All warm-blooded vertebrate animals to be used for teaching, research, testing,
or experimentation at ETSU must be purchased or otherwise obtained through the DLAR

The Director of the DLAR is responsible for approving the source of all animals. Since animals are an important part of the research studies, it is imperative that they be of defined quality in order for the data obtained to be valid and replicable. Therefore, the major criteria for the selection of a vendor should be the suitability and quality of the animal. All scientific arguments from the user will be considered by the DLAR in making the selection. The cost of the animals should be considered, but will not be the most important factor in vendor selection. Other considerations in making the decision will be:

the ability of the vendor to provide the animals as ordered

health status of the animals ordered

vendor must be a USDA licensed dealer (if applicable)

transportation facilities and connections available

ethical and fiscal integrity of the vendor.

previous vendor used if the project is a continuation or collaboration effort

Animal procurement should be discussed with the Director or the Assistant Director of the DLAR. Because of experience and knowledge they will be able to assist in the selection of the most appropriate animal model; acquaint you with services available at ETSU; apprise you of sources, availability, and costs; and help avoid untimely delays of animal orders due to lack of necessary information.

Before any animal(s) can be used, the investigator must submit to the DLAR office an " Animal Study Protocol" application. The application will then be submitted to the University Committee on Animal Care (UCAC) for review at the next meeting. The UCAC usually meets on the third Thursday of each month. Animal Study Protocol Applications must be submitted to the DLAR office on or before the first Thursday of each month to be preliminarily reviewed for completeness and then forwarded to the UCAC members to review for the next meeting.

Animals will not be ordered, purchased, imported or otherwise acquired without an approved experimental protocol !

Upon UCAC approval of the protocol and assignment of a Protocol I.D., the completed Laboratory Animal Order Form can be forwarded to the DLAR office. The investigator should ensure that all pertinent information is provided and that the appropriate account numbers plus the required original signatures are affixed. Signature of the department chairman is required for purchases drawn on a departmental account. Photo-copy, fax, telephone or e-mail orders will not be accepted.

The Assistant Director of the DLAR will review the order and ensure the availability of vendor, space, caging, and other services for the project. To ensure timely delivery and adequate housing, orders should be placed as far in advance as feasible. Annual blanket accounts are maintained by the DLAR with several high quality animal vendors. The DLAR must process a requisition through the ETSU Purchasing Department for animals from sources with which the DLAR does not maintain an account. Arrival of such animals usually is delayed 3 to 6 weeks. Plan ahead to avoid costly delays.

Orders with rodent vendors are placed early on Friday morning for delivery the following week. All ordering information must be verified prior to placing an order. It is extremely difficult to get orders through to the vendors late on Fridays. In order to be included in the Friday ordering process the Laboratory Animal Order Form MUST be received in the DLAR office by noon on Thursday. Failure to do so may result in a week or more delay of your animal shipment.

Please note that we have no control over vendor stock availability or shipping time frames for any species or strain. Certain strains of transgenic / knock-out mice, for example, may be backordered several weeks or even months. Orders for large animals (rabbits and up) should be placed a minimum of 2 weeks in advance of the required delivery date. Specialty species, mini-swine for example, are only bred or set aside at birth when the order is placed. There are no stock animals available. Therefore if you need 6 month old animals they will not be available for 6 months.

Shipping rodents to ETSU from most vendors is generally by air freight with the exception of Harlan, Inc. who ships on their own environmentally controlled trucks. Harlan delivers to ETSU every Wednesday (if we have sufficient quantities). Large animals are usually delivered on vendor owned vehicles.

A Non-Routine Vendor Questionaire and a Request for Importation of Animals must be submitted and approved before any animals may be shipped to ETSU from outside institutions or unapproved vendors.

Upon arrival, the animals are inspected by DLAR personnel prior to acceptance and placing them into appropriate cages. This includes correct size, weight, strain, sex and apparent health. At this time the principal investigator or his designated party will be contacted by telephone to inform him/her of the animal arrival. An "Animal Arrival Notice" is then forwarded by campus mail.

Any abnormality detected later by the user should be promptly reported. If animals are found to be diseased or otherwise unsatisfactory, the DLAR may be able to obtain restitution from the vendor. This is particularly true when it can be demonstrated by laboratory findings that the animals were diseased upon arrival or otherwise were not as ordered.

The designated account will be charged the current purchase price per animal, freight, carton charge and any handling charges, plus a DLAR surcharge which is calculated at l7% of the cost of the animals (only) - $125.00 maximum surcharge per order. Contact the Assistant Director for additional information on animal prices, shipping carton and air freight/trucking charges.

Per Diem Maintenance Charges / Fees for Services

[DLAR] [UCAC] [ETSU]