ABSTRACT
Millions of animals are acquired and used for scientic research annually in the U.S. Because animal acquisitions for research and the eventual disposition of these animals are under the stringent regulation of federal law and the oversight of funding agencies, there is a lot at stake. If animals are not acquired and used in accordance with appropriate laws and standards, institutions risk punitive measures and/or public relations dilemmas. Complicating these issues are myriad details related to the potential sources of animals or research specimens (e.g., farms, stockyards, commercial breeders, USDA Class B dealers, foreign import, pet shops, wild-caught, donations or loans from citizens, institutional breeding colonies, reanimation from sperm or embryo cryopreserved repositories, transfer from other research projects, interstate movement, and abattoirs), the type of research for which animals are acquired, the animal species to be used, stage of development/maturation, and eventual disposition (e.g., euthanasia, slaughter for food, donation to raptor rehabilitation program, and adoption). After animals are acquired, the tracking and accounting of their use are arguably among the major administrative challenges at a research institution. Consequently, in order to act in a legal, fair, consistent, and rational manner, it is important for IACUCs to be cognizant of the many issues related to acquisition, records, tracking, and disposition of research animals.
