ARC Requirements
An investigator's laboratory may be used as a study area or survival surgery area provided such use is approved and certified by the ARC. ARC certification of these areas is valid for a 6-month period after the date of inspection and must be renewed every six months if a laboratory remains in an active status. Continued certification is contingent upon the maintenance of acceptable standards in the animal facility.
For an interactive overview of what the ARC generally looks for during semiannual facility inspections, please see the online tutorial entitled "An IACUC Member's Guide to Animal Facility Inspections."
Study Areas
The ARC defines "study area" as any investigator-managed building, room, area, enclosure, or other containment site in which USDA-regulated animal species are housed for periods longer than 12 hours, or in which non-USDA-regulated animal species are housed for periods longer than 24 hours.
- ARC Inspection Checklist
- Policy on Maintaining Animals in Study Areas
- Sample Study Area Log
- Study Area Management (SAM) document
- Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, Environment, Housing, and Management, pp. 41-102
Survival Surgery Areas
Definition: Any investigator-managed building, room, or area where survival surgeries are performed on animals.
- ARC Inspection Checklist
- Survival Surgery in Mice, Rats, and Birds
- Surgical and Post-operative Evaluation Record for Mice, Rats, and Birds
- Procedures Performed on USDA-covered Species Involving the Use of General Anesthesia
- Survival Surgery in USDA-covered Species
- Multiple Survival Surgeries
- Post-operative Analgesia
- Expired Medical Materials
- Use of Pharmaceutical-Grade Compounds
- Use of Ether for Anesthesia or Euthanasia
- Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, Surgery, pp. 115-120; Facilities for Aseptic Surgery, pp. 144-145
Page Last Updated: March 6, 2023