Standards and Procedures

Reporting and Recording Agricultural Animal Use for College of Veterinary Medicine Resident Teaching Animals, Guidelines for

Details

Animals housed at the Large Animal Clinic (LAC) or the Veterinary Medicine Research Farm (VMRF) may be assigned to teaching protocols and used in laboratories for the training of veterinary students or technicians on clinical rotations, for demonstration, or for other instructional purposes. As with all research, teaching, and demonstration activities approved by the UIUC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), the principal investigator (PI) named on the protocol is responsible for ensuring that all animal procedures are appropriately described and conducted according to IACUC approvals. The following guidelines are intended to assist PIs and instructors in maintaining appropriate records and reporting the use of CVM teaching animals.

The PI must provide the following information to the Animal Care Program for Agricultural  Animals (ACP-AG, formerly AACUP) Office, located in 200 LAC:

Anticipated Needs for Animals in Scheduled Laboratories

  • The ACP-AG office will reserve, in advance, the resident teaching animals needed for scheduled labs or research projects. The ACP-AG office maintains a database for all CVM resident animals to avoid the overuse of any one animal in repetitive procedures.
  • If a PI or instructor needs an animal for impromptu teaching opportunities, they must contact the ACP-AG office to request an animal prior to its use. The ACP-AG office will reference the database and advise the instructor of the most recent use of the animal. If the ACP-AG office is not open at the time of need, the instructor must inform that office by email or message as soon as possible.

The Number of Animals Used on a Protocol

  • For protocols involving large numbers of animals used in various labs (e.g., swine, cattle or sheep at VMRF; swine, poultry, cattle or sheep at the Animal Sciences units), PIs and instructors may keep a running tally of the number of animals used and report to the ACP-AG office the total number at the end of the lab rather than providing individual animal IDs on a continual basis.
  • If a given animal is used multiple times throughout the semester on a teaching protocol, it should only be reported to the ACP-AG once. Similarly, if an animal is used continuously over the 3-year approval period of a protocol, the animal should only be reported one time for that protocol. However, if an animal is removed from a protocol (e.g., at the end of a semester) and later reassigned to the same protocol, it should be reported again when reassigned.
  • If a given animal is assigned to multiple protocols during a semester, the ACP-AG should be notified of its use for each protocol.

Records of Daily Observations of Animals

  • Animal caretakers must document the daily care and observations of CVM teaching animals (e.g., feed, water). Students often participate in daily observations and care of animals at LAC and are expected to document their activities (e.g., animal exercise, hoof cleaning).

Records of Health Care and Treatments

  • Medical records are required for all teaching animals. Records must be sufficient to demonstrate; the delivery of preventative health care, disease or injury diagnoses, and treatments. These records must be readily available for ACP-AG, IACUC or USDA inspection. Health records should be retained and available for inspection for 3 years beyond the expiration date of the IACUC protocol.
  • Detailed records are required when major surgical procedures are conducted on an animal. Records describing animal identification, protocol number, surgeon’s name, anesthesia, surgical procedures, analgesia and other drugs administered, post-surgical observations, and post-procedural care must be readily available for ACP-AG, IACUC, or USDA inspection. Surgical records should be retained and available for inspection for 3 years beyond the expiration date of the IACUC protocol.
  • Aside from daily observations and medical and surgical records, there are no regulatory requirements for recording minor procedures conducted during teaching or research. As with all protocols, the PI is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the descriptions of the procedures are consistent with their conduct; however, all instructors should be aware of this requirement and report inconsistencies or changes to the PI or ACP-AG office so a minor amendment may be submitted to the IACUC.
  • During the protocol review process, the IACUC requires the PI to indicate the frequency and number of times that repetitive procedures will be performed with an individual animal (e.g., restraint, examinations, blood sampling). The PI must describe the endpoints that will be used to monitor an animal’s well-being and behavior and to determine when an animal should be removed from the protocol or allowed to rest. The PI or instructor must use his/her professional judgment to determine if an animal is becoming anxious or distressed during a lab and may need to be rested or replaced permanently.

If you have questions or would like additional information about reserving CVM agricultural animals for teaching and research, please contact the ACP-AG Office, 200A Large Animal Clinic, 265-6790.

Approved Date

Revised Date

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