University of Alaska Anchorage

Institutional Animal Care and Use

DEFINITION OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO ANIMAL USE PROTOCOLS

Significant changes to animal use protocols REQUIRE approval by the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) prior to the activities being performed. You may report changes to the Chair of the IACUC in a memo. To ensure that you provide the necessary detail, appropriate sections from the IACUC Assurance of Animal Care Form may be copied and pasted into your memo. The following is a list of changes which are considered significant by the IACUC. If there are questions regarding whether specific changes are significant, assistance can be obtained by contacting Jennifer Burns, .

Significant changes include, but are not limited to, changes in/of:

  • Genus or species of animal used: [provide a rationale for use of the new genus/species]
  • Addition of animals to project which are being used or have been used on other projects: [note from which project and investigator the animals are being transferred]
  • Increase in the number of previously approved animals to be used: [provide justification for the increase]

-A 10% increase or more in the number of rodents, fish, reptiles or amphibians to be used

-ANY increase in the number of rabbits, dogs, cats, or other larger species

  • Addition of any procedure that may increase pain, distress, or discomfort: [provide a detailed description of the procedure(s)]
  • Surgical procedure from terminal to survival; single to multiple; minor to major; change in facility where surgery is performed: [describe and justify changes]
  • Adding or discontinuing anesthesia and/or analgesia; or changing agent, dose, or route: [describe and justify changes]
  • Euthanasia method or use of death as an endpoint: [describe and justify changes]
  • Antibody production and/or harvesting procedures: [describe changes in adjuvant used, volume, route, frequency of administration, harvest protocol - provide explanation/justification]
  • Addition of any Research/Teaching personnel performing animal procedures: [Fill out new personnel form available on web]
  • Changes in drug/reagent/chemical/cell type being administered: [describe and justify changes in agent, dose, volume, frequency of administration and alternation in anticipated side effect]
  • Addition/changes in areas to which animals to be taken and held from animal housing area for more than 12 hours; e.g., labs, procedure rooms, surgeries: [describe location, length of time in study area - provide justification]
  • Deprivation of food and/or water over 12 hours; change in diet producing a nutritional deficit: [describe and justify length of deprivation, change in diet]
  • Behavioral testing and/or noxious stimulus applied: [describe and justify testing procedures, noxious stimuli]
  • Blood sampling protocol: [describe and justify changes in withdrawal site, increase in frequency, increase in volume, especially when volume being drawn being greater than 10% of the animal’s blood volume]
  • Restraint method: [describe changes in method, frequency, equipment used - provide justification]
  • Use of paralytic agent: [describe agent, dose, frequency, monitoring protocol - provide justification]
  • Involvement of another institution or agency in the project. [Fill out new personnel form available on web]
  • Any alteration in live trapping or immobilization protocol: [describe and justify changes]