ACVS-Managed Facilities
Contact Us
For Animal Research Veterinary Emergencies519-661-2195
For ACVS-Managed Facility Emergencies
519-850-2468
For General Inquiries
acvs@uwo.ca
Tracking and Monitoring Animals at ACVS-Managed Facilities
Animal Tracking
All animals are required to be tracked during their time in ACVS-Managed facilities. Mice, rats, hamsters and gerbils are charged per diems on a per cage basis; therefore, each such cage must have a fully completed card. Larger animal types are charged on a per animal basis; therefore, each individual animal must have its own fully completed cage card. Every animal and/or cage must have an accurate and complete cage card, which is considered part of the research data.
CCAC and Western require the following information be maintained on cage cards:
- Date of arrival or date of birth, depending on mode of arrival
- Species and sex
- Supplier (where the animals originated)
- Estimated age or weight
- Number of animals per cage (making changes as needed)
- Name of Principal Investigator and emergency contact information
- Animal use protocol number
- Any special animal care instructions
All cage cards have a unique barcode to which they are associated, which can be found directly on commercially-ordered cage cards, and on supplemental papers for all other cage card types. There are three cage card types:
- White - These are cages that are commercially-received from external suppliers
- Pink - These are cages created from weanings only.
- Blue - These are cages created from all other animal separations.
It is the Researcher’s responsibility to maintain accurate information on the cards, including up-to-date protocol numbers and contact information.
Animal Health Monitoring
Death is not an acceptable endpoint.
The investigator is responsible for monitoring the well being of their research animals. Up-to-date within-room health records must be maintained, readily available, and detailed enough to allow animal care and veterinary staff to know what have been done to the animal, in accordance with federal and provincial regulations. For your convenience, each animal housing room has been provided with an Animal Observation and Treatment Record. The expectation is that lab staff will record their treatment until treatment ceases. See the SOP 'Animal Records' or our Animal Health Record Expectations for more specific information.
We will provide you will provide your lab with a binder to keep your health and treatment records in. All protocol-related information and sick animal reports will be kept separately in the animal care binder for the room.
