Animal Welfare Concern Reporting Policy

The College of Woosteris committed to the humane and responsible treatment of allanimalsusedin research and teaching as well as protecting the rights of individuals who report animal welfare concerns.

Any student, employee, or member of the public who observesor suspectsa) animal neglect, abuse, or mistreatment, b)non-compliance with federal, state, or local regulations, or c) non-compliance with an approved protocol is encouraged to report the incident to the College’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

Concerns may be communicated to any IACUC member, the attending veterinarian, or the Provostviaemail, telephone, or an in-person orwritten report. Anonymous reports may be made by mail or telephone to the IACUC chair. Confidentiality for whistleblowers will be maintained to the extent permissible under College policy and applicable laws and regulations.

Under no circumstances will reporting a concernin good faith be detrimental to an individual’s standing within the institution. No person will be discriminated against or subject to any reprisal for reporting a concern in good faith.

Procedure for handling reports

  1. In the event of an animal welfare concern identified by or reported to any member of the committee, that committee member should first report the incident to the IACUC chair. This should be done by email (or otherwise in writing).
  2. In consultation with the attendingveterinarian, the IACUC chair should determine the appropriate path of correction. If the concern can be corrected with additional training, monitoring, or another minor intervention, then the chair will be responsible for communicating this to involved parties, documenting the situation, and for conducting follow-up monitoring.
  3. If a prompt and satisfactory resolution cannot be made, the animal research activity at issue may be suspended by a vote of the IACUC. The chair will report suspension made in this way to the Provost (the IACUC’s institutional official) and to the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, and necessary corrective actions will be determined in consultation with OLAW.
  4. In all events, the chair should keep records of the reporting, correction, and follow up monitoring of any incidents in which animal welfare concerns are raised.