The IACUC semiannual inspections at Great Eastern University were opportunities to evaluate a part of the animal care and use program and also to educate investigators, when needed, on issues concerning animal use and regulatory compliance. Therefore, it seemed reasonable to Sheila Manes, a new IACUC member, to discuss euthanasia records with investigators and their staff members. To Manes' way of thinking, euthanasia records were no different than anesthesia or analgesia records and should be part of the laboratory's research records. She believed that if a drug was used, then there should be a record of the concentration and volume administered to the animal, along with a comment on its observed effectiveness. To her surprise, however, both her co-inspector and the research laboratory personnel said that they only recorded the date of euthanasia because all the methodological details were included in their IACUC-approved protocol.
Manes and her co-inspector quickly looked at the pertinent federal regulations, including the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals1, and were unable to find references to the type of records required for euthanasia of animals. After the inspection, they tried to find specific information but failed. Even the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals2 offered little help, indicating only that strict records are needed for the use and storage of controlled substances. Indeed, the laboratories at Great Eastern had records of the total amounts of controlled substances received and withdrawn when they were used for euthanasia but not of the amounts given to specific animals.
Do you think that animal-specific records are required for substances used for euthanasia? Does your response depend on the type of substance used? For example, what type of records (if any) would you recommend for rodents euthanized with sodium pentobarbital? What type of records would you recommend for rodents euthanized with carbon dioxide, individually or in groups?
References
Institute for Laboratory Animal Research. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals 8th edn. (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2011).
American Veterinary Medical Association. AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2013 Edition (AVMA, Schaumburg, IL, 2013).
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Silverman, J. Euthanasia records for individual animals. Lab Anim 42, 413 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.412
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.412
