Research Guides
Animal Welfare & Laboratory Animal Alternatives (IACUC Searches): Additional Resources
Conducting literature searches required by the Animal Welfare Act and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Identifying ways to reduce pain or distress in laboratory animals. Support for UW IACUC protocols
Specialized Resources
- Norecopa: 3R Guide DatabaseResources and guidance documents specifically relating to the 3Rs.
- Blood Sampling Recommendations (NC3R)Blood sampling recommendations for all species of lab animals.
- Procedures with Care (NC3R)Best practices for commonly used procedures in animal research, such as administration of substances and aseptic technique in rodent surgery.
- Animal Welfare Institute's Enrichment and Refinement DatabaseEnvironmental enrichment, housing, and handling information.
- Experimental Design Assistant (NC3R)Interactive tool for planning animal experiments that focus on robust study design and reliable and reproducible findings.
- AHWLAAnimal handling recommendations
- Animal Welfare Information CenterU.S. information center mandated by the Animal Welfare Act to provide information for improved animal care and use in research, testing, and teaching.
- NIH Office of Animal WelfareIncludes training videos and policy information.
- Animals in NIH ResearchUse of and care for animals in NIH-funded research. Includes "When are alternatives to animals used in research?"
Electronic Books (free for all to read)
Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 8th ed. (2011)
Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals (2009)
Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research (2003)
Advancing Disease Modeling in Animal-Based Research in Support of Precision Medicine (2018)
Precision medicine is focused on the individual and will require the rapid and accurate identification and prioritization of causative factors of disease. To move forward and accelerate the delivery of the anticipated benefits of precision medicine, developing predictable, reproducible, and reliable animal models will be essential. In order to explore the topic of animal-based research and its relevance to precision medicine, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a 2-day workshop on October 5 and 6, 2017. The workshop was designed to focus on the development, implementation, and interpretation of model organisms to advance and accelerate the field of precision medicine. Participants examined the extent to which next-generation animal models, designed using patient data and phenotyping platforms targeted to reveal and inform disease mechanisms, will be essential to the successful implementation of precision medicine. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.
Electronic Books (UW NetID access)
The Laboratory Rat (2019)ISBN: 012814338
Laboratory Animal Medicine (2015)
Laboratory Animal Medicine, Third Edition, is a fully revised publication from the American College of Laboratory Medicine's acclaimed blue book series. It presents an up-to-date volume that offers the most thorough coverage of the biology, health, and care of laboratory animals. The book is organized by species, with new inclusions of chinchillas, birds, and program and employee management, and is written and edited by known experts in the fields. Users will find gold-standard guidance on the study of laboratory animal science, as well as valuable information that applies across all of the biological and biomedical sciences that work with animals.
Publication Date: 2015-09-02
The IACUC Handbook (2014)
Ever since its establishment by USDA regulation in the mid-1980s, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) has evolved as the premier instrument of animal welfare oversight within research institutions in the United States. As biomedical research continuously grows, the role and impact of the IACUC has increased in scope and complexi
Animal Handling and Physical Restraint (2017)
Key features: Stresses safety in handling, restraint, and containment of animals Covers handling and restraint of all domestic and common tamed animals and provides information on normal animal behavior and welfare Discusses how to recognize signs in animals of poor handling and containment Reviews zoonotic disease risks to animal handlers, particularly from normal-appearing animals, and how to avoid transmission of disease Features over 200 informative line drawings for clarity and simplicity of illustration Explains how to tie useful knots and hitches and when to use them for restraint Includes basic ethical considerations and legal liabilities of animal handling and containment Presents steps to prevent animal escapes, barn fires, and problems with transport Authored by an experienced veterinary educator in clinical medicine for veterinarians, veterinary students, pre-veterinary students, veterinary technicians and technologists, animal scientists, and animal owners Proper handling and restraint are essential to the welfare of captive animals, allowing them to be examined, groomed and treated in ways that contribute to their optimum quantity and quality of life. The aim of the book is to prepare future or current veterinarians and veterinary technologists, technicians/nurses, and assistants to be able to handle animals more safely and gain the confidence of animals and their owners. In turn, they will be able to instruct owners in proper animal handling methods, reducing the risk of physical injury or mutual infectious diseases. Throughout the book, the author emphasises that each animal is an individual and each handling environment provides its own advantages and disadvantages: handling an animal safely, humanely and efficiently requires practical knowledge of the species' normal behaviour. This is explored in detail in each of the species-based chapters, which cover proper handling of domestic household and laboratory animals, as well as farm and ranch animals where safe handling aids the producer in both humane practice and greater profitability. After reading this book, the practitioner or student will be versed in the most basic part of the art of veterinary medicine: the safe handling of animals.
The Welfare of Animals Used in Research (2014)
The Welfare of Animals used in Research: Practice and Ethics gives a complete and balanced overview of the issues surrounding the use of animals in scientific research. The focus of the book is on the animal welfare implications and ethics of animals in research. It covers the topics with sufficient depth to show a real understanding of varied and complex subjects, but conveys the information in a beautifully reader-friendly manner. Key features: Provides those who are not working in the field with a reasonable understanding as to why and how animals are used in research. Gives an introduction to the ethical issues involved in using animals, and explains how these are addressed in practice. Details the advances in animal welfare and the use and development of the 3Rs principles, and how these have become fundamental to the everyday use and regulation of animals used in research. The focus is on principles making it suitable for an international audience. This book is a useful introduction to the issues involved in laboratory animal welfare for those who intend to work in research involving animals. It is also useful to prospective animal care staff and animal welfare scientists, and to those involved in ethical review. It will help inform debate amongst those who are not involved in experimentation but who are interested in the issues. Published as a part of the prestigious Wiley-Blackwell - UFAW Animal Welfare series. UFAW, founded 1926, is an internationally recognised, independent, scientific and educational animal welfare charity. For full details of all titles available in the series, please visit the UFAW Animal Welfare series website.
