title: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Considerations for the Use of Wildlife in Research and Education.
abstract: Ethical and effective oversight of the use of wildlife species in research and education requires consideration of issues and methods not relevant to work with traditional laboratory or domesticated animals, just as the effective oversight of biomedical research requires consideration of issues and methods not germane to wildlife research. Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees or other institutional review committees can meet their responsibilities in these disparate types of animal activities only by using resources tailored to the animals and situations encountered. Here we review the issues and the resources that facilitate effective oversight of such activities in the wildlife research arena available to researchers, institutional review committees, regulatory bodies, and accrediting bodies. Issues covered include an understanding of the fundamental differences between wildlife research and biomedical research; the profound differences between wildlife species and traditional laboratory subjects, most of which are domesticated animals; and the unique issues presented when the research subjects are members of wild populations and communities. We review the resources available for effective oversight of wildlife projects and emphasize that competent oversight of wildlife research demands the use of appropriate resources. These resources include guidelines designed for the use of wild species (taxon-specific guidelines) and protocol forms tailored for the species and situations encountered.
authors.affiliation: Robert Sikes, PhD, is Director of the Basic Animal Services Unit and Professor of Biology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas, and Chair of the Animal Care Committee of the American Society of Mammalogists. John Bryan, DVM, is a public service assistant and wildlife veterinarian at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia. He is also a member of the American Society of Mammalogists Animal Care Committee.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Sikes
authors.affiliation: Robert Sikes, PhD, is Director of the Basic Animal Services Unit and Professor of Biology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas, and Chair of the Animal Care Committee of the American Society of Mammalogists. John Bryan, DVM, is a public service assistant and wildlife veterinarian at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia. He is also a member of the American Society of Mammalogists Animal Care Committee.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bryan
mesh_terms: D035661:Animal Care Committees; D032761:Animal Experimentation / Q000941:ethics; D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D008004:Licensure
keywords: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC); One Health; animal care committee; animal experimentation; animal welfare; ecology; wild animals; wildlife