Responsibilities of the IACUC

Federal mandates, primarily the Animal Welfare Act and the Public Health Service Policy, require an institutional animal-use oversight committee. The committee is referred to as the "institutional animal care and use committee" or more commonly, the IACUC. This committee is further required by UC and campus policy. The committee is named the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at UCSB.

Vertebrate animals used must be reviewed and approved by the IACUC prior to that use occurring. Review is required regardless of animal use site, funding source, species, or animal number.

The committee's composition is determined, in part, by regulations. There must be at least one of each of the following: a scientist familiar with animal use, a nonscientist, a veterinarian familiar with research animals, and someone with no other affiliation with the university. The IACUC has more than the minimum number of members and the committee includes a graduate student member, as well.