University of Wisconsin-Madison

Policy Number: 2002-021 [PDF]

Adoption Date: 10/18/2002

Effective Date: 10/18/2002

Expiration Date: ongoing

Review Date: Annually in January

Recommendation on Necropsies for Non-covered Species

Purpose: USDA Policy 22 states that when warranted by circumstances including, but not limited to: the facility is undergoing a high death loss; there is a significant number of unexplained deaths at the facility; there exists a strong chance that an undiagnosed infectious disease is present at the facility (with or without potential zoonoses); circumstances around a death indicate a violation of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) may have contributed to the situation, and at the discretion of the attending veterinarian, regulated facilities should perform necropsies as part of providing adequate veterinary care. This policy builds upon the intent and guidance of Policy 22 and provides recommendations for species not covered under the USDA - AWA.

Policy: It is the mission of the Research Animal Resources Center and its laboratory to ensure the health of the University research colonies/herds. A part of this responsibility is performing necropsies on animals that have died or are severely ill in order to determine their cause of death and possible risk for the rest of the University colonies/herds as well as any unexpected adverse effects of the research protocol. These research animals are susceptible to infectious as well as possible toxic, traumatic, allergic and research related illnesses. Any of these may lead to the death of an animal putting, not only other research animals, but also breeding stock and other University colonies/ herds at risk. The All Campus Animal Care and Use Committee recommends a necropsy be done on all research animals, including large farm animals, that have died or become seriously ill prior to their expected termination. It is expected that in addition to possible risks from disease or toxins, etc. that the necropsy may also provide the investigator with pertinent information as to the effects of his research procedures and their results. Necropsies to obtain specific research data, however, must be arranged separately and are charged at an additional research rate. The RARC pathologist, Dr. Gendron (262-1239), can be contacted to arrange a necropsy for any species. Alternatively, an investigator may arrange for the necropsy to be done by another qualified veterinary pathologist (i.e. Wis. Diagnostic lab or a private laboratory). If the RARC does not do the necropsy, however, the investigator must arrange for a copy of the pathology reports to be sent both to the RARC (needed to maintain surveillance for possible infectious disease problems) and to their official campus clinical veterinarian.

Prepared by: A. Gendron, R. Lane

Reference Minutes: 10/18/2002, admin. change 7/31/06