Animal Care - Tips and Links for the Safe Return to Animal Work

Last Update: July 2, 2020

Campus Animal Resources is committed to helping to ensure animal research continues as planned, to assist with consistency, reproducibility and replication of studies that were halted by COVID-19 shutdown measures. We appreciate all of the attention dedicated to prioritizing lab safety and building safety plans for employee health and well-being.

As researchers, postdocs, students and others return to campus, I wanted to remind everyone to please also prioritize a review of approved animal procedures as described in CLICK protocols and paper protocol forms, particularly anesthesia/analgesia, monitoring of animals, experimental interventions and study endpoints to ensure the highest level of animal welfare is achieved.

Helpful links for your return to animal research needs are included below:

• If your research teams wish to review your approved procedures, this can be done through CLICK (https://animalcare.msu.edu/click/index.html) or contact the IACUC office (iacuc@msu.edu )
• If you wish to procure animals, this can be done through CARLOS (https://animalcare.msu.edu/car/carlos.html) or in consultation with CAR operations staff (carinfo@msu.edu)
• If you wish to review expectations for *rodent* surgery, please see the IACUC guideline (https://animalcare.msu.edu/guidelines/IG003.pdf)
• If you wish to review expectations for surgery with *non-rodent species*, please see the IACUC guideline (https://animalcare.msu.edu/guidelines/IG004.pdf)
• If you wish to IMPORT animals to campus from a collaborating institution, please fill out and submit the following form (https://animalcare.msu.edu/forms/car-forms/Rodent%20Import%20Request.pdf)
• If you wish to EXPORT animals from campus to a collaborating institution, please fill out and submit the following form (https://animalcare.msu.edu/forms/car-forms/Rodent%20Export%20Request.pdf)
• For guidance on establishing checklists to ensure repetition of experimental steps and procedures, we recommend the PREPARE guidelines: https://vimeo.com/358069203

Research staff are only to be on campus/in facilities in limited capacity during this phased reopening, therefore, please let us know if you need assistance with breeding management, veterinary post-operative and post-procedural checks, or treatments (carvets@msu.edu).  Note: CAR rates for veterinary and husbandry services will remain at FY20 levels for FY21.

Thank you for your attention to working safely within our animal areas and let us know how we may be of assistance!

See also, MSU Environmental Health & Safety's Workbook for Safely Returning to Research.

Visit the CAR for archived memos.

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) continues to remain fully functional. As we transition to remote work the IACUC will continue to review protocols through Click and by email through our legacy Word documents.

Contact Information

• Campus Animal Resources - Main phone, general questions: 517-353-5064.
• Urgent animal condition or concerns: carvets@msu.edu at any time, or call outside of workday hours:
  517-884-8527.
• CARLOS questions, animal orders, billing inquiries, new accounts: CARLOS@msu.edu.
• Housing facilities, husbandry, feeding questions and concerns: CARinfo@msu.edu.
• Click Help Desk: clickhelpdesk@msu.edu, 517-355-2000.
• IACUC Office: iacuc@msu.edu , 517-432-8103, 517-353-9705.