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Patricia Foley, DVM, DACLAM
Director, Office of Animal Welfare

Cobb Hall, Room S-051 & S-055
P.O. Box 800720
Charlottesville, VA

Phone: (434)-924-1884
Fax: (434)-982-4092
animalwelfare@virginia.edu

Post Approval Monitoring

Consistent with the mission and values of the University, our research
endeavors must demonstrate adherence to state and federally mandated research guidelines. The Office of the Vice President for Research is responsible for oversight of the University's research compliance. The Office of Animal
Welfare is directly responsible for ensuring that animal subjects used in research are used in a manner that is in full accordance with federal regulations (PHS Policy and the Animal Welfare Act), and as approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

The PHS Policy and Animal Welfare Regulations (AWRs) stipulate that the IACUC must review the program for humane care and use of animals and inspect all animal facilities at least once every six months. As part of this semi-annual review, members of the IACUC visit all of the research laboratories where animals are used for research, testing, or education.

In addition we have developed a program of post-approval monitoring to provide feedback throughout the year for all aspects of animal research at University of Virginia.

This program provides several distinct benefits:

• Provides an ongoing mechanism for ensuring compliance with applicable animal care and use policies, guidelines and laws.
• Serves as an opportunity for constructive interaction and education for the research staff and animal care personnel.
• Helps us prepare for visits by outside evaluators, such as USDA inspectors, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) staff, and Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care Intl. (AAALAC) site visitors.

The Compliance Associate for the animal research program is available for consults, competency assessments, and routine laboratory inspections. If you would like further information please contact:

Angela Gamble
Adr8s@virginia.edu
924-5752

Reporting Animal Welfare Concerns

The University of Virginia promotes the highest standards of animal care and use, and therefore expects humane and responsible treatment of all animals being used for research, testing, or education.  The University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is required by law to investigate reports of suspected animal abuse or mistreatment.  If you observe or suspect animal abuse, mistreatment, or non-compliance with approved protocols, University policy, local, state, or federal regulations, please report the incident.  The IACUC will investigate and evaluate concerns raised by anyone regarding the care and use of animals at the University.  Concerns can also be made anonymously.

Various avenues are available to report concerns regarding animal welfare. (For additional contacts, click here.)

Office of Animal Welfare                               Animal Care and Use Committee
Cobb Hall, room S-055                                 Cobb Hall, room S-051
animalwelfare@virginia.edu                         acuc@virginia.edu
phone - 434-924-1884                                 phone – 434-924-0405
fax – 434-982-4092

In order to fully investigate every concern, please include as much information as possible surrounding the event such as:  description of the incident, date and approximate time, location where incident occurred, names of individuals involved, and the animal protocol number.

The Federal Animal Welfare Act prohibits the discrimination or reprisal against any person reporting a violation of animal welfare regulations or standards.