Animal Purchase and Care

Animals must be purchased or otherwise acquired from an approved commercial supplier (as listed below).  No animals may be purchased without an IACUC approved animal use protocol. Investigators with specific requests for animals from non-approved sources must submit a justification for their use in the animal use protocol submission, or via a minor modification form for already approved protocols. All animal acquisitions and associated costs (i.e., shipping) should be coordinated with your unit’s administrative representative, and must correspond to the applicable IACUC approved protocol.

Animals from non-approved vendors or other sources have a great potential for carrying pathogens.  When dealing with commercial suppliers, who have multiple production colonies, it is often best to try to obtain animals from the same colony to prevent differences in biological response. The current health status of animals requested from these sources, must be reviewed by the VR staff and the animals must be quarantined and tested by UMB Veterinary Resources before they are placed in the UMBC colonies to ensure that they are pathogen free.

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