How to Order Animals

Overview

Before your laboratory animals arrive at Meharry, two things must happen:

1. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) must ascertain that it has approved the project for which you need the animals, and that your order does not exceed the maximum number it approved.
   
2. The Animal Care Facility must prepare quarantine facilities, caging, and holding space.

To ensure these requirements are met, you must complete an Animal Order Form that the IACUC and the Animal Care Facility must approve before the college sends a purchase order to the animal supplier. The college does not accept shipments of animals that arrive before these requirements have been met; such unanticipated shipments are returned to the supplier, and if the supplier does not accept return shipments, the animals may be euthanized at the discretion of the veterinarian. The governing principle for ordering animals is to tell the IACUC office and the Animal Care Facility about your plans, and any changes in your plans, well before you want the animals delivered.

Timing

The Decision Chart below shows how the Animal Order Form is processed. IACUC and the Animal Care Facility complete their review of the Animal Order Form within 48 hours. However, a lag of several days may occur before the Purchasing Department faxes a purchase order to the vendor. For this reason you should submit the Animal Order Form to the IACUC office at least 10 working days before you need the animals.

Procedure

1. Enter a requisition in Web Access; be sure to list the PI’s name on the requisition. If you are preparing a single requisition for which you expect to receive several shipments (a “standing order”), see the special requirements below. Save the requisition number because you need it for step 2.

2. Complete the Animal Order Form at http://www.mmc.edu/research/admin/forms/forms.html and e-mail it to the IACUC office. After you e-mail the form,

2.1 The IACUC office verifies that you have an approved protocol and that your order falls within the species and number of animals that IACUC approved. Then it sends the form to the Animal Care Facility.

2.2 The Animal Care Facility records the delivery date and ensures that caging and quarantine space will be ready on that day.

2.3 The Animal Care Facility approves your requisition in Banner.

2.4 The Animal Care Facility notifies you by e-mail that the order has been approved.

3. Banner generates a purchase order which the Purchasing Department faxes to the animal supplier.

Standing orders, unanticipated shipments, changes to orders

4. The Animal Order Form allows you to enter up to three shipments for a standing order.


5. If you want to receive more than three shipments from a single standing order, submit a new Form for additional shipments.


6. The Animal Order Form also allows you to enter just the first shipment of a standing order, but you must submit additional Forms for subsequent shipments.


7. The Form requires you to enter an anticipated delivery date and number of animals for each shipment. If you later change the delivery date, number of animals, species, strain or gender for any shipment, notify the IACUC office and the Animal Care Facility by e-mail or phone at least five working days before the revised delivery date.


8. Unanticipated shipments will be returned to the vendor, and if the vendor does not accept return shipments, the animals may be euthanized at the discretion of the veterinarian.


9. If a shipment does not conform to the number approved by IACUC (because, for example, a PI instructed the vendor to send more animals without informing IACUC), the excess number of animals may be euthanized. Similarly, when animal shipments do not conform to species, strain, or gender approved by IACUC, the animals will be returned to the vendor; if the vendor does not accept return shipments, the animals may euthanized.