University of Wisconsin-Madison

Policy Number: 2004-026 [PDF]

Adoption Date: 01/07/2005

Effective Date: 01/07/2005

Expiration Date: ongoing

Review Date: Annually

Policy on Visitors, Photography and Videography in Areas with Animals

Purpose: Contact between visitors to the University and animals used in research, teaching, and outreach can constitute both a positive learning experience for the visitors and a health risk to the animals and visitors. The following policy is intended to ensure a minimally disruptive environment for resident animals, to protect the health of research animals, to protect the confidentiality and integrity of research, and to help in the accurate representation of policies and procedures

Policy: Conditions under which access to animal facilities may be granted, both for visitors and for the use of electronic, film, or tape recording of facilities and animals, are as follows. Violation of this policy or any of its parts is also a violation of Work Rule 1A (Insubordination, including disobedience or failure to carry out assignments or instructions.)

• At a minimum, the principal investigator's (PI) or designee's verbal permission must be obtained before animals used in research, teaching, and outreach are visually inspected by visitors. This requirement is waived for government inspectors, and other visitors present at the request or as a requirement of the University (e.g., AAALAC site visitors, IACUC members, research animal veterinarians).
• All visitors must comply with required animal user training, including Occupational Health and Safety program enrollment and training as applicable.
• All visitors must abide by individual facility Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) pertaining to protective clothing, TB testing, etc.
• All visitors must be accompanied by PIs or designees, or by a qualified university employee (e.g. facility manager, research animal veterinarian, university press officer).
• The use of any recording device (e.g., traditional camera, digital camera, camera phones, digital recorder, sound recorder) is prohibited with the following exceptions:
  1. when performed by authorized PI or designee when required for scientific reasons (e.g., publications, laboratory documentation)
  2. when performed by authorized personnel when required to assist in clinical diagnosis of disease
  3. when performed by authorized personnel when required to document compliance or animal handling issues at the direction of University officials, ACUCs, veterinarians, and representatives of federal agencies.
  4. with special permission from PIs, who are strongly encouraged to work with designated UW-Madison press officers (see below), photography or filming may be permitted by outside interests, e.g., journalists
• Student/staff/faculty who may be photographed in the course of their work should be informed when such activity is imminent; any individual may decline being photographed, filmed, or recorded are not required to be subject to recording
• Consideration should be given for the secure processing, transport and storage of negatives, disks, tapes, media cards, etc. taken by PIs or lab personnel in the course of their work
• Every effort should be made to show appropriate and accurate context when audio or visual recordings are made (e.g., if an animal is anesthetized or sedated, include the vaporizer or tray holding the bottle of injectable drug; have personnel wearing required personal protective equipment appropriate for the work appear in the image, etc.)

See attached list of Designated press officers.

See also All Campus ACUC Policies 1999-006, Animal User Orientation and Mandatory Training and 2004-025, Occupational Health Program Enrollment.

Designated UW press officers and coverage areas available to work with investigators who might have photographers or videographers in their labs:

Terry Devitt, University Communications Campuswide	(608) 262-8282	trdevitt@wisc.edu
Paroma Basu, University Communications Campuswide	(608) 262-9772	basu1@wisc.edu
Jordana Lenon, Primate Center	(608) 263-7024	jlenon@primate.wisc.edu
Tania Banak, School of Veterinary Medicine	(608) 263-6914	banakt@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu
Katie Weber, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences	(608) 262-3636	klweber1@wisc.edu
Lisa Brunette, UW Health Public Affairs	(608) 263-5830	la.brunette@hosp.wisc.edu
Tim Le Monds, UW Health Public Affairs	(608) 263-3223	tj.lemonds@hosp.wisc.edu
Dian Land, UW Health Public Affairs	(608) 263-9893	dj.land@hosp.wisc.edu

Prepared by: J. Welter, S. Boehm, T. Devitt, H. McEntee

Reference Minutes: 07/02/2004, 09/10/2004, 01/07/2005, 09/07/07, 10/10/07