University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research Animal Resources Center

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SVM ACUC Animal Re-use Policy

In order to use research animals wisely, but to assure that animals are not over used in research, the SVM ACUC establishes the following policy on re-use of research animals.

1. When animals are transferred between protocols, transfers must be reported to the ARC office, to the supervisor or the assistant director.
2. 1. If you anticipate using experimentally naïve* animals from other protocols in your research, your protocol must state under question 9 (sources of animals) that animals from other protocols may be used.
   2. Given 2a), any one of the following types of transfers between protocols DO NOT need any protocol amendment:
      
      • Healthy experimentally naïve* animals
      • Rodents previously used only for breeding with no invasive** procedures performed
      • Animals transferred from one approved protocol to another approved protocol for the purpose of immediate euthanasia, by an approved method stated in the protocol.
      • Animals approved by the method outline in item 4 below.
3. If the animal has been used for experimental procedures, it may be transferred from one protocol to another by protocol amendment, naming the protocol number the animals are coming from.
4. Animals that have been used for simple experimental procedures such as a single blood draw, or a single injection of a vehicle or saline, for example, may be transferred with the approval of an RARC veterinarian (or designee).
5. In no case may a veterinarian or an ACUC independently approve a transfer that would involve an animal having multiple major survival surgeries across protocols (ie, one surgery in one protocol, and the second in a different protocol). Such transfers require USDA approval for covered species following a request from the ACUC.

For USDA covered species (such as dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, wild caught animals, hamsters, etc) a written record of the transfer will be kept. The animal’s clinical record should also contain the following:

• date
• original protocol number
• receiving protocol number

If you have questions regarding this policy, please call the Senior Program Veterinarian Dr. Janet Welter, 265-2695 ( welter@rarc.wisc.edu ).

* Examples of naïve animals include: excess from shipments; animals housed but not included in research manipulation; unused offspring from breeding colonies.

** Tail tipping is not considered an invasive procedure

Thanks to Drs. Bentley, Bjorling, and Markel for their review of the document and their comments.