Purpose

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) must ensure that adequate veterinary care is provided for research and teaching animals. The term “adequate veterinary care” is defined by the Federal USDA Animal Welfare Act (AWA)*, the ILAR Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Guide), and the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM). It is not limited to caring for sick animals, but includes programs of disease detection and surveillance, prevention, post-operative care, and a variety of other issues.

Regulatory agencies are concerned about potential conflicts of interest when veterinarian-researchers provide veterinary care to their own research animals.

Policy

The Attending Veterinarian, as the veterinarian of record for the campus under the AWA and Public Health Service (PHS) Assurance, has final responsibility to ensure that campus programs for veterinary care are adequate. Veterinary care is provided to animals at UC Davis used for teaching and research through the Attending Veterinarian, and under the delegated authority of the Campus Veterinary Services (CVS), the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC), and the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) Field Service (for livestock used in agricultural teaching and research).

Since routine veterinary care is funded through the university administration, there are no financial reasons for veterinarian-researchers to provide veterinary care to their own animals.  Fees are charged for veterinary care that is provided for non-routine procedures such as treating experimentally induced disease states and for experimental surgical support.  For all rodent colonies, to minimize the potential for cross contamination, CVS maintains responsibility for the campus health monitoring program.  The cost of serology testing is supported by fees based on animal census.

Based on this concept, a Principal Investigator (PI) wishing to provide their own veterinary care must provide written scientific justification to the IACUC for requesting a deviation from one of the three providers listed in the first paragraph of the Policy section.

Procedure

In addition to providing written scientific justification,

1. Veterinarian-researchers who wish to directly provide veterinary care for their own animals are required to submit a written program of proposed veterinary care to the Attending Veterinarian and the IACUC for approval that outlines the following:

1. Methods to prevent, control, diagnose and treat disease and/or injury,
2. A description of the facilities available to provide veterinary care,
3. Provisions for emergency, weekend, and holiday veterinary care,
4. A mechanism for the animal care staff to communicate to the veterinarian in a timely manner,
5. A description of how medical records are maintained in accordance with USDA Policy 3 and IACUC Policy-35 “Medical Records for Laboratory Animals,”
6. A description of where medical records are located while an animal is undergoing treatment and for long-term storage for three years after the completion of the project,
7. If performing surgery, provisions for pre- and post-operative care,
   

2. Prior to starting the experiment, the veterinarian-researcher must communicate with the Attending Veterinarian.
3. The Attending Veterinarian or designee will visit the facility to inspect the records at least semi-annually.
4. The animal care staff will continue to report sick animals through the normal channels. This is typically through the Technician-in-Charge and/or Attending Veterinarian.
5. The veterinarian-researcher must notify the Attending Veterinarian by phone or email any animal health concerns that are a direct result of an animal care and use protocol’s procedures within 24 hours.
6. The Attending Veterinarian has the authority to immediately suspend an activity that causes significant animal welfare or health concerns. The Attending Veterinarian will immediately notify the IACUC of any such situation.

Failure to adhere to these policies will result in loss of the privilege of the veterinarian-researcher providing their own veterinary care.


* AWA 9CFR Ch.1, ss 2.33 (3)(b)(1-5)
(b) Each research facility shall establish and maintain programs of adequate veterinary care that include:
    (1) The availability of appropriate facilities, personnel, equipment, and services to comply with the provisions of this subchapter;
    (2) The use of appropriate methods to prevent, control, diagnose, and treat diseases and injuries, and the availability of emergency, weekend, and holiday care;
    (3) Daily observation of all animals to assess their health and well-being; Provided, however, That daily observation of animals may be accomplished by someone other than the attending veterinarian; and Provided, further, That a mechanism of direct and frequent communication is required so that timely and accurate information on problems of animal health, behavior, and well-being is conveyed to the attending veterinarian;
    (4) Guidance to principal investigators and other personnel involved in the care and use of animals regarding handling, immobilization, anesthesia, analgesia, tranquilization, and euthanasia; and
    (5) Adequate pre-procedural and post-procedural care in accordance with current established veterinary medical and nursing procedures.

Procedure: IACUC-21
Date: 01/10/08
Enabled by: ILAR Guide, AWA, and PHS Policy
Supersedes: 09/30/2007