DRAFT
Guidelines on Application to Maintain a Breeding colony
Breeding of animals for research is not encouraged if not necessary because of wastage of animals not suitable for experiment such as undesired sex or genotypes, and because of demand for space in housing facilities.
A breeding protocol may be required for the following reasons:
· When the strain is not available commercially (from the local suppliers). .
· When PI needs to maintain 2 or more parental strains to produce specific genotypes not available commercially, through the breeding programme (crosses between the strains).
· When there is a scientific justification with documentary proof.
An approval from IACUC is required before animals may be bred. Application to IACUC should be made through the IORC system the form ‘Application to maintain a breeding colony”.
A breeding protocol is not applicable if the animals (neonates and adults) are available from the local suppliers.
A breeding protocol describes the activity of maintaining a breeding colony. All procedures performed on animals should be related to the breeding activity (e.g., genotyping, artificial fertilization), and not for the research procedure(s) of the protocol served (e.g., drug administration in drug testing, surgery in implantation of research material, behavioural test, etc).
The IACUC policy on weaning and extended weaning of a breeding colony must be strictly adhered to.
PI of a breeding protocol may produce animals required by other researchers within NUS. Supply of animals to researchers from other institutions should be limited to the number required for establishing their own breeding colony. Animals should only be supplied to researchers who have an approved protocols indicating PI’s breeding protocol as the source of animals. An up-to-date record of the numbers of animals transferred to the protocols served by the breeding protocol must be maintained.
The number of animals produced should be carefully planned according to the numbers required by the research protocols served, to avoid excessive breeding.
An up-to-date record of the breeding, including the number of animals produced, weaned, used (transferred to research protocols) and not yet used have to be maintained. Such records should be made available immediately upon request by NUS, IACUC, AVA inspectors or AAALAC accreditation evaluators.
An Annual Protocol Review (APR) of the breeding protocol, including a summary of the number of animals produced, weaned, used (supplied to research protocol) and not yet used for the calendar year, must be submitted to IACUC office by 5th January each year for NUS annual report to AVA.