American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia
This publication contains the report of the AVMA panel covering all acceptable methods of euthanasia. Conditionally acceptable methods (those that may be used only under special conditions) are discussed as well. This document is the required standard for the selection of a method for euthanasia.

NIH Guidance: Rigor and Transparency in Grant Applications: Consideration of sex as a variable
This Notice pertains to a new requirement by NIH, effective January 25th, 2016 requiring investigators to explain how relevant biological variables, such as sex, are factored into research designs and analyses for studies in vertebrate animals and humans. For example, strong justification from the scientific literature, preliminary data, or other relevant considerations, must be provided for applications proposing to study only one sex. Refer to NOT-OD-15-102 for further consideration of NIH expectations about sex as a biological variable.

Simplification of the Vertebrate Animals Section of NIH Grant Applications and Contract Proposals
This Notice is to inform potential applicants and offerors that the requirements of the Vertebrate Animals Section (VAS) of grant applications, cooperative agreements and contract proposals has changed. The changes have been made to remove redundancy with Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee review while meeting the requirements of the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

Special Report on Controlled Water and Food Access - Journal of Neuroscience Methods
This special report provides practical guidance on refinement of the use of food and fluid control as motivational tools for macaques used in behavioral neuroscience research.

National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) presentation on the "Age of Enforcement"
This presentation is to review the changes being made by the USDA during the inspection process. The action plan can be found at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2010/05/AWA_enforcement_plan.shtml and it indicates that the inspection and enforcement process will shift from its heretofore education focus to an enforcement focus. This shift could have a significant impact on the inspection process for research facilities. The focus has historically been on education, whereby the inspectors work with the institutions and their IACUCs to assure the welfare of the animals in each unique registered research facility. It now appears to be a more rigidly interpreted enforcement approach.

Roles of NIH Scientific Review Groups and IACUCs in Animal Research
This notice is to clarify how the Vertebrate Animal Section (VAS) of applications for grants, fellowships, and cooperative agreements is evaluated as part of the NIH peer review process and is considered as part of the overall scoring. Further clarification is provided on the oversight role of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and review responsibility of NIH Scientific Review Groups (SRG).