Statement on the Use of Animals in Research and Teaching

Virtually all medical knowledge is derived from research using animals. Life-saving heart transplants and pacemakers were perfected on laboratory animals. Vaccines and antibiotics are readily available because of animal research. Treatments and cures for AIDS, cancer and other devastating diseases depend on research using animals. Human and animal lives are improved and saved daily because of these efforts. In addition, future doctors often learn their life-saving techniques from animals used in teaching facilities – techniques not yet possible through alternative means.

The University of California, Irvine is committed to the advancement of human and animal health through biomedical research and teaching. The university fully supports faculty who conduct research using animals.  The university also recognizes an increasing responsibility to inform the public of the critical need for research and education using animals and the monumental efforts undertaken to conduct this research in humane and responsible manner.

UCI shares the public’s concern for the welfare of laboratory animals, and our researchers who study animals have a number of obligations toward the animals and public they ultimately serve. UCI believes that the responsible and humane treatment of laboratory animals is essential and holds a strong commitment to minimizing animal distress and reducing the number of animals used. UCI researchers are strong supporters of animal welfare. They are obligated to ensure the health and well being of all animals in their care in strict adherence to regulatory guidelines and humane principles, to see that animals are used for productive and meaningful studies, and to provide public access to research results.

These guidelines include the quest for possible alternatives to using animals in research and teaching, and UCI actively supports the development and use of non-animal based research and testing models whenever possible. UCI ascribes to the concept of the “Three Rs” of research – refinement, reduction and replacement. When reviewing research protocols involving animals, UCI evaluates the efficacy of replacing conscious animals with insentient material, such as tissues and cells; reducing the number of animals involved in obtaining information or thoroughly training future physicians and scientists; and refining protocols to minimize the incidence or impact of procedures involving animals that are used.

Research programs at all University of California campuses, including UCI, are federally regulated and scrutinized by two federal agencies: the U.S. Public Health Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Research proposals undergo rigorous review by the campus’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), as required by both the Animal Welfare Act and the Public Health Service Policy, which set standards for cleanliness and use, including veterinary care and the use of painkillers for research animals. The USDA conducts unannounced visits to all registered research facilities at least once a year. And the UC systemwide policy on Animal Use Protocols, set forth in 1984, reiterates the university’s firm adherence to all animal research regulations.

UCI also is accredited by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International, an independent, nonprofit organization that inspects and evaluates animal research programs and facilities to ensure conformity to the National Research Council’s “Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.”

The use of animals in biomedical research remains essential to the discovery of the causes, diagnoses and treatment of disease and suffering in humans and in animals. UCI will continue to advance biomedical knowledge, while strictly observing the laws that regulate this important work, ensure that animals are treated humanely, and support the concept of refinement, reduction, and replacement.