Guidelines and Policies

CCAC guidelines establish the basic requirements for each institutional animal care and use program within the Canadian system of oversight. Compliance with these standards is a requirement to receive a CCAC Certificate of GAP – Good Animal Practice^®.

There are two categories of CCAC guidelines documents which should be used alongside each other:

• General guidelines which serve as the basis of animal care, procedures, and program management
• Types of animal guidelines which aim to provide exhaustive information regarding species of interest

Throughout the CCAC guidelines, the term 'should' is used to indicate an obligation, for which any exceptions must be justified to, and approved by, an animal care committee. The term 'must' is used for mandatory requirements.

Additional resources, such as Three Rs information and frequently asked questions documents, are intended to support the implementation of guidelines, and to encourage institutions to evaluate new practices to enhance their animal care and use programs.

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