Goodman Justin R, Chandna Alka, Borch Casey
a Laboratory Investigations Department , People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals , Norfolk , Virginia.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2015;18(1):82-91. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2014.948625. Epub 2014 Aug 30.
Accreditation of nonhuman animal research facilities by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) is widely considered the "gold standard" of commitment to the well being of nonhuman animals used in research. AAALAC-accredited facilities receive preferential treatment from funding agencies and are viewed favorably by the general public. Thus, it bears investigating how well these facilities comply with U.S. animal research regulations. In this study, the incidences of noncompliance with the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) at AAALAC-accredited facilities were evaluated and compared to those at nonaccredited institutions during a period of 2 years. The analysis revealed that AAALAC-accredited facilities were frequently cited for AWA noncompliance items (NCIs). Controlling for the number of animals at each facility, AAALAC-accredited sites had significantly more AWA NCIs on average compared with nonaccredited sites. AAALAC-accredited sites also had more NCIs related to improper veterinary care, personnel qualifications, and animal husbandry. These results demonstrate that AAALAC accreditation does not improve compliance with regulations governing the treatment of animals in laboratories.
国际实验动物评估和认可委员会（AAALAC）对非人动物研究设施的认可被广泛认为是致力于保障研究中使用的非人动物福祉的“黄金标准”。获得AAALAC认可的设施会得到资助机构的优待，并受到公众的好评。因此，这些设施在多大程度上符合美国动物研究法规值得研究。在本研究中，评估了AAALAC认可设施违反《动物福利法》（AWA）的发生率，并与非认可机构在两年期间的发生率进行了比较。分析表明，AAALAC认可设施经常因违反AWA的项目（NCI）而被引用。在控制每个设施动物数量的情况下，与非认可场所相比，获得AAALAC认可的场所平均有更多的AWA NCI。获得AAALAC认可的场所也有更多与不当兽医护理、人员资质和动物饲养相关的NCI。这些结果表明，AAALAC认可并不能提高实验室动物待遇法规的合规性。
