Policy for Procurement of Laboratory Animals

Background: Prior to 1999, research animal procurement and usage was monitored by the Division of Animal Resources only for those animals covered under the regulations of the Animal Welfare Act. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) voted in November, 1998 to include all species under the existing procurement policy. The revised policy which went into effect January 1, 1999 follows.

Policy: Procurement of all species other than agricultural animals in production units must be approved by DAR. Procurement of animals from off-campus sources or those transferred from one campus research and teaching protocol to another will be approved via the Procurement/Transfer Request form prior to placing an order or transferring animals. Procurement of animals from on-campus approved breeding protocols will be entered on the Animal Production Logs maintained in breeding colonies. These will be submitted to DAR monthly. A member of the DAR staff will approve procurement once it has been determined that the species is approved for use under the protocol listed, that there are sufficient numbers left on the protocol to meet the current request, and that the proposed vendor or source protocol is one that has been previously approved.

1. Investigator and Unit Animal Care Responsibilities: Upon receiving a request from an investigator to provide animals from an off-campus source or another research or teaching protocol, animal care supervisors or designated staff will complete Section I of the Animal Procurement/Transfer Request. DAR approval (documented in Section II) must be received by the unit supervisor prior to placing an order or transferring animals. Once animals are received or transferred, the unit supervisor will complete Section III of the approved Procurement/Transfer Request Form and submit that to DAR along with documents of sale, donation or transfer which accompany USDA-regulated species.

   In some cases, such as developmental studies, animals are distributed to approved protocols immediately at birth. In others, determining numbers to be distributed to various protocols is difficult until new litters have been surveyed. Therefore, animal care and research staff will record animals produced in campus breeding colonies and assigned to approved protocols on Animal Production Logs at the time of assignment. Unit supervisors will submit Animal Production Logs to DAR monthly.

   Breeding protocols will still require that a Procurement/Transfer Request Form be approved for breeding stock, whether purchased or added to the breeding pool from offspring produced in-house.

2. DAR Responsibilities: DAR staff members will receive Procurement/Transfer Request Forms and check protocols for approval by the IACUC, adequate numbers of animals, and approved vendors or protocols. The DAR staff member must then complete Section II of the Form and return it to the unit supervisor within 24 hours. Once the units return Procurement/Transfer forms with Section III completed, as well as USDA forms for Sale, Transfer or Donation of regulated species, DAR will enter the quantity of animals assigned to a protocol in the Animal Usage database and file the completed records with the appropriate animal use protocol. When Animal Production Logs are received at DAR, staff will enter the quantities of animals transferred to research and teaching protocols from breeding colonies for the month in the animal usage database. DAR will establish for each approved protocol the quantity of animals at 80% of those requested per 3-year approval period. Once this number has been reached, the DAR office staff will send notification in writing to the principal investigator.

   IACUC Responsibilities: Members of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) must evaluate protocols for appropriate justification of species and numbers of animals requested and require statistical justification when possible (NRC "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals", 1996; Chapter 1, page 10).

   The IACUC will notify principal investigators of this Policy, noting their responsibility to request all animals via unit animal care supervisors and to provide protocol numbers which accurately reflect the protocol on which animals will be used, and the requirement to have all procurement approved by the DAR.

   
   January 1, 1999

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