CPCSEA approved Animal House

Introduction

The Animal House at GIPS, Guwahati, is designed to supplement teaching, training, and research capabilities while also meeting the expanding need for high-quality laboratory animals.

The Animal House is registered with the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India (Reg. No 1372/PO/ReBi/S/10/CPCSEA) and has an established Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC). The IAEC advises the institution and teachers/researchers on Animal House facilities, policies, and practises. The IAEC and Animal House staff guarantee that the three R’s, replacement, reduction, and refinement, are used in all animal-related projects and that these principles are followed to reduce the number of animals utilised for teaching and research at GIPS, Guwahati. The IAEC ensures that each project complies with or surpasses the CPCSEA Guidelines on the Use of Laboratory Animals in Experiments.

Each animal species is housed in barrier-maintained individual rooms to avoid disease transmission and inter-species conflicts. Every effort is made to keep animals in controlled environments with 100 % fresh air exchange in animal rooms and uninterrupted power and water supplies [Temperature (22-26°C), Relative Humidity (50±10%, 12:12 hr light cycle)]. The macro and micro-environment surrounding the animals are maintained following the CPCSEA criteria, with a high degree of hygienic conditions. Keeping animal rooms clean and sterilised, as well as crate surfaces, water bottles, bedding, etc., is standard procedure.

Animals’ health is monitored regularly to ascertain their health status. Feed and water analyses are also performed regularly to assess the quality and microbiological contamination of the resources. Manual record-keeping is used to keep track of all the animals, both inbred and outbred. The waste from the animal house is disposed of regularly. Veterinarians, technicians, and attendants with extensive expertise and training in current methods of animal care, breeding, and husbandry oversee the operation of this facility’s kennels and kennel breeding facilities.

The institute has the facility of Individually ventilated caging (IVC) systems for both rats and mice in place for housing the laboratory animals to reduce the possibility of contamination. The facility has an appropriate CCTV surveillance monitoring system in place.

• Area:

Ground floor: 134 sq. ft.

Second floor: 213 sq. ft.

Total-347 sq ft.

• Animal Species: Rat, Mice, Guinea pig, Rabbit.

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Vision

We envision the proper use of animals in research as an essential contribution to improving pharmaceutical research and animal lives.

Mission

To perform pharmaceutical research, train the new generation regarding animal studies and facilitate animals for use in research by strictly following the guidelines of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), Government of India.

Salient Features

1. Well-designed and established animal house approved by CPCSEA for the purpose of education and research (Reg. No. 1372/PO/ReBi/S/10/CPCSEA).
2. We have an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) for the approval of research and project proposals which involve the use of the animal.
3. All activities of the Animal House Facility are carried out as per standard operating procedures (SOPs).
4. The Animal House Facility maintains the records of activities as well as maintenance and experimentation records of the animals as per the statutory requirement of CPCSEA.
5. The animal house supports various research programs in the research areas of Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Toxicology, Pharmaceutics, etc.

The animal house has the following in-house guidelines:

1. All animal facility users should undergo orientation and training in properly handling animals before they start the experimentation.
2. The animal studies can begin only after the GIPS- IAEC approval of the research project.
3. The approved protocol should be strictly followed; any modification in the protocol should be cleared by the IAEC of GIPS, Guwahati.
4. Entry is restricted, only authorized people are allowed to enter the animal block with all the protective clothing like the apron, cap, face mask and designated slippers.
5. Experiments should be performed with due care and humanity in compliance with CPCSEA.
6. All animal users should follow the 3 ‘R’s (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) concept.

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• Function

Each species of animal is housed in barrier-maintained individual rooms to avoid disease transmission and inter-species conflicts. Every effort is made to keep animals in controlled environments with 100 % fresh air exchange in animal rooms and uninterrupted power and water supplies [Temperature (22-26°C), Relative Humidity (50±10%, 12:12 hr light cycle)]. The macro and micro-environment surrounding the animals are maintained following the CPCSEA criteria, with a high degree of hygienic conditions. Keeping animal rooms clean and sterilised, as well as crate surfaces, water bottles, bedding, etc., is standard procedure.

Animals’ health is monitored regularly to ascertain their health status. Feed and water analyses are also performed regularly to assess the quality and microbiological contamination of the resources. Manual record-keeping is used to keep track of all the animals, both inbred and outbred. The waste from the animal house is disposed of regularly. Veterinarians, technicians, and attendants with extensive expertise and training in current methods of animal care, breeding, and husbandry oversee the operation of this facility’s kennels and kennel breeding facilities.

• The staff of Animal House, GIPS

The details of the staff are as below:
Faculty in charge: Dr. Bhrigu Kumar Das, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, GIPS-Guwahati.
Veterinarian: Dr. Sunayana Baruah.

Non-teaching Staff:

1. Mr. Biren Kalita
   Designation: Animal House caretaker
   Mobile: +91-8011363811
2. Mr. Madan Das
   Designation: Animal House caretaker
   Mobile: +91-6002009547

IAEC members
Internal IAEC members

1. Dr Dipankar Saha
   Designation: Biological Scientist, Chairperson, IAEC, GIPS.
2. Dr Bhanu Pratap Sahu
   Designation: Scientist from different biological discipline, IAEC, GIPS.
3. Dr. Ashis Kumar Goswami
   Designation: Scientist from different biological discipline, IAEC, GIPS.
4. Dr. Sunayana Baruah
   Designation: Veterinarian, IAEC, GIPS.
5. Dr. Bhrigu Kumar Das
   Designation: Scientist In-charge of Animal House Facility (Member Secretary), IAEC, GIPS.

CPCSEA Nominee for IAEC (External IAEC members)

1. Dr. Birendra Nath Bhattacharyya
   Designation: Main Nominee
   Address: House No. 12, Seuji Ali, (By Lane 4, west) R G Baruah Road, Guwahati-781003, Assam.
2. Dr. Kishore Kumar Baruah
   Designation: Link Nominee
   Address: House no-4 Sri Sai Villa Kanaklata Road, Narayan Nagar Kumarpara, P.O.- Bharalumukh Guwahati-781009, Assam.
3. Dr. Amit Alexander
   Designation: Socially aware nominee
   Address: Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India, Sila Village, Nizsundarighopa, Changsari, Kamrup (R), Guwahati- 781101, Assam.
4. Dr. Himangshu Baruah
   Designation: Scientist from outside of the Institute
   Address: Dept. Of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Veterinary Science, Khannapara, Guwahati-781022, Assam.

RULES and GUIDELINES

1. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act- 1960 http://www.envfor.nic.in/legis/awbi/awbi01.html
2. The Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rules, 1998 http://envfor.nic.in/legis/awbi/awbi10.html
3. CPCSEA Guidelines for Laboratory Animal Facility http://envfor.nic.in/divisions/awd/cpcsea_laboratory.pdf
4. The Recommendations of the ‘Sub-Committee on the Rehabilitation of Animals after Experiments’ setup by CPCSEA http://envfor.nic.in/divisions/awd/Rehabiliaion_Guidelines_new.pdf
5. Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 http://envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/biomed.html
6. Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, Amendment 2003 http://envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/so-1069(e).pdf

FORMS and FORMATS

• Application for the Permission of Animal Experiments (from IAEC/CPCSEA) (Form B) (File attached)
• Format for Inspection report of Animal house. (File attached)