members for review.

All animal procedure statements submitted by investigators must have an original signature and cannot be submitted electronically. Investigators will be informed in writing of the status of their submission. A clearance for each individual protocol must be obtained prior to the start of an in-life study.

For information about obtaining an Animal Procedure Statement Form see www.louisiana.edu/Research/ORSP/id46.htm or download.

Research, testing, or teaching projects involving live vertebrate animals usually require approval by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Committee approval is not required in some cases, such as, field studies that do not materially alter the behavior of the animals, studies using farm animals related to production or improvement of food or fiber, improvement of their nutrition, breeding, or management. Questions about whether a particular activity requires approval should be directed to the chairperson of the committee. The Federal Animal Welfare Act requires that the University provide training for all personnel participating in such projects.

Accordingly, the University (through the New Iberia Research Center) has subscribed to an on-line training program sponsored by the Laboratory Animal Training Association. This program consists of interactive modules with text and graphics. The base module deals with the humane care and use of laboratory animals in general; there are also modules specific to particular types of animals commonly used in research (rats, non-human primates, etc.). The IACUC is automatically notified when an individual completes a module and the certificate of completion is valid for one year.

Effective 1 July 2003, all individuals involved with research or other activities requiring IACUC approval must be certified as having completed at the base module and the module(s) specific to the type(s) of animals being used. This requirement applies to:

• personnel (faculty and staff members, undergraduate and graduate students, visitors) who participate in or access university resources (animals, facilities) related to such activities,

• persons listed in an Animal Procedure Statement who are directly or indirectly involved with a project (veterinarians, technicians, quality assurance staff, etc), and

• members of the IACUC (who must have completed all modules related to any Animal Procedure Statement they will be considering).

The IACUC cannot give final approval to an Animal Procedure Statement unless current certification is on file for the appropriate individuals. Project directors/administrators/principal investigators are responsible for insuring that all personnel have and maintain certification during the course of the project.

The LATA training program is accessed at

http://hazel.forest.net/latanet/client/ull/introduction.htm

When prompted, the username "ull" (lowercase) and the password "bell" (also lowercase) should be supplied.

The IACUC Chair is Dana Hasselschwert, DVM. Dr. Hasselschwert may be reached by phone at 337.482.0204 or by e-mail at dlh8344@louisiana.edu .