105 CMR 910.134 - Veterinary Care

(A) Programs of disease control and prevention, euthanasia, and adequate veterinary care shall be established and maintained under the supervision and assistance of a doctor of veterinary medicine, and appropriate records kept thereof.

(B) Each dog and cat shall be observed daily by the animal caretaker in charge, or by someone under his direct supervision. Sick or diseased, injured, lame, or blind dogs or cats shall be provided with veterinary care or humanely disposed of unless such action is inconsistent with the research purposes for which such animal was obtained and is being held: provided, however, that the provision shall not effect compliance with any state or local law requiring the holding for a specified period of animals suspected of being diseased.

(1) In the case of a research institution, the program of adequate veterinary care shall include the appropriate use of anesthetic, analgesic, or tranquilizing drugs, whenever the animal is likely to suffer more than transient pain. The use of these three classes of drugs shall be in accordance with the currently accepted veterinary medical practice as cited in appropriate professional journals or reference guides which shall produce in the individual subject animal an appropriate level of tranquilization, anesthesia, or analgesia, consistent with the protocol or design of the experiment. The use of these three classes of drugs shall be used in such a manner to effectively minimize the pain and discomfort of the dogs or cats while under experimentation.

(2) If the experiment or procedure is likely to cause greater discomfort than that attending anesthetization, dogs or cats must first be rendered incapable of perceiving pain and be maintained in that condition until the experiment or procedure is ended. The only exception to this is those cases where the anesthetization would defeat the purpose of the experiment and data cannot be obtained by any other humane procedure. Such procedures must be carefully supervised by the responsible investigator or other qualified senior scientist and must have prior written approval of the attending veterinarian and/or institutional animal care committee. A record of such approval must be maintained by the research institution.

(3) It shall be incumbent upon each research institution through its animal care committee, if existing, and/or the attending veterinarian to provide written guidelines and consultation to research personnel with respect to the type and amount of tranquilizers, anesthetics, or analgesics recommended as being appropriate for each dog or cat used by that institution.

(4) It shall be the obligation of the institution to ensure that all personnel who carry out animal anesthesia, surgery or other manipulations are qualified through training and experience to accomplish these tasks in a humane and scientifically acceptable manner.

(5) Muscle relaxants or paralytic drugs (e.g. succinylcholine or other curariform drugs) are not permitted to be employed alone for surgical restraint, but may be used in connection with drugs producing adequate anesthesia.

(6) If it becomes necessary to kill an experimental dog or cat, such euthanasia must be performed by trained persons utilizing methods which do not cause pain or distress to the animal subject. When euthanasia is administered, such performance must conform to the recommendations of the American Veterinary Medical Association Panel on Euthanasia. In the case of any proposal to administer euthanasia by any method which differs from those recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association Panel on Euthanasia, such methods must be specifically approved by the attending veterinarian and/or the institutional animal care committee prior to performance of such euthanasia. Record of approval must be maintained by the research institution.

(7) Post surgical care must be carried out immediately following all survival surgical procedures. Such care shall include observation of the animal until it has recovered from anesthesia and must also include any action necessary to ensure the animal's physical comfort and alleviation of post surgical pain. Appropriate medical records must be maintained by the institution in each case.

(8) When multiple survival surgical procedures, unrelated components of any research project, are to be performed on a single dog or cat, they must be approved by the animal care committee and/or the attending veterinarian. A record of such approval, and the reasons therefor, shall be placed on file at the institution.

(9) In all situations where physical restraint is necessary in excess of a few hours, the use of a proposed mechanical restraining method must first be justified and receive approval by the institutional animal care committee, if any, or the attending veterinarian. A record of such approval shall be placed on file at the institution.

(10) In the case of naturally occurring diseases, dogs and cats shall be provided with proper veterinary care.

(C) Supervision.

(1) The care handling and veterinary treatment of dogs and cats used in research, teaching and testing of drugs and medicines shall be under supervision of the attending veterinarian or the chairman of the animal care committee, if any.

(2) When dogs and cats are used by students for their education or the advancement of Science, the care and handling of such dogs and cats shall be under the direct supervision of an instructor with animal science background or experienced in handling and care of animals.

Notes

105 CMR 910.134