Animal Purchasing Procedures and Guidelines

Purpose

This policy provides guidance to investigators and other personnel concerning purchasing animals used in biomedical research and teaching.

Policy

An animal that will be used in research or teaching must be ordered by the Teaching and Research Animal Care Services (TRACS) Husbandry Unit utilizing pre-approved vendors when animals are housed in TRACS vivaria.  A current animal protocol number and billing ID are required at the time an order is placed.

Procedures

Effective 8/2/2010, all animal orders must be placed using the IACUC’s Animal Tracking System. Here’s how:

1.) Go to https://iacuc.ucdavis.edu/protocol/

2.) Enter your Kerberos ID and password (if you’re not already logged in)

3.) Click on the “Animal Tracking System” link (located on the right side of the page)

4.) Click on the “Request Purchase” link under the appropriate protocol

The deadline for orders to arrive the following week is Thursday by noon (exceptions: Wednesday by 10:00 AM for National Cancer Institute; Tuesday by 9:00 AM for National Institute of Aging; Wednesday by 4:00 PM for TACONIC). You will receive an email confirmation once your order has been processed.

TRACS works with a chosen vendor to meet the needs specified by the requester on the order and will notify that person if any complications arise, such as alternate offers on animal ages, delivery dates or if the vendor has any questions about the order.

The current list of TRACS vendors and their contact information is located on the TRACS website. Investigators are encouraged to view the resource to attain information about strain, animal availability, and vendor choices. TRACS has pre-existing agreements established with some of the vendors listed on the website. If non-approved vendors are requested, please contact the Health Monitoring Coordinator at [email protected] for approval prior to placing the order.

New Principal Investigators or first time users of TRACS services are strongly encouraged to contact the main office at 530-752-1390 or [email protected].

Summary of Required Information:

The following information will be requested when placing an animal order:

1)  Current Protocol Number –  Animal care and use protocol information can be found on the IACUC page or by calling the IACUC Office at 530-752-2364.

2)  Chart of Account Details (COA / POET(AF))

3)  Vendor Choice – Please provide vendor preference keeping in mind ordering deadlines as detailed above.

4)  Animal Housing Location – Please include the building, floor and room if animals are already housed at TRACS

For new animal housing requests, contact the Animal Resource Manager – at 530-752-1481

5)  Specifics about the animals requesting

  • Strain
  • Sex
  • Age/Weight
  • Quantity
  • Any special notations about your animals
  • If PI chooses to use Jackson Labs as the vendor, please provide JAX stock number of the animal strain ordering.

6)  Date of Arrival – Date the Animals Should Arrive

Please note that the standard arrivals are on Tuesday to the TRACS animal receiving building and animals are placed in their appropriate housing by Wednesday.

TRACS Animal Technicians place animals in PI’s pre-approved, designated housing area by the following morning. Due to variable vendor shipping arrival times, animals may be placed at different times throughout Tuesday afternoons or Wednesday mornings. Please note that animal placement time is dependent on the arrival time of the vendor delivery.

If a specific arrival date other than a Tuesday is required, please ask and TRACS will contact the vendor to see if they are able to accommodate your needs. Please note that requests for variable arrival dates with the exception of Fridays, weekends and scheduled holidays usually result in an increase in shipping costs or may not be able to be accommodated by all vendors.

7)  Housing Duration

  • Short Term (Less than 2 Months)
  • Long Term (More than 2 Months)
  • Terminal

8)  Special Needs (please contact TRACS main office 530-752-1390 before placing order)

Please be sure to let TRACS know if the animal purchase will require extra lead time or there are special needs. Some examples of these situations would be:

  • Cryogenically preserved strains
  • Time Mated
  • Specific gestations upon arrival
  • Specific breeding requirements
  • Limited supply due to low colony numbers
  • Specific date of arrival
  • Aged, diabetic animals or young recently weaned animals that should be checked immediately upon arrival
  • Species such as frogs with special temperature requirements
  • Special diet/caging requirements
  • Please be sure to review TRACS husbandry SOP’s (check with an area supervisor if you are unfamiliar with our practices)
  • Non approved vendors or imports

Failure to adhere to these guidelines could result in housing being unavailable for investigators animals.