Animal welfare in research and teaching

Colorado State University upholds the highest standards of animal welfare in laboratories and other areas of research and teaching, driven by leading animal care standards, ethics, compassion and excellence.  

As a top-tier research institution, CSU research involves animals only when necessary, and so that scientists can work toward solutions that benefit animals and humans. CSU innovations have advanced treatments and furthered foundational science that supports solutions for the world’s infectious diseases, environment, cancer and nutrition.  

CSU ensures that research animals receive care that meets or exceeds humane practices and standards, federal laws, veterinary care and training.  

While there are many innovations that help replace the use of animal models, which CSU uses whenever possible, animal studies are still necessary for some research. Because scientists are still learning about diseases and biology, they don’t have the information they need to build accurate models to replace animal studies. 

Studying animals through the lens of agriculture, natural resources, veterinary medicine and other similar fields can lead to breakthroughs in understanding how to reduce environmental impacts, create better conservation practices, elevate the health of natural surroundings, and benefit both animals and humans. 

Before a research project involving any animal, including laboratory mice, scientists must justify their use and demonstrate that the project cannot use other models instead. Whenever possible, CSU uses alternatives to animals in both teaching and studies, including simulated models.  

CSU has developed several technologies that are used in reach and teaching instead of animals or animal cadavers. One example is Virtual Animal Anatomy, a computer program that teaches animal anatomy to students of all ages, including those in CSU classrooms. Another example is that CSU developed life-like skin used to teach surgical skills to veterinary students.   

All CSU scientists are required to consider ways to reduce animal use and refine their studies to ensure that they meet the highest standards of animal ethics. They must prove that their research questions are not already answered, that the study cannot be done without animals, and they are required to use the fewest number of animals possible.  

Research proposals are reviewed by numerous committees and experts before studies can begin. This includes the agency that is supplying the grant money and numerous CSU committees, including a committee solely focused on animal care and use called the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. IACUC reviews every proposal involving animals, including those used in teaching, in a laboratory or in the wild, to ensure that their care and enrichment meets all required standards for minimizing stress and discomfort. IACUC also approves all use of animals in teaching.

Animal use in education and research is heavily regulated by multiple federal agencies; these federal regulations also overlap with numerous CSU internal policies and systems that provide animal care. In addition, CSU animal research program is voluntarily accredited by an independent, expert third party, AAALAC International the gold standard of laboratory animal care. 

CSU animal research must legally comply with: 

Federal laws 

Regulations 

Standards and principals 

Like all institutions conducting animal research, CSU is subject to surprise inspections by federal agencies to ensure animal welfare.  

CSU prioritizes research with client-owned cats and dogs

Over the last decade, CSU has enrolled hundreds of pets into studies that have helped to save pet and animal lives. Nearly all CSU dog and cat studies use client-owned pets, meaning members of the public enroll their pets in a study to advance science, while their pet lives out their normal lives at home with their family. The studies occur under the care of a veterinarian. For example, in 2024, about 150 studies involved dozens of client-owned dogs opted into research by their families. 

A very small number of dogs and cats are owned by CSU and used for teaching and research purposes. Virtually all studies are non-invasive. These cats and dogs receive socialization and regular interaction with people as well as play time with their cohort. Dogs are regularly walked outside and receive training to get them ready for adoptive homes. Every eligible dog or cat is adopted into loving homes at the conclusion of research.  

At all times, all cats and dogs enrolled in studies at CSU are under the care of veterinarians.   

CSU has a very robust adoption program and has found loving homes for every eligible CSU-owned dog and cat used in studies for more than 20 years. 

Every U.S. entity that conducts research with animals is required to report the number of animals used in research and teaching to the USDA every year. Those reports are posted online through the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website.  

Until 2022, the number also included pets owned by a CSU veterinary student or staff member when the pet was brought to class to teach veterinary students how to give a veterinary exam, listen to normal hearts and lungs, or palpate normal anatomy.  

The annual report gives the number of dogs and cats enrolled in studies at CSU each year, according to the federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sept 30).  

Sometimes, animals are enrolled in a study that includes months in two calendar years; they are counted in two annual reports to the USDA.  

CSU’s faculty and researchers are continually searching for cures to diseases that impact animals as well as people.  

CSU studies involving cats have innovated life-saving treatments for diseases.  

  • FIP, or feline infectious peritonitis, is a global viral disease in cats that was nearly 100% fatal – often within a week of the onset of the clinical signs of illness.  
  • FIP is a coronavirus that is distantly related to COVID. CSU researchers are part of a group of international experts who are dialing in on how drugs that treat COVID in people also treat cats with FIP – and are saving as many as 80-90% of infected kittens and cats in studies of Veterinary Teaching Hospital client-owned pets.  
  • A CSU researcher developed the FeLV vaccine, now used to immunize cats worldwide against leukemia-causing retrovirus. 

CSU studies involving dogs have innovated life-saving treatments for diseases: 

  • CSU research was instrumental in developing Tanovea, the only FDA approved drug to treat lymphoma in dogs. Tanovea is now used by veterinarians across the U.S. The drug was approved after rigorous CSU clinical trials in client-owned dogs with naturally occurring cancer. All dogs in the studies were opted in by their owners and lived out their normal lives at home. Studies show a 73% response rate among canine lymphoma patients. 
  • Palladia, another cancer drug used by veterinarians around the world, has also been extensively studied at CSU for a decade in client-owned dogs with naturally occurring cancer. Palladia is used primarily to treat mast cell tumors, a form of skin cancer. CSU research helped veterinarians understand other types of tumors Palladia may treat and how to improve Palladia use, such as ways to use it with other treatments including radiation therapy and chemotherapy. 

A current study is testing a vaccine that could prevent against cancer in healthy pet dogs who live at home and are checked twice a year. This is the first study of its kind. Not only could this research help prevent cancer in dogs – it could translate to cancer prevention in people and other species.