Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Field Studies J. Edward Gates, Ph.D. Committee Chair Appalachian Laboratory University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

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Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
(IACUC)Field StudiesJ. Edward Gates,
Ph.D.Committee ChairAppalachian
LaboratoryUniversity of Maryland Center for
Environmental Science
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I. Field Studies"I'm a Field Biologist. Must I
submit my protocol for IACUC review?" Federal
regulations and Guidelines dealing with animal
welfare focus mainly on biomedical and behavioral
research, teaching, and testing that takes place
in the LABORATORY.
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Yet, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees
(IACUCs) must ensure that ALL PROJECTS involving
the use of live vertebrate animals comply with
federal regulations and guidelines.So the
question is asked, "Where do "Field Studies" fit
in the regulatory puzzle?"The U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Welfare Act (AWA)
regulations define the term Field Study and
specifically exempt such activity from IACUC
review.
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"Field study means any study done on free-living
wild animals in their natural habitat, which does
not involve an invasive procedure, and which does
not harm or materially alter the behavior of the
animals under study."
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A. Examples of Field Studies

• Short term trapping for census
• Measuring weight or length
• Blood samplingnon-invasive or invasive?
• Collection of hair
• Identification, such as radio collars, tattoos,
  or ear tags
• Behavioral observations
• Mortality studies, e.g., road kills, bird and
  bat kills at tall buildings, towers, etc.

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B. Field Studies NOT Satisfying the USDA
DefinitionHowever, if the animals are confined
in any way, an invasive procedure is involved, or
the behavior of the animal is harmed or
materially altered, then they are regulated and
must comply with the regulations and
standards.Examples

• Surgery
• Implanting telemetry device
• Housing animals gt12 hours before release

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C. IACUC review of such studies would be
necessary and would focus on, but not necessarily
be restricted to, such issues as i. Number of
animals to be used in the study, and the
stability of the population from which the
animals are to be taken,ii. The
appropriateness of the methods used for
capturing, immobilizing, and euthanizing the
animals andiii. The training and supervision
of the personnel involved with the study.
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D. Field Studies Satisfying the USDA
DefinitionIf a proposed field study satisfies
the USDA definition, and if the USDA were the
only federal agency to whom the IACUC were
answerable, then such a study would be exempt
from IACUC review.However, field studies often
cannot satisfy the USDA definition, and the IACUC
is also answerable to Public Health Service (PHS)
Guidelines.
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E. Field Studies that Satisfy the USDA
Definition Are Not Exempt From IACUC Review Since
Our Institutional Assurance is to the PHSThe
Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
(P. 5), states that" Zoonoses and occupational
health and safety issues should be reviewed by
the IACUC to ensure that field studies do not
compromise the health and safety of other animals
or persons working in the field."
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The National Science Foundation (NSF), a major
funding agency for ecological field studies,
requires that proposed projects involving use of
any vertebrate animal for research or education
be approved by the submitting organization's
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
(IACUC) before an award can be made. For this
approval to be accepted by NSF, the organization
must have a current Institutional Animal Welfare
Assurance established with the Public Health
Service (PHS). Both the federal law and the
Policy mandate that IACUCs review the proposed
use of wild or exotic animals for accepted humane
policies involving field and/or laboratory
research with vertebrate animals.
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Therefore, field studies exempted by USDA
regulations must be reviewed by the IACUC in
order to comply with our Institutional PHS
Assurance. The focus of the review would be those
issues mentioned in the text quoted above.UMCES
requires an IACUC review of all research,
teaching and diagnostic protocols that involve
the use of live vertebrates (fish, amphibians,
reptiles, birds, or mammals) irrespective of
source of funding (Departmental, Public, or
Private) or purpose (Biomedical, Biological,
Agricultural, Wildlife, Testing, Education,
Diagnostics, etc.).
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In addition to being an UMCES requirement and a
requirement of most funding agencies, it is
expected by an increasing number of scientific
journals for publication of your research!
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However, the inclusion of free-ranging wildlife
under the mandated review of the IACUCs has posed
several problems, not the least of which
include The review of the use of species for
which there are no established guidelines or
standards and The general lack of specific
expertise on many IACUCs regarding the
appropriate conduct of field studies. In
response, NSF Program Officers suggested that the
appropriate professional societies formulate
field research Guidelines to assist researchers
and IACUCs.
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F. Rather Than Covering Species-specific
Training, Which Would Be Nearly Impossible, I
Refer You to the Following 4 Guidelines
GUIDELINES FOR THE CAPTURE, HANDLING, AND CARE
OF MAMMALS, American Society of Mammalogists
http//www.mammalsociety.org/committees/commanimal
careuse/98acucguidelines.PDFGUIDELINES TO THE
USE OF WILD BIRDS IN RESEARCH, Ornithological
Societies of North Americahttp//www.nmnh.si.edu/
BIRDNET/GuideToUse/Guidelines_2d_edition.pdf
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GUIDELINES FOR USE OF LIVE AMPHIBIANS AND
REPTILES IN FIELD AND LABORATORY RESEARCH, Second
edition, Revised by the Herpetological Animal
Care and Use Committee (HACC) of the American
Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
(ASIH), 2004. http//www.asih.org/files/hacc-fina
l.pdf GUIDELINES FOR USE OF FISHES IN RESEARCH,
American Fisheries Society, American Institute of
Fishery Research Biologists, American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists,
2004 http//www.fisheries.org/afs/publicpolicy/gui
delines2004.pdf
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Other Useful Publications and Web SitesAMERICAN
FISHERIES SOCIETYhttp//www.fisheries.org/afs/ind
ex.htmlFISHERIES TECHNIQUES, 2ND
EDITIONhttp//www.fisheries.org/afs/publications.
htmlTHE WILDLIFE SOCIETYhttp//www.wildlife.org
/TECHNIQUES FOR WILDLIFE INVESTIGATIONS AND
MANAGEMENT, Edited by C. Braun (2006), 6th Ed.
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These Guidelines, in general, deal with issues
such as collection procedures, humane methods of
euthanasia, identification practices, methods for
collection of tissue and blood samples in the
field, and transport and release of
specimens.These Guidelines are considered to be
"Living Documents" and will be revised with
continuing input from members of the various
professional societies.These Guidelines are the
primary means for the IACUC to evaluate field
protocols. Researchers who are planning field
studies might benefit by consulting one or more
of these references.
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Given the generalities within the Guidelines, we
also utilize basic Guidelines governing
laboratory animals, publications in respected
journals and textbooks, standard veterinary
protocols, personal experience, and the input of
the Principal Investigator.At times we may also
request advice or comment from well-known experts
in the research area under review.
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G. UMCES PHS Assurance States That Laboratory
and manipulative experimental field studies of
vertebrate animals are to be conducted only on
finfish, amphibians and reptiles

• Although fieldwork on fish, amphibians, and
  reptiles is referenced, field studies on birds
  and mammals are not mentioned in UMCES PHS
  Assurance.
• However, such studies, as defined under the
  USDA AWA, would be permissible, subject to
  review, approval, and oversight by the UMCES
  IACUC.

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When designing your project it is your
responsibility to ensure that necessary federal
and state permits are obtained in a timely
fashion. A valid UMCES collecting permit does
not supercede the need to obtain additional
authorization in specific cases, e.g., federal
Bird-banding Permit.IACUC Protocol Review does
not free you from other regulatory requirements
nor does acquisition of permits or approval from
any management agency supersede IACUC Protocol
Review
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Our Committee Welcomes Questions or Suggestions.
Feel Free to Directly Contact Any Member of the
UMCES IACUC UMCES IACUC Website
http//www.al.umces.edu/iacuc