About Animal Care Committee
The University of Ottawa is committed to ensuring that the use of animals in research and in teaching conforms to the most rigorous ethical standards that are compatible with the goals of science and education. The standards for animal care and use conform with or exceed those defined in the Canadian Council on Animal Care's Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, Vol. 1, 2nd edn., 1993 and the Animals for Research Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.22, s. 17. Both the Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals and the Animals for Research Act mandate that the University establish an Animal Care Committee.
All animal care and use is reviewed and approved at least annually by the Animal Care Committee. Research laboratories and Animal Care and Veterinary Service facilities are inspected annually by the Animal Care Committee and more frequently and on an unannounced basis by a veterinary inspector in accordance with the Animals for Research Act and on a predetermined schedule by the Canadian Council on Animal Care.
By:
- reviewing all individual research and teaching project proposals involving the use of animals, so as to ensure that the ethical and statutory requirements of the Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals and the Animals for Research Act are respected in each case;
- formulating and recommending to the University administration such policies as would aim to preclude wilful or inadvertent violations of the ethical and statutory requirements of the Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals and the Animals for Research Act by those persons associated with the University; and
- monitoring ongoing work to ensure compliance with regulatory norms;
The Animal Care Committee ensures that the use of animals in research and teaching at the University of Ottawa conforms to the most rigorous ethical and scientific standards.