ABSTRACT
The AWAR, PHS Policy, and Guide all require the IACUC to periodically review the animal care and use program and inspect the animal facilities. While the Guide (p. 25), which was not written solely for a U.S. audience, recommends that these activities occur at least annually, the AWAR and PHS Policy both require them to be conducted at least every 6 months. Although the program review and facilities inspection are listed as separate IACUC responsibilities in the regulatory documents, they are integrally related. Indeed at many institutions, and perhaps at the vast majority, the two are orchestrated as a set of coordinated, semiannual events. Hence, the single term, “semiannual,” is used frequently to express the collective activities of both of these IACUC functions.
