Regulation of animal experimentation: Canada's program of voluntary control

The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), is an autonomous advisory and supervisory body responsible for surveillance of experimental animal care and use in Canada's universities, government laboratories and pharmaceutical houses. Its 20-organization membership includes representatives of government, industry, academia and the humane movement. CCAC's voluntary peer review program depends heavily on institutional animal care committees who evaluate the ethical aspects of animal study protocols, and provide day-to-day surveillance of animal care. Its scientific teams, each of which also includes an appointee of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS), conduct assessments based on CCAC's "Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals" (Volume 1, 1980; Volume 2, 1984). Canada's two major funding agencies, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), have recently stated that, in the event of an institution's continued non-compliance with CCAC requirements, sanctions may include the "freezing or withdrawal of any or all research programs funded by either or both Research Councils in an institution". This presentation describes the CCAC program of voluntary peer review and examines historic aspects of animal issues in Canada, from that country's early reliance on the fur trade, to today's almost defunct harp seal fishery, from Banting and Best's discovery of insulin, to development of the pacemaker.