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University of Florida Health Science Center
Animal Transportation Policy
1. General
1.1. All transportation of animals, including intra-institutional transportation,
must be planned to minimize transit time and the risk of zoonoses, protect
against environmental extremes, overcrowding, provide for food and
water when indicated, and protect against physical trauma, prevent the
spread of animal pathogens, and prevent the public view of the animals
being transported.
1.2. The transportation of animals, except when being transferred to another
institution and not on an approved University of Florida Animal Care and
Use Protocol must be described in a Animal Care and Use Protocol and
approved by the IACUC.
1.3. Temperature extremes are to be avoided when animals are transported
and special precautions or postponements are required when
temperatures are below 45 degrees Fahrenheit or above 85 degrees
Fahrenheit and may jeopardize the welfare of the animals.
1.4. Transportation must be done in a direct and timely manner.
1.5. Animals shall not be transported with any other animal, substance or
device that may be expected to be injurious to their health or welfare.
1.6. The primary enclosures must be escape proof, properly labeled, provide
adequate ventilation, can be sanitized or disposed of and prevent the
spread of pathogenic microorganisms. The enclosures should be opaque
or shielded in such a way as to be non-stressful to the animals.
1.7. Transportation must be in accordance with federal, state and local
regulations. USDA, State, and International Regulations governing the
transport of animals is located at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ncie/index.html. The Investigator is required
to complete the “Animal Care Services Shipping Animals to Other
Institution Checklist and have it approved by one of the ACS veterinarians
before shipping. The form is available on the ACS web site. Please
contact one of the Animal Care Services Veterinarians for current
regulations on the transport of animals. When transporting animals
infected with human pathogens or carcinogens, please contact the
Environmental Health and Safety Office for current regulations governing
the transport of these animals.
1.8. Care shall be exercised in handling enclosures used to transport live
animals. They shall not be tossed, dropped, needlessly tilted, stacked in a
manner, which may reasonably be expected to result in their falling, or
handled in any manner, which may cause physical trauma or stress to the
animals.
1.9. Cargo areas used in the transportation of animals shall be cleaned and
decontaminated as necessary to prevent contamination of future animal
deliveries.
2. Movement of animals within a building at the University of Florida
2.1. The relocation of the animal(s) housing areas must be approved by the
Animal Care Services and provided by the Animal Care Services (ACS),
unless otherwise approved by the Director of Animal Care Services or his
designee. Forms are available on the ACS’s web site.
2.2. Investigators may transport the animals to their laboratory via routes and
methods approved in the Animal Care and Use form. Consideration
should be given to protecting the occupants of the building from allergies
of animal origin, microorganisms, chemicals, radioactive materials and
escaped animals.
2.3. Animals are not to be moved through patient care areas or hospital
corridors without specific review and approval by the IACUC,
Environmental Health and Safety, and Hospital Administration.
2.4. Routes: a. In general, animals should be moved to laboratories by the
least public, most direct route, avoiding patient areas and public elevators
to the extent possible.
2.5. A person who is present in a laboratory to which animals are brought is
considered to have the same exposure as if they had visited the facility
from which the animals came.
2.6. Equipment/Supplies: Any equipment, supplies or other materials, which
come in contact with animals, must be decontaminated prior to entering
another animal facility. Equipment should be decontaminated by
autoclaving or chlorine dioxide treatment, or other methods approved by
the Director of Animal Care Services.
2.7. Cage cards: Cage cards should not leave the facility. Cage cards from
emptied cages should have "all gone" written on them, then be initialed,
dated, and dropped in the Facility Drop Box in the facility of origin.
3. Moving animals between buildings at the University of Florida
3.1. Animal Care Services provides movement of animals between facilities
for dogs, cats, primates, and farm animals, unless otherwise approved by
the Director of Animal Care Services.
3.2. Transporting rodents by hand carrying them should be limited to travel in
a direct and timely manner between buildings with the animal in escape
proof enclosures and when all the proceeding requirements are met. The
primary enclosure should be placed inside another container, such as a
Styrofoam box that has holes less than 1/8 inch in diameter.
Temperatures within the box should not exceed 79.9 degrees F. Time of
transport should be limited to 30 minutes.
3.3. An immobilizing drug and physical containment system must be used
when transporting primates between buildings unless the entire caging
system can be relocated with animals in place.
4.0 Transporting live or dead animals containing radioactive isotopes
4.1 Investigators planning to transport live animals containing radioactive
materials from one location to another should contact the Radiation
Safety, for specific guidance, unless the two locations are within the same
building.
4.2 A radiation safety protocol is required for the use of any amount of
radioactive material in animals (dogs, sheep, monkeys, etc.). Special
transportation requirements must be addressed in such protocols.
Warning labels are required on enclosures used to transport live or dead
animals that have been exposed to radioactive hazards. The specific
hazard must be identified.
5. 0 Transporting animals treated with human pathogens or carcinogenic
material
5.1Transporting animals treated with human pathogens or carcinogenic
material requires review and approval by Animal Care and Use
Committees review, including work with biohazards or chemical
hazards.
5.2The transportation of animals that are to be dosed at one location
and moved to another needs to be particularly evaluated to assure
that proper containment is used to minimize occupational exposure to
persons involved with the move, and to minimize environmental
contamination. Environmental Health and Safety should be
consulted.
5.3Small laboratory animals that have been exposed to human
pathogens or toxic/carcinogenic substances and are actively
shedding the hazardous material must be transported in closed
systems.
5.4Transportation of large animals exposed to human pathogens or
carcinogenic material will be evaluated on a case by case basis by
the IACUC, EH&S and the attending veterinarian.
5.5Warning labels are required on enclosures used to transport live or
dead animals that have been exposed to chemical or biological
hazards. The specific hazard must be identified.
6.0 Shipping Rodents to other Institutions – See Guidelines located on the
ACS web site.
7.0Species Specific Guidelines
7.1 Rodents
7.1.1 Rodents transferred outside the SPF Barrier may not be
returned to the SPF Barrier.
7.1.2 Mice may be moved outside the barrier to laboratories or
other sites in disposable Mouse Transport Containers.
7.1.3 Micro-isolator cages should remain in the Communicore
facility.
7.1.4 Mice should be transferred to the white, disposable Mouse
Transport containers available in the animal rooms.
7.1.5 Mice are transferred to the containers in the animal housing
room. A maximum of three mice should be placed in each
container, and several air holes punched in the lid.
7.1.6 If several containers of mice are removed at once, they
should be placed in a larger box, or styrofoam or plastic
picnic cooler, or other container, which is left outside the
facility.
7.1.7 Investigators that need to keep mice in their laboratory for
longer than 30 minutes, should request a cage for this
purpose from the facility supervisor.
7.2 Other rodents
7.2.1 Use a rodent cage that is covered with a drape or placed
inside a large box or other container as described above in
4.
7.3 Non-human Primates
7.3.1 Transport of NHPs outside the University of Florida must be
provided by an approved vendor or Animal Care Services
and consistent with the above.
7.3.2 Only ACS provides transport of NHPs, unless otherwise
approved by the Director of Animal Care Services.
7.3.3 Transport of NHPs within the ACS Facilities
7.3.3.1 Anesthetized NHP’s must be transported on a
cart, with adequate space to provide for full length
unrestricted recumbency and an unobstructed
airway.
7.3.3.2 The cart must be lined with absorbent material (i.e.
cage liners).
7.3.3.3 Animals should be diapered to contain the waste
material.4. The monkey must be covered securely
with an opaque; sanitizable or disposable covering
to prevent aerosols and visualization.
7.3.3.4 Old World Non Human Primates that are not
anesthetized must be transported in a cage that
prevents spillage of waste and escape of
aerosolized material from the cage or from the non
– human primate. (A HEPA filtered transport cart
is available in the Animal Care Services)
7.3.3.5 Carts and coverings are to be sanitized after each
use.
Reminder: additional Ketamine should be carried in case of delay during
transport.
7.3.4 Transportation Vehicles for NHPs:
7.3.4.1 Should have separate compartments and air
systems for the animals and the driver. The air
system for the animals must be capable of
maintaining a comfort level temperature range
appropriate for NHPs.
7.3.4.2 The animal compartment should be constructed of
materials that are impervious to fluids and easily
decontaminated with agents appropriate for
inactivation of any infectious agents present in the
animal or its waste material.
7.3.4.3 The vehicle must be decontaminated after every
use.
7.4 Rabbits
7.4.1 Rabbits may be transported in appropriate carrying cases or
transport cages directly to procedures rooms or laboratories
and returned to their respective housing areas.
7.5 Dogs, Cats, Opossums
7.5.1 Transport between buildings of dogs, cats, opossums and
similar size animals must be accomplished by truck or van
from one receiving dock to another and accompanied by a
trained staff member from the Animal Care Services, unless
otherwise approved by the Director of Animal Care Services.
7.5.2 These animals may be moved to designated laboratories
within the building as outlined in this SOP.
7.6 Farm Animals
7.6.1 Special procedures are required for the transport of pigs,
goats, sheep and other farm animals. Large animals should
remain in the animal facilities whenever possible. Routes
and procedures for transportation must be coordinated
between the investigator and the Animal Care Services for
transporting farm animals to and from the facilities and
laboratories and/or procedures areas.
Effective February 1, 2003
August H. Battles, DVM, MS
Director, Animal Care Services and Attending Veterinarian
