DLAR FAQs

When you have received IACUC approval for animal use, contact Cheryl Carmichael, to establish your departmental start-up and/or grant account number(s) in the Cayuse Animal Oversight database. After the account setup process has been completed, you will then be able to submit an online animal order in Cayuse Animal Oversight.

In the table of contents section, click on Animal Orders then select Create New Animal Order. This link will take you through the animal ordering process that includes selecting your approved protocol number, if you have several to choose from, your order source (type), specifications i.e. strain, age/weight, sex and species (mouse, rat, etc.).

Select the account number to which the animal purchase will be charged and any other specifications you wish to include. Please follow the on-screen instructions.

For any questions or problems, contact Cheryl Carmichael 859-323-6006

Ordering deadline for Jackson, Envigo, Charles River, and Taconic is Wednesday at 3:00 pm the week before the animals arrive. The deadline for NIA orders is Tuesday at 11:00 am the week before the animals arrive. 

Jackson and Envigo shipments come in on Mondays. Charles River, Taconic, and NIA shipments come in on Tuesdays.

For larger animals contact Cheryl Carmichael 859-323-6006 for ordering  deadline and arrival dates and times. 

The Principle Investigator is contacted via confirmation e-mail when the animals have been received in Cayuse Animal Oversight or look it up under Order Search.

If a designated date of arrival was requested when placing an animal order, the above still applies but, also check with the supervisor of the facility where your animals are being housed or contact the DLAR Main office at 859-323-5885.

Our approved vendors deliver Days for Mice and Rats      
Monday deliveries: Envigo and The Jackson Laboratory

Tuesday deliveries: Charles River, Taconic and NIH
Other species:  Contact the DLAR business office at 859-323-5885 for information regarding delivery.

Animals that are expected from other sources such as collaborating intuitions are coordinated through our Import/Export coordinator and can sometimes be delayed due to health status reports. Please be aware that they may have to go through our quarantine protocols before they are allowed into our regular housing facilities.

Quarantine is a minimum of 45 days for rodents.  Rodent breeding stock and animals from non-standard vendors, and animals from outside the U.S. may require an extended quarantine.

Please to the text provided below for an explanation of the OLAW and USDA guidelines for the use of non-pharmaceutical grade chemicals or compounds

1. May investigators use non-pharmaceutical-grade compounds in animals?
   OLAW and USDA agree that pharmaceutical-grade¹ chemicals and other substances, when available, must be used to avoid toxicity or side effects that may threaten the health and welfare of vertebrate animals and / or interfere with the interpretation of research results. However, it is frequently necessary to use investigational compounds, veterinarian- or pharmacy-compounded² drugs, and / or Schedule I³ controlled substances to meet scientific and research goals.

The IACUC is responsible for evaluating the potential adverse consequences of such agents when used for research. In making its evaluation, the IACUC may consider factors including, for example:

• grade
• purity
• sterility
• acid-base balance
• pyrogenicity
• osmolality
• stability
• site and route of administration
• compatibility of components
• side effects and adverse reactions
• storage, and
• pharmacokinetics.

The IACUC may use a variety of administrative methods to review and approve the use of such non-pharmaceutical-grade agents. For example, the IACUC may establish acceptable scientific criteria for use of these agents within the institution, rather than on a case-by-case basis. Investigators and IACUCs should consider relevant animal welfare and scientific issues including safety, efficacy, availability of pharmaceutical-grade compounds, and the inadvertent introduction of new variables. Cost savings alone are not an adequate justification for the use of non-pharmaceutical-grade or compounded drugs in animals.

Although the potential animal welfare consequences of complications are less evident in non-survival studies, the scientific issues remain the same. The principles and need for professional judgment outlined above apply to non-survival studies.

Procedures that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress to animals must be relieved by sedation, analgesia, or anesthesia using veterinary or human pharmaceutical-grade compounds, unless the use of an investigational chemical or formulation is scientifically necessary, appropriately justified, and approved by the IACUC. The use of a non-pharmaceutical-grade euthanasia agent must meet the same criteria.

¹ A pharmaceutical grade compound is a drug, biologic, or reagent that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or for which a chemical purity standard has been established by the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary (USP-NF), or British Pharmacopeia (BP).

² Veterinary compounding is the customized manipulation of an approved drug by a veterinarian, or by a pharmacist upon the prescription of a veterinarian, to meet the needs of a research study. IACUCs considering the use of veterinary compounding for research purposes are advised to consult the AVMA Vet Compounding Brochure for more information about federal regulations.

³ United States Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Agency controlled substances Schedule I and II-IV drugs may be used in biomedical research according to the standards of the Code of Federal Regulations 1301.13.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/faqs.htm#useandmgmt_4   . 

This information is also contained in the document entitled IACUC 119 Non-Pharmaceutical Grade Chemicals (pdf, 5pgs).

All visitors, vendors, contractors and equipment repair personnel must first go through a DLAR Orientation and receive our Occupational Health and Safety Information PRIOR to their entry into the animal facility. If the repair personnel have visited before without receiving the information, you will need to make arrangements for them to meet with the DLAR Training coordinator,  the assistant training coordinator, or you may contact the supervisor of the facility you need access to in order to arrange for this to occur. This can be easily accomplished by letting us know when you plan to have them come in. We can schedule the orientation as a group or on an individual basis either in our training room H41A on the ground floor of the Medical Center. The room can accommodate up to four people. If there is a larger group, a meeting room can be arranged. In addition, ALL personnel, without exception, entering the animal facilities MUST have either a valid UK Security issued ID badge with a RED DLAR sticker attached or a temporary UK DLAR Visitors badge/sticker. These temporary DLAR stickers/badges are valid only for the date they are issued. They must also have received a copy of the Visitor/Vendor Occupational Health and Safety Information (pdf, 3 pgs).  It will not be necessary for them to sign a Visitor/Vendor form on subsequent visits unless it has been more than one year since their last visit. Forms and temporary stickers/badges can be obtained from our main office in the Health Science Research Building (HSRB) in Room 204 or from H41A on the ground floor of the Medical Center. 

You can get a replacement for your red DLAR sticker in our main office in HSRB 204. If you get a new badge, you will also need to get a new sticker. Remember your UK Health Care Badge must have a DLAR sticker attached, or you will be asked to leave the facility Immediately. There is no charge for either the original or the replacement stickers.

In order for new personnel to be able to come into the DLAR facilities and work with the animals, they must first be on an approved animal care and use protocol. You will need to add the person to your approved animal use protocol in Cayuse AO. Help with this can be obtained from The Office of the Attending Veterinarian. The person you add must complete the Mandatory Education for the IACUC. After the mandatory education has been completed they should fill out the Request for DLAR Access form (pdf, 1pg) and return it to HSRB 204 to obtain access to the requested area.

The Special Attention Cards indicate a cage that requires special attention or frequent observation. Please see the DLAR Designation-Flag Cards (PDF 31 Pgs).  This presentation explains the cards and their use.  Pictorial instructions for properly filling out the DLAR Pink Surgery Cards 

Also on cages may be Breeding Colony Cage Cards, which are used for identification for weaning and billing. 

Visitors are required to check in at our main office in HSRB 204 to receive information on Occupational Health and Safety concerns and accessing the animal facilities. Visitors must be issued a special visitors badge at that time and be escorted into the facilities by a DLAR staff member or designated individual, usually a faculty member or member of a research team. A Visitor/Vendor Information form (pdf, 3pgs) is required. Please download the information form and bring it with you. If you need additional information, please send an email to Ken Hays of  our Training Team.

Visitor Policy

• Must be aware of potential issues concerning occupational health and safety
• Must obtain a Visitors Temporary Badge from main office, facilities operations manager or supervisor of the housing area.
• Must receive a copy of the Occupational Health and Safety Information and sign and return the signature page to DLAR prior to entering the animal facilities. If they will be accessing areas housing or containing non-human primates, they will need to have had a negative TB skin test and have a confirmed titer or vaccination for Rubeola (regular measles).
• Must be accompanied by responsible individual/sponsor at all times
• No photographs will be taken without (written) permission from a member of the DLAR senior/administrative staff (DLAR veterinarians, Facilities Operations Manager, Director, Associate/Assistant Director, Supervisors and Training Coordinator may give permission if directed by senior staff) If animals are to be filmed or photographed by outside individuals other than the investigator or his/her immediate staff, investigators they must first communicate this and coordinate with DLAR senior staff.

Vendors and Contractors

• Must complete Vendor Contractor training with DLAR training staff and receive Occupational Health and Safety Information and sign and return the signature page to DLAR prior to working in the animal facilities. If they will be accessing areas housing or containing non-human primates, they will need to have had a negative TB skin test and have a confirmed titer or vaccination for Rubeola (regular measles). They must, in addition to initial training, receive information and view presentation concerning working with or around non-human primates.
• Visiting vendors, contractors, or consultants must receive Occupational Health and Safety Information and sign and return the signature page prior to entering the animal facilities. They must obtain a Visitors Temporary Badge from DLAR staff. They must be accompanied at all times by a designated DLAR staff member or PPD representative. Photography in any DLAR facility area is by DLAR permission only.
• Individual vendors and contractors with UK ID badges must display a red DLAR sticker on their badges indicating they have completed necessary training presentations as outlined by DLAR prior to unaccompanied entry into the animal facilities.

Security Personnel

• All security personnel stationed or accessing the DLAR animal facilities should receive training as required by the Division of Laboratory Animal Resources and given information on potential occupational health and safety prior to being assigned to the animal facilities.

UK Police Department

• Officers who may be accessing the DLAR animal facilities should be familiar with the occupational health and safety issues potentially present in the department. This information can be transmitted by presentation and written handouts and is available to all law enforcement officers. DLAR solicits participation and will make these resources available.

The Division of Laboratory animal Resources provides its informational and procedural training workshops and seminars free of charge to all investigators and their staff as well as our DLAR technicians. They are approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee for continuing education credits and attendance will be recorded in Cayuse AO to be applied to your IACUC continuing education requirements. The workshops and seminars cover a wide range of subjects and are listed below:

• Mouse Breeding Colony Management
• Using the Rodent Anesthesia Machines
• Basic Handling and Procedures Training
• Aseptic Surgery Preparation
• Humane Techniques for Rodent Euthanasia Using CO² 
• Injection Techniques for Mice and Rats

We are constantly striving to expand our offerings and several new workshops and seminars are in development. These include:

• Post-Surgical Monitoring
• Blood Collection
• Suturing Techniques
• The Use of DLAR Research Equipment
• Micro-Isolator Technique

Remember to check back on our Training page for schedules and new additions to our DLAR educational offerings.

Preparing the Vertebrate Animal Section (VAS) – is a new factsheet developed by OLAW to assist applicants in completing the VAS of grant applications, contract proposals and cooperative agreements for submission to the NIH. Here you will find an overview of the requirements for each of the 5 points of the VAS. The VAS factsheet can be found on the OLAW homepage under Fast Facts. Additional information can be found in the Grant Applications VAS Worksheet (pdf, 6pgs) and Contract Proposals VAS Worksheet (pdf, 4pgs).

Additional information is available on our NIH Grant Funding Resources page.

The USDA Pain Categories outline the amount of pain and/or distress a laboratory animal will potentially experience. Please see our guide on the USDA Pain and Distress Categories for more information.