As a federally funded animal research institution the TNPRC is primarily regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which is the agency responsible for enforcing the Animal Welfare Act. The Animal Welfare Act requires at least one unannounced inspection per year on each research facility that uses animals in experimentation.
As a National Primate Research Center that receives primary funding from the National Institutes of Health, the TNPRC is also held accountable to rigourous standards of animal care, reporting, and transparency. The Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at the TNPRC is regulated by the CDC to ensure that the highest levels of safety are met.
The TNPRC is also accredited by AAALAC International (Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care), a private, independent non-profit organization that promotes the responsible use of laboratory animal care. TNPRC has been accredited by AAALAC since 1983 and for has received “exemplary status” for its high standard of animal care for the past five years – a designation only received by 2% of accredited institutions.
