As a diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine for the past 31 years, and an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) veterinarian on the committees of two institutions, I must take serious exception to your statement that "these IACUC veterinarians have the power to approve, disapprove, or demand significant change in experimental design and conduct" (R. Finn, The Scientist, May 26, 1997, page 1).
I call your attention to the Public Health Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, Section IV B, "Functions of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee," pages 7-8, and 9CFR Ch.1, 2.31 Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, a United States Department of Agriculture document also known as the Animal Welfare Act. The powers you delegate to the IACUC vet are in fact the powers of the IACUC as a whole, whose members include: one DVM, one practicing scientist, one ...
