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Office of Research and Innovation
Research Administration and Compliance

NC State IACUC Standard on Acquisition and Disposition of Animals used for Outreach, Research and Teaching

This standard serves to state that all vertebrate animals must be acquired lawfully, used judiciously, and discharged properly. University-owned animals must be acquired from certified sources and have ethical, practical and humane methods for disposition when they are no longer required for research, testing or teaching use.

All persons involved with the care and/or use of animals in research and/or teaching at the University including, but not limited to Principal Investigators, researchers, animal handlers, and students.

Standard

Acquisition is defined by how an animal is purchased or obtained for the purpose of research, testing or teaching. All animals must be acquired lawfully and with proper documentation. Disposition is defined by how an animal is discharged when they are no longer needed for research, testing or teaching. 

All methods of acquisition and disposition must be outlined in an approved IACUC protocol. IACUC approval does not guarantee housing or space for animals in their associated facilities or units. The financial responsibility for all animals will remain the responsibility of the principal investigator or their department until final disposition is accomplished unless other arrangements have been made with your department or the facility.

Guidelines for Acquisition

  • No animals can be purchased, leased, donated, transferred, captured, or otherwise acquired for research, teaching, or training without an IACUC-approved protocol. The protocol must indicate the source of animal acquisition. If multiple sources, all should be described in the protocol. 
  • On arrival, all animals are to be provided the minimum acclimation period appropriate for their species as determined by the facility managers and Primary Site Veterinarians
  • Animal transport should be compliant with institutional policy and federal and state requirements. Any animal transportation by NC state personnel should be fully described in the protocol.
  • If a protocol is expiring, any remaining animals must be transferred to another protocol or utilized before the expiration date of the existing protocol.
  • All PIs must keep up with the total number of animals used on the protocol following the “Tracking of Approval and Approved Animal Numbers” Guidance. PIs must document,  monitor, and submit a final animal usage form accounting the numbers of animals acquired and used, including any animals that are discharged because they are not needed. 
  • In certain circumstances animals may be placed on the University Attending Veterinarian (UAV) holding protocol with approval from the UAV. This holding protocol may not be used as a mechanism to obtain animals prior to IACUC approval (a non-compliance situation). These animals cannot be used in research, training, or teaching prior to IACUC approval.
  • Unanticipated animals that become available through federal/state agency wildlife capture or other means without prior IACUC approval must still be acquired legally and may be placed and housed temporarily on the animal holding protocol if permission is first obtained from the UAV.

Acceptable Methods for Acquisition

  • Approved commercial vendors or other universities.
    • Health reports may need to be requested.
    • UAV or their designee may refuse any animal if their health poses a risk to established animals.
  • In-house breeding colonies
  • Transferred from other protocols
  • Privately owned animals
  • Wildlife captured and housed in captivity in an IACUC-approved facility. Appropriate state and federal wildlife regulations and collection permits must be obtained, if applicable.
  • Wildlife species that are captured and released on-site. Appropriate state and federal wildlife regulations and collection permits must be obtained, if applicable.

Guidelines for Disposition of Live Animals

  • When ordering animals and planning project timelines, researchers must consider timely disposition to avoid prolonged animal holding.
  • They may be euthanized in accordance with current American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals.
  • Animals may be transferred from one active protocol to another active approved protocol.
    • This requires prior approval by the facility or unit in the form of an animal transfer request.
    • Approval of animal transfer in the applicable IACUC protocols.
    • To transfer animals that have been used in invasive or surgical research/teaching, the receiving protocol must list the invasive or surgical research/teaching these animals have been involved in, and their reuse must be justified.
  • Animals may be made available for  adoption. The adoptable status of an animal must be determined by the UAV or designee at the respective facilities. Additionally, individual facilities may have specific adoption policies, guidelines or SOPs that must be followed.
    • Not eligible for adoption:
      • Genetically modified animals (Transgenics)
      • Venomous animals
      • Potentially invasive species
      • Endangered or legally protected species
      • Wildlife
      • Animals that the UAV or designee judges to be unsuitable for adoption
  • Animals may be returned to privately owned or researcher-owned care, respectively, if the client or researcher originally donated these animals.
  • Food animals (livestock)
    • May be disposed of through commercial sales or terminal processing plants  in accordance with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and North Carolina Department of Agriculture regulations. 
    • Only experimentally naïve agricultural animals or agricultural animals used in non-invasive or minimally invasive agricultural research or teaching may be sent to the market for human consumption. Food Animal Residue Avoidance Database (FARAD) and FDA regulations apply. 
    • With regard to animals used for biomedical research, only control animals may be sold to market, pursuant to transfer from a research protocol to a facility holding/maintenance protocol. 
    • Biomedical experimental animals may not be sold.
  • Animals may be transferred to a suitable institution for research or teaching. The receiving institution must have a scientific or teaching purpose for the animal(s) and have an IACUC-approved protocol in place. A copy of the receiving institution’s approved protocol should be sent to the NC State IACUC office prior to the animal transfer for verification of approval. Other information may be requested depending on the transfer arrangement.
  • Other methods of disposition can be requested by way of contacting the IACUC office and providing specific information for consideration.

Guidelines for Disposition of Tissues

  • Tissue transfers (including cadavers) within the institution do not require IACUC approval, but hazard communications should transfer with the tissues.
  • Tissue transfers  (including cadavers) outside of the institution should be handled through centralized college resources (facility leadership, cadaver committee, etc.)
  • Donations for animal consumption must be free of chemical contamination (i.e. euthanasia should be via carbon dioxide overdose or a physical method)
  • Donations for animal consumption must be free of transgenes (often considered wild-type)
    • Animals produced through breeding transgenic breeding, even wild-type offspring, must  be disposed of as biohazardous waste and are not permitted to enter the food supply or environment per the NIH Guidelines).
    • Genetically modified rodents produced by conventional breeding techniques that do not involve incorporation of a foreign genome (ex hybrids, congenics, conplastics, etc.) are considered wild-type and may be donated

References

NCSU Reg 10.10.10 

NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules

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