DOD Animal Research: Controls on Animal Use Are Generally Effective, but Improvements Are Needed
NSIAD/HEHS-99-156
Published: Jul 08, 1999. Publicly Released: Jul 08, 1999.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Department of Defense's (DOD) management and oversight of its animal research programs, focusing on the extent projects funded or performed by DOD utilizing animals: (1) were directed toward military objectives; (2) unnecessarily duplicated other research; and (3) incorporated alternatives that reduced, replaced, or refined the use of animals.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | To further reduce the likelihood of proposed research unnecessarily duplicating other research, the Secretary of Defense should clarify DOD's policy regarding which databases of research in progress investigators must search. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD concurred with GAO's recommendation and amended the standard institutional animal care and use committee protocol to require investigators to search appropriate databases for research in progress.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should further facilitate the consideration of refinement alternatives by investigators and the institutional animal care and use committees. The DOD standard animal use protocol form should be amended to require investigators to identify refinement alternatives that were considered but not adopted and explain why they were not adopted. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD concurred with GAO's recommendation and changed the standard institutional animal care and use protocol to require research investigators to identify refinement alternatives and list those that were considered but not adopted and explain why.
|
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Topics
Animal welfareBiomedical researchDatabasesInternal controlsLaboratory animalsMilitary research and developmentRedundancyResearch program managementProtocolsAnimals