Manual Contents / LAS Homecage
A. Protocol Review Required
The first step in ordering animals is to receive approval from the Animal Care and Facilities Committee. Approval by the ACFC is required prior to initiation of any project involving animals. Animals may not be purchased or otherwise acquired without committee approval. For further information on Protocol Review see Chapter 4..
B. Setting up an Account for Animal Care Charges
Prior to ordering animals, investigators should establish an account with Laboratory Animal Services to cover animal care charges. This is done by submitting an Internal Purchase Order to the Laboratory Animal Services office. The purchase order blanket should be sufficient to cover anticipated per diem costs for at least a three month period. Laboratory Animal Services will issue U-charges against these blankets only for the actual charges incurred during a given month. Investigators may establish more than one account by submitting a purchase order for each account.
Note that the supplier department is Laboratory Animal Services, Nelson Labs, Busch Campus, for all investigators, regardless of campus. Object code 3290 should be used. An approved protocol number (e.g 89-001) must appear in the body of the requisition.
C. Animal Procurement Form
Animal ordering, for approved projects, is initiated by submitting a completed Animal Procurement Form to LAS. LAS Campus Managers must review and approve Animal Procurement Forms before an order can be placed. The Manager will review the form for completeness, verify that an account has been established for animal care costs, verify that the project is approved, that the source of animals is appropriate, and that appropriate space and housing is available in the animal facilities. Information is then used by LAS to prepare for receipt of the animals.
Standing orders, that is advance orders for
specified numbers of animals to be received from a vendor on specified dates, may be
approved by the LAS Managers in advance. Irregular, sporadic orders must be approved
individually even if they are purchased on a blanket purchase order.
Animal receiving is handled by Laboratory Animal Services according to Standard Operating Procedures written for each species and animal facility. Investigators are provided a copy of the pertinent animal receiving SOP. Typically the receiving process includes the following elements.
Prior to arrival, cages of a specified type are prepared in advance with the specified diet, water, etc.
Prior to arrival, cage cards are prepared for each cage.
Shipping containers are examined on arrival for evidence of damage.
The shipping label is checked against the Animal Procurement Form to verify that the proper animals have been shipped.
Animals are placed into cages as specified on the Animal Procurement Form.
Animals are observed for general overall health. Questions or problems are reported to a Supervisor, Manager or veterinarian. Animals are checked for proper sex.
The investigator is notified in writing that the animals have arrived. The investigators will be notified by phone if there are problems.
Special SOP's may call for physical examination by a veterinarian or trained technician, laboratory tests, animal identification, etc.
Special requirements for animal receiving should be discussed with the Laboratory Animal Services Campus Manager
prior to ordering animals so that they may be incorporated into a special SOP. Investigators wishing to handle animal receiving themselves should make arrangements with the Laboratory Animal Services Manager.E. Quarantine, Isolation, Acclimitization
The need for separation of newly arrived animals varies with the species, strain, vendor, microbiological status, intended use and proposed housing. Animals are housed separately by species except in specific instances where mixing of species has been approved by the Animal Care and Facilities Committee and the Director of Laboratory Animal Services. Normally this means that only one species is housed in a room unless other physical means of separation are employed such as isolation cubicles, microisolator cages, ventilated racks, etc. Adequate separation can vary from a prolonged period of strict quarantine and conditioning for wild-caught primates to visual inspection on arrival for pathogen free rodents.
1. Rodents Rodents from commercial sources with extensive quality control programs that are free of defined pathogens may generally be placed directly into animal rooms.Since many of the infectious diseases of rodents that may have adverse effects on research are not manifested clinically, visual observation of rodents for periods of one to two weeks is of limited value in detecting the presence of such diseases. Serologic screening of every shipment is not practical. The most practical approach therefore is to rely on vendor assurances concerning the absence of specified pathogens. LAS has designated certain facilities as "virus free facilities". Only animals from specified approved vendors are accepted into these facilities.
2. Non-Rodents Non-rodent species are for the most part not available in the well-defined, pathogen free state typical of high-quality commercially bred rodents. Therefore, some form of quarantine is generally indicated. It is especially important to protect valuable experimental animals already under study from new animals. Laboratory Animal Services establishes specific quarantine procedures for each species. F. Approved VendorsLaboratory Animal Services maintains a list of Approved Animal Vendors for each species.. Animals acquired from approved vendors can be ordered and received according to established SOP's. Animals from non-approved sources may be subject to special quarantine or isolation procedures, and may not be allowed in certain facilities.
Approved vendor status is determined by the Laboratory Animal Services veterinary staff based on some or all of the following criteria: quality control and testing results provided by the vendor, vendor reputation, facility tours by Laboratory Animal Services, testing by Laboratory Animal Services, and test data available from other research institutions.
Investigators wishing to have a vendor included as an approved vendor should contact the Director of Laboratory Animal Services.
G. Animals From Non-commercial Sources and Foreign CountriesOn occasion, an investigator may decide that the best or only animal model for a given line of research is one that can only be obtained from another research laboratory at another institution and one that is not available from an approved commercial vendor. Wild-caught animals, animals from foreign countries, animals from other research facilities and animals from non-approved commercial vendors should be assumed to be infected with pathogens not present at Rutgers. Such animals can only be introduced into Rutgers animal facilities after a careful evaluation of the risks involved.
Investigators who wish to introduce animals from other than approved commercial vendors should notify LAS well in advance. The LAS veterinary staff will first contact the veterinarian at the source to determine what is known about the source colony.
H. Animal ProductsAnimal or human products such as transplantable tumors and cell cultures can be contaminated with biological agents that may infect animals, and in the cases of zoonotic diseases, people. Rutgers currently has no established policy on the introduction of biological products to the campus. Animal users should be aware, however, that they may inadvertently introduce pathogens into animal colonies when introducing such products. One agent of particular concern is lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) virus. LCM can cause serious neurologic disease in humans, and laboratory animal associated infections are well documented.
Investigators who plan to introduce cells, tissues, or tumors into animal facilities are asked to consult with LAS concerning the microbiological status of the material, BEFORE doing so.
I. Per Diem Rates and Billing for Animal Care ServicesInvestigators are charged for routine animal care services on the basis of per-diem charges. Monthly bills are determined by multiplying the Total Animal Care Days on each Census Sheet by the applicable per diem rate. Rates are calculated to cover the cost of food, bedding, supplies, repair and maintenance of equipment, and overtime and wages of labor for the animal care staff. Salaries, including those of the veterinary staff, LAS supervisory staff and animal care staff, are supported for the most part by state funds. Animal purchases, animal caging and research diets are the responsibility of academic departments.
Per-diem rates for laboratory animals are set by the Animal Care and Facilities Committee. Per diem rates for agricultural animals are set by the NJAES. Investigators with special requirements may be charged special rates (higher or lower than standard rates). Contact the Director of Laboratory Animal Services to inquire about special rates.
J. Census MethodsThe census method described below is widely used in biomedical research facilities throughout the country. In addition to being essential for any cost-recovery system based on
per-diem charges, it is a valuable planning tool for management of an animal care program. It is in your best interest to accurately record all animals removed from the animal facility. 1. Census Collection - An Overview The heart of the census collection procedure is the Daily Animal Census Form. Each month, LAS will post census forms in every animal room. There will be a census form for every Investigator-Species-Room combination. The form has columns labelled IN, OUT, TOTAL, and INITIAL. Because it is not practical to count every animal every day, the system relies on accurate recording of animals added (IN) and animals removed (OUT). Persons adding or removing animals sign the sheet (INITIAL). Based on IN and OUT notations, LAS will determine the census at the end of each day (TOTAL). It is essential for an accurate census that this activity be recorded faithfully. Because errors can occur, we will rely on physical counts performed at least twice a month to confirm the running total. 2. Monthly Reports Laboratory Animal Services will collect census forms at the end of each month. Daily totals on each census form will be added to give "Total Animal Care Days". Monthly charges will be calculated by multiplying the per-diem rate by the Total Animal Care Days. For each census sheet, you will receive a printout which shows the room and species, the per-diem rate in effect, daily totals for each day of the month, Total Animal Care Days, the Average Daily Census, and the Amount Due. The Amount Due is calculated on Total Animal Care Days, not the Average Daily Census. Average Daily Census is provided only as a convenience to give a more readily recognizable number. In addition to the information provided for each census sheet, each printout will include a summary of monthly charges by species and an overall total amount due from each investigator._ There must be a census sheet for every Investigator-Species-Room combination.
_ The "Principal Investigator" (P.I.) on the census sheet must have an Accession Number from the Animal Care and Facilities Committee (ACFC) for a project involving animals.
_ If a faculty member, staff member or student is working under the direction of a faculty member, and using that faculty member's Accession Number, the "P.I." listed on the census form must be the faculty member with the Accession Number. Co-Investigators, which may include faculty, staff or students, may be indicated on the census form following the PI's name.
_ Every cage of animals must have a properly completed cage card. The PI on the cage card must have an Accession Number from the ACFC for a project involving animals and the name should correspond with the name of the PI on the census form.
_ Each month, LAS will provide new census forms based on a list of animal users from the previous month.
_ When new census forms are needed for a new project, or when animals are moved, LAS will provide a new census form.
_ The LAS Manager and Supervisor on each campus are responsible to see that census forms are in the animal rooms and maintained properly.
_ If you have a question about your census form, if you are starting a new project, or if your form "disappears", contact the LAS supervisor on your campus.
DO NOT REMOVE CENSUS FORMS FROM THE ROOM AT ANY TIME!
_ Please make all entries with a black ball-point pen. Census forms will be photocopied.
_ Corrections should be made by crossing out the error with a single line. Initial and date the correction. Please do not hide errors with "white-out", marking pens, etc.
_ Female rodents with a litter are counted as one animal until weaning. Weaning should be performed by day 21 unless an alternative procedure has been approved by the ACFC. At weaning, weaned animals should be noted in the "IN" column.
_ Mark only the IN, OUT and INITIAL columns. Laboratory Animal Services will maintain the TOTAL column. TOTAL entries will not be made until the next day because there may be more than one IN or OUT entry.
_ Where Laboratory Animal Services personnel change cages and transfer animals as a part of routine animal care, Laboratory Animal Services personnel will conduct physical counts at least twice monthly to verify the running census total.
_ Where research staff are responsible for transferring animals to clean cages, the Lab Animal Services Campus Manager will make arrangements for verifying the running census total.