What is the Animal Care Committee (ACC)?
The Animal Care Committee (ACC) oversees the ethics review process for any research, teaching or training activities involving live, non-human vertebrate animals. They are dedicated to upholding the highest standards of animal welfare in all research and educational activities involving animals at Waterloo. The ACC and its membership include representatives from the public and faculty, staff and students from Waterloo departments that may or may not involve animals in research to ensure a broad ethical review perspective.
In Canada, the ethical use and care of animals in science is overseen by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). The CCAC sets national standards through comprehensive guidelines and policies that all institutions using animals in research or teaching must follow.
To conduct animal-based research or teaching activities and receive funding from federal granting agencies — as well as many provincial sponsors and charitable organizations — institutions must hold a current CCAC Certificate of Good Animal Practice® (GAP). This certification confirms that an institution meets the highest standards of animal care and ethics.
Failure to comply with CCAC standards can result in the loss of certification, which may impact an institution’s ability to conduct or receive funding for animal-based research.
In Ontario, all facilities that use animals for research or teaching purposes must be registered under the Animals for Research Act, which is enforced by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. To ensure compliance with provincial standards, these facilities are subject to unannounced inspections by the Chief Veterinary Inspector.
This oversight helps ensure that animals involved in research and teaching are treated ethically and humanely, and that institutions meet all legal and welfare requirements.
An application, or Animal Use Protocol (AUP), must be submitted by researchers or instructors who plan to use live non-human vertebrate animals in research or teaching projects. The ACC will review the application and provide approval notice once they are satisfied the protocol is in adherence to all ethical standards and guidelines. These applications are submitted through the Research Ethics System.
The University of Waterloo holds a Good Animal Practice (GAP) certificate.
The ACC meets monthly (except in August) per the Terms of Reference. To ensure your application undergoes administrative and triage review before the ACC evaluates it, please adhere to the submission deadlines. Missing these deadlines may result in your application being postponed to the next meeting. If you have any questions regarding your application, please email oreaupp@uwaterloo.ca.