Skip to main content

Design, Implementation, Monitoring, and Sharing of Performance Standards for Laboratory Animal Use Summary of a Workshop (2015) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:

2 Overview of Performance Standards for the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
Pages 5-10

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 5...
... , the importance of animal wellͲbeing in ensuring the integrity of animalͲbased research, and the responsibility of both the institution and researcher to provide humane care to laboratory animals. As a document, the Guide was meant to be the starting point for institutions to develop guidelines and policies for the comprehensive care of animals used in research.
Read the entire page →
From page 6...
... It requires knowledge of systems and procedures in the context of each institutional program, and it may require significant research and consultation," said Turner. "In addition, it results in a need for careful planning and for critical and ongoing assessment of how the performance standard is working and whether it is truly benefiting the program and the animals." Addressing the challenges of developing and implementing performance standards can be frustrating, and after the Guide's publication, the committee received requests to "just tell me what to do." Frustrated institutions sometimes default back to engineering standards, said Turner, because it seems easier to do what is prescribed instead of exploring and developing an alternate procedure better suited to the animals, the institution, or the specific research needs.
Read the entire page →
From page 7...
... Despite performance standards being at times challenging to develop, there are two good reasons for using them, Turner noted: they provide significant flexibility to institutions to modify and update practices and procedures in response to new information, and they permit timely changes in practice without new regulation or policy. She emphasized that a performance standard both defines expected outcomes and balances the importance of meeting a baseline established by engineering standards with the need for flexibility.
Read the entire page →
From page 8...
... "Should" and "may," Turner added, can also refer to items that become the norm over time, citing social housing as an example: the Guide refers to social housing as a "should" item, but it has become a "must" in the performance standards written by many institutions. Performance standards can trigger changes in the standard of practice for laboratory animal care and use as individual institutions monitor, evaluate, and validate the success of a specific approach.
Read the entire page →
From page 9...
... Another example of a performance standard focuses on environmental enrichment programs, which the Guide states should be reviewed by the IACUC, researchers, and veterinarians on a regular basis to ensure they benefit animal wellͲbeing and are consistent with the experiments performed. According to this performance standard, personnel responsible for animal care and husbandry should receive training in the behavioral biology of the species they work with to appropriately monitor the effects of enrichment and identify the development of adverse or abnormal behaviors.
Read the entire page →
From page 10...
... In her conclusion, Turner emphasized that a wellͲestablished performance standard, meets the following criteria: x It supports scientific objectives, x It supports the health and welfare of the animals, x It has outcomes set in advance and associated criteria to assess them, and x It is regularly monitored for success. The 8th edition of the Guide relies heavily on developing and implementing appropriate performance standards to enhance the care and wellͲbeing of laboratory animals.
Read the entire page →

Key Terms

  • laboratory animal
  • laboratory animals
  • animal science
  • animal care
  • social housing

  • practice standards
  • implement performance
  • guide committee
  • humane care
  • engineering standards

  • implementing performance
  • appropriate performance
  • despite performance
  • space performance
  • include performance

  • document provides
  • abnormal behaviors
  • individual institutions
  • animal patients
  • patricia turner

  • behavioral thermoregulation
  • enrolling animal
  • specific approach
  • provides examples
  • adequate resources

  • environmental enrichment
  • significant flexibility
  • turner stressed
  • circumstances requiring
  • institutions sometimes


    • This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
    More information on Chapter Skim is available.