Although animal testing can be a very sensitive research area, Penn State officials say they take great precautions to protect the animals.

The federal government regulates animal, along with human, nuclear safety, and bio-hazardous, research. There are a lot of deterrents to animal research.

"Animal research is expensive to do," said Candice Yekel, director of Penn State's Office for Regulatory Compliance.

Most people who file protocols have prior funding for their studies, she said.

PSU Guidelines Scientists using animals to conduct research at Penn State must:  Submit an animal care grant, including protocol, to the Penn State ORC for review.  Get approval from the ORC and then the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.  Go through a training program on Penn State’s policies for animal care.

Just to be chosen for federal funding is an arduous process.

"You have to write a grant, usually many pages in length with detailed plans," said Mary Kennett, director of the Animal Resource Program.

Usually the National Institutes of Health conducts a peer review, and there is a priority placed on each submission. The NIH gives grant money to the top 20 to 25 percent, Kennett said.

"Before you can start any research (at Penn State), you have to write an animal care (grant) and use protocol," she said.

A protocol details what a scientist intends to do in the research and the reasoning behind the study.

The ORC reviews the protocols and assists the researchers in the approval process. After the ORC screens the protocol, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee reviews it.

The group comprises representatives from the Eberly College of Science, the colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Health and Human Development and Engineering, two veterinarians and a community member.

"That person is not affiliated with the university in any way," said Jodi Mathieu, compliance coordinator for animal care and radioactive materials.

The group looks to see if there is another way to conduct the research without the use of animals, if it is the best way to carry out this experiment and if the research uses the fewest possible number of animals, Kennett said.

Yekel said more protocols are filed for work with human subjects, but many of those are in regard to questionnaires and surveys. There is also an institution review board to review protocols for human research.

Before anyone can begin the live study at Penn State, the researcher must go through a training program on animal care and the university's policies.

Penn State's animal care unit was recently accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, which is the highest level of accreditation an animal care unit can receive, Yekel said.

"We go above and beyond what the federal requirements are," she said.

AAALAC is a peer review group that reviews the facilities and all documents used in animal research and questions those associated with animal research, Mathieu said.

"They were very impressed," she said.

Some groups are not in favor of using animals in experiments.

"We are ethically opposed to the use of animals for research and testing," said Mary Beth Sweetland, director of research and investigations for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The federal guidelines for animal research is found in the Animal Welfare Act of 1966, but some have a problem with the extent of the act, even though various amendments have been added to it over the years.

"The laws to protect the animals are extremely minimal," Sweetland said.

But those federal regulations are the lowest standards at Penn State.

Besides the Animal Welfare Act of 1966, researchers at Penn State have to abide by a plethora of manuals, including the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, which is published by the National Research Council.

"It's a better set of guidelines than the Animal Welfare Act," Kennett said.

For researchers to get federal funding they must follow this document, Kennett said.

"We call animal researchers the 'Joe Six-Packs' of science," Sweetland said.

She said these researchers were not brilliant enough to do cellular research or more computer research and choose the easy thing — animal research.

Kennett disagrees with this idea of scientists who test animals.

"The people I know that do animal research are talented and well-trained," she said. "They're caring individuals."

The conditions the animals are subjected to is a large issue in the animal research debate.

"Think about what it's like to spend your life in a cage, alone, afraid and in pain," Sweetland said.

At Penn State, there are caretakers for the animals, and there are 10 veterinarians on staff for the animals.

The Animal Resource Program works to make sure the animals on campus are healthy and happy, Kennett said.

If the animals are in danger or being harmed, the university will move quickly to protect them.

"If there is a threat to animal health or life, the protocol could be suspended immediately," Yekel said.

A veterinarian can remove the animals as well, Mathieu said.

The ORC is open to all people, regardless of their position on animal testing.

"We're always willing to talk to students and facility," Yekel said.

Kennett said she loves animals and so do animal researchers.

"Hopefully someday we won't have to do animal testing," she said.