The Animal Welfare Act (Federal Register, February 15, 1991), requires that research institutions have an appropriate written plan, approved by the attending veterinarian and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), to provide dogs with the opportunity for exercise. Specifically, dogs over 12 weeks of age and housed individually in enclosures that provide less than twice the required floor space per dog need to be provided additional opportunity for exercise.

To comply with the standards the following program is instituted.

I. Amity Research Farm
All runs provide more than twice the space requirements for singly housed dogs, so additional exercise is not specifically required.

Additional human contact should improve the well being of the dogs and facilitate their handling and socialization. For this aspect of the program, Yale Animal Resources Center personnel will spend >15 minutes, twice daily (Mon-Fri) with the kenneled dogs as a group, providing treats to each dog and speaking to them. In addition, safe sanitizable toys will be tossed into the dog’s primary enclosure to facilitate play activity. Each dog will be brushed >5 minutes at weekly intervals.

II. Yale School of Medicine Campus
Each dog is released individually into the room for >10 minutes (Mon-Fri) and for 5 minutes daily on weekends and holidays. During this exercise time, the caretaker will service the dog’s primary enclosure and will then devote the remaining time to offering treats, playing with and petting the dog. Safe, sanitizable toys will be used to play with the dogs during their release periods and will be provided within their primary enclosure. Each dog will be brushed >5 minutes at weekly intervals.

III. Exemptions
Investigators may determine for scientific reasons in the research protocol that it is inappropriate for dogs to participate in the exercise program. They must document their request in writing to the IACUC at the time of protocol submission and annually thereafter. These requests must be reviewed at lease annually by the IACUC.

Dogs may be exempted from exercise by the attending veterinarian for reasons of health, condition, or well-being. These exemptions will be clearly noted on the dogs cage card and will be reviewed at least monthly by the attending veterinarian. Records of any exemptions must be made available to all regulatory agencies for inspection.

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE IACUC: MAY 8, 1998

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Last Modified: October 22, 2002

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