Guidelines & Requirements

MSU's Animal Care Program maintains and exceeds AAALAC accreditation standards and other best practices.

See Also

Anyone involved in the care or use of animals, must also be compliant with Environmental Health & Safety regulations:

  • MSU Ag Guide

    The Ag Guide covers farm animals, used in agricultural research or teaching for which the scientific objectives are to improve understanding of the animal's use in food and fiber research as well as production agriculture. This Guide is used to guide the management and use of animals in Michigan State University’s agricultural programs and facilities. Of note, MSU personnel have been authors and/or contributors to this document since the first edition in 1989. The co-editor of the 3rd edition is MSU’s Janice Swanson. The Guide is not intended to pertain to animals being produced on farms and ranches for commercial purposes.

     

  • Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research

    The guidelines are intended to provide investigators and those charged with evaluating animal use in research and education, IACUCs, reviewers and editors of research manuscripts, management agency personnel, graduate committees, and the public with up-to-date general and specific guidance on ethical care and use issues and health, safety, and environmental concerns particular to non-domesticated mammals. The guidelines are intended to bring relevant safety, regulatory, and ethical concerns regarding animal use to the attention of investigators. It is the responsibility of the principal investigator of a project to justify deviations from federal guidelines {if necessary} during submission of a protocol to an IACUC.

     

  • International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals

    The 2012 revision reflects “congruence with the more specific guidance offered by other national and international agencies. These Guiding Principles will be a touchstone for countries with emerging research and teaching programs that use animals in developing a framework of responsibility and oversight to ensure the appropriate use of animals. They may also serve as an international benchmark for countries with well-developed animal-based research programs.” Foreign institutions receiving PHS funds either directly or through collaboration (subgrant) with a US institution must commit to compliance with these Principles.

     

  • U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training

    U.S. Government Principles express the tenets that underlie our current system of federal regulation. These principles succinctly describe the framework for conducting all activities involving vertebrate animals and apply to all activities involving animals supported by the federal government.

     

  • Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International

    AAALAC International is a nonprofit organization that accredits animal facilities. Institutions participate in the AAALAC accreditation program by voluntarily submitting to AAALAC site visits every three years. AAALAC uses the Guide and the Ag Guide for evaluations. If an institution meets all applicable standards, then it is awarded AAALAC accreditation, a valuable symbol of institutional commitment to quality care and use of animals. MSU’s biomedical program has been accredited since 2003 and campus-wide accreditation has been in effect since 2006, and is one of the few land-grant universities to accredit the entire program.

     

  • Freedom of Information Act
    Michigan’s equivalent to the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides for public access to information held by public institutions. A wide range of information about animal research, teaching, and testing is available to the public through written requests.

    Requesters can and do obtain details about animal use activities at Michigan State University. If you should receive such a request DO NOT respond and immediately contact the MSU FOIA office at 517-353-3929.