The Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) oversees the care and use of research animals in Public Health Service (PHS)-funded research. The Public Health Service consists of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Indian Health Service (IHS), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The agencies of the PHS are a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
PHS Policy requires institutions to establish and maintain proper measures to ensure the appropriate care and use of live vertebrate animals involved in biomedical and behavioral research testing or training activities conducted or supported by the PHS. The PHS endorses the "U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training" developed by the Interagency Research Animal Committee (IRAC).
OLAW provides guidance and interpretation of the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, supports educational programs, and monitors compliance with the Policy by Assured institutions and PHS funding components to ensure the humane care and use of animals in PHS-supported research, testing, and training, thereby contributing to the quality of PHS-supported activities.
Famous quotes containing the words office of, office, laboratory, animal and/or welfare:
“Difference of opinion is advantageous in religion. The several sects perform the office of a Censor ... over each other.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“Even the utmost goodwill and harmony and practical kindness are not sufficient for Friendship, for Friends do not live in harmony merely, as some say, but in melody. We do not wish for Friends to feed and clothe our bodies,—neighbors are kind enough for that,—but to do the like office to our spirits. For this few are rich enough, however well disposed they may be.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“We’re all of us guinea pigs in the laboratory of God. Humanity is just a work in progress.”
—Tennessee Williams (1914–1983)
“When we understand that man is the only animal who must create meaning, who must open a wedge into neutral nature, we already understand the essence of love. Love is the problem of an animal who must find life, create a dialogue with nature in order to experience his own being.”
—Ernest Becker (1924–1974)
“In my public statements I have earnestly urged that there rested upon government many responsibilities which affect the moral and spiritual welfare of our people. The participation of women in elections has produced a keener realization of the importance of these questions and has contributed to higher national ideals. Moreover, it is through them that our national ideals are ingrained in our children.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)