Final answer:
The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals specifies the minimum cleaning standards for cages, feeders, and water bottles of laboratory animals. The Animal Welfare Act addresses more general aspects of humane animal treatment but not these specific standards. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) plays a critical role in upholding these guidelines for research facilities receiving federal funding.
Step-by-step explanation:
The document that specifies the minimum cleaning standards for cages, feeders, and water bottles for many laboratory animals is the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. This guide is an essential document for researchers and institutions to ensure that the use of animals in research is conducted in a humane and ethical manner. The Animal Welfare Act also plays a significant role in the regulation of animal use in laboratories, covering various species and advocating for humane practices. However, specifics about the cleaning of housing and equipment for lab animals are more comprehensively detailed in the NIH guide.
Institutions conducting animal research and receiving federal funding are required to have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which oversees the humane treatment of laboratory animals, in accordance with NIH guidelines. While OSHA standards and the Good Laboratory Practices regulations are crucial for maintaining safe working conditions, they are not primarily concerned with the standards for cleaning cages, feeders, and water bottles for laboratory animals.