representative of senior administration, the IO is responsible for resource planning and ensuring the alignment of Program goals of quality animal care and use with the institution’s mission.

The attending veterinarian (AV) is responsible for the health and wellbeing of all laboratory animals used at the institution. The institution must provide the AV with sufficient authority, including access to all animals, and resources to manage the program of veterinary care. The AV should oversee other aspects of animal care and use (e.g., husbandry, housing) to ensure that the Program complies with the Guide.

Institutional mission, programmatic goals, including the nature of animal use at the institution, and Program size will determine whether fulltime, part-time, or consultative veterinary services are needed. If a full-time veterinarian is not available on site, a consulting or part-time veterinarian should be available in visits at intervals appropriate to programmatic needs. In such instances, there must be an individual with assigned responsibility for daily animal care and use and facility management. While institutions with large animal care and use programs may employ multiple veterinarians, the management of veterinary medicine, animal care, and facility operations by a single administrative unit is often an efficient mechanism to administer all aspects of the Program.

The Guide endorses the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine’s (ACLAM) “Guidelines for Adequate Veterinary Care” (ACLAM 1996). These guidelines include veterinary access to all animals and their medical records, regular veterinary visits to facilities where animals are or may be housed or used, provisions for appropriate and competent clinical, preventive, and emergency veterinary care, and a system for legal animal procurement and transportation. Other responsibilities of the AV are outlined in the Program Oversight section below and in later chapters. For a Program to work effectively, there should be clear and regular communication between the AV and the IACUC.

The IACUC (or institutional equivalent) is responsible for assessment and oversight of the institution’s Program components and facilities. It should have sufficient authority and resources (e.g., staff, training, comput-