University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DIVISION OF ANIMAL RESOURCES and
AGRICULTURAL ANIMAL CARE AND USE PROGRAM

Section 13

Veterinary Care: Reporting Sick, Injured or Dead Animals

All unanticipated illness, injury and deaths of animals housed in a UIUC laboratory animal facility must be reported immediately to the DAR. All unanticipated illnesses, injuries and deaths of agricultural animals used in research and teaching at agricultural animal facilities must be reported immediately to the AACUP. Whoever identifies the medical concerns, animal care staff or research personnel, must ensure that the DAR or AACUP veterinary staff is notified in a quick and reliable manner.

With respect to animals that are expected to become sick or die as a result of the experimental procedures, animal illnesses and deaths must be reported to DAR or AACUP in a manner consistent with the policy Monitoring Animals at Risk of Developing Protocol-Related Morbidity or Mortality.

A Medical Report Form, available from DAR or the unit animal care offices, should be completed should be completed for laboratory animals to provide details such as species, principal investigator, protocol number, and problem. These provide a space to record when an animal care supervisor and DAR veterinarian were notified and what action was recommended by the veterinarian. Medical records for agricultural animals must be maintained on site and available for inspection.

During normal working hours, Monday through Friday, a DAR veterinarian may be contacted by phone at 333-2564 and an AACUP veterinarian may be contacted at 265-6790. After hours you may reach a DAR veterinarian at pager number 265-2362. (If after 15 minutes you do not receive a call back, call the DAR (333-2564) office for further instructions. An AACUP veterinarian can be contacted after hours using the contact information (cell phone, pager, and home phone numbers) posted on site at the animal units or by calling the Large Animal Clinic emergency service at 333-2000.

With the exception of first-aid or emergency life-support provided by appropriately trained personnel, laboratory animals should not be treated for illness or injury prior to consultation with an DAR veterinarian. Agricultural animals can be treated according to approved on-farm SOPs or by contacting the veterinary staff. Laboratory animals found dead should not be discarded or frozen prior to consultation with DAR. Agricultural research and teaching animals should be submitted for necropsy unless the cause of death is obvious; research staff should be notified first to be sure that any necessary samples are collected.

last updated: February 16, 2006