{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T14:24:03Z","timestamp":1788531843817,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788307200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788307200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Lab Anim"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Research animal facilities are often perceived as the defining element of high-quality animal care and use; however, international standards and accreditation practices increasingly emphasize that the animal care and use program (ACUP), rather than the physical infrastructure, is the central determinant of animal welfare, scientific quality, and ethical and legal oversight. This paper examines the relationship between the animal facility and a robust ACUP, arguing that the facility should be understood primarily as an enabling component of a broader institutional system. There is no universal \u2018ideal\u2019 facility design. Instead, infrastructure must be fit for purpose, reflecting the species housed, the nature of the research, institutional scale, available expertise, and staffing. A performance-based approach provides the most appropriate framework for evaluating facility adequacy, focusing on measurable welfare and operational outcomes rather than prescriptive engineering standards alone. The facility should actively support the implementation of the 3Rs (Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction) and the culture of care, promote operational efficiency, and incorporate principles of environmental and financial sustainability. Continual evaluation and improvement are essential to ensure that facilities and ACUPs evolve alongside animal, scientific, and institutional needs. General observations commonly made during AAALAC International accreditation site visits further illustrate how programmatic strength can compensate for infrastructure limitations, while well-designed facilities cannot substitute for weak governance or oversight. Ultimately, excellence in research animal care arises from the alignment of infrastructure, institutional culture of care, ethical responsibility, and programmatic management, with the facility serving as a flexible tool that supports, rather than defines, a high-quality animal care and use program.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00236772261472332","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T10:57:26Z","timestamp":1788346646000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Facility as a tool, program as the driver: Aligning infrastructure with a high-quality animal care and use program"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8188-7587","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Javier","family":"Guill\u00e9n","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"AAALAC International, Pamplona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0985-3603","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sarah","family":"Wolfensohn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Surrey\/Welfare Assessment Technologies Ltd, Guildford, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wolfensohn SE Baumans V van der Staay FJ et al. Implications of stress for animal welfare and animal-based research. Lab Anim 2026; 60: 144\u2013156. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00236772251396310","DOI":"10.1177\/00236772251396310"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","unstructured":"European Commission Directorate-General for Environment. Caring for animals aiming for better science \u2013 Directive 2010\/63\/EU on protection of animals used for scientific purposes \u2013 Education and training framework. Luxembourg: Publications Office 2018. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2779\/311480"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Poirier GM Bergmann C Denais-Lalieve DG et al. ESLAV\/ECLAM\/LAVA\/EVERI recommendations for the roles responsibilities and training of the laboratory animal veterinarian and the designated veterinarian under Directive 2010\/63\/EU. 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Cumulative welfare impacts significantly affect the scientific validity of animal-based research, making them a critical component of reproducible science: The interplay of ethics, animal welfare, and IACUC oversight on the reproducibility of animal studies. Comp Med 2017; 67: 101\u2013105.","journal-title":"Comp Med"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","unstructured":"European Commission Directorate-General for Environment. Caring for animals aiming for better science \u2013 Directive 2010\/63\/EU on protection of animals used for scientific purposes \u2013 Animal welfare bodies and national committees. Luxembourg: Publications Office 2018. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2779\/059998"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","unstructured":"European Commission Directorate-General for Environment. Caring for animals aiming for better science \u2013 Directive 2010\/63\/EU on protection of animals used for scientific purposes \u2013 Project evaluation and retrospective assessment. 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Developing recommendations for cumulative endpoints and lifetime use for research animals. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11: 2031.","journal-title":"Animals (Basel)"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vasquez B DeRicco J Yates BJ et al. Ethical robust and accurate use of AI in animal research. Lab Anim (NY) 2025; 54: 335\u2013337. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41684-025-01649-7","DOI":"10.1038\/s41684-025-01649-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","unstructured":"AAALAC International. Position statement on safety requirements for walk-in cage\/rack washers and bulk sterilizers https:\/\/www.aaalac.org\/pub\/?id=B2312558-B274-9316-D6E2-0ED48595165E (2025 accessed 19 August 2026)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Watts N Wolfensohn S. Facility planning. In: Guill\u00e9n J Galligioni V (eds) Practical management of research animal care and use programs. 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