Any transportation of laboratory animals outside the animal facility must be conducted in an appropriate manner, safe for the animal and the public.
All transportation of animals outside an animal facility must be described in an approved protocol.
It is the responsibility of the principal investigator to ensure there is protocol and facility manager approval prior to moving animals between facilities.
The appropriate Animal Care and Use Committee must approve any exemption to this policy, prior to its application.
Limit exposure to allergens, waste products, or odors.
Provide sufficient air for normal respiration.
Prevent the escape of the animal if an accident occurs.
Be safe for the animal and species-appropriate.
Be sanitizable or disposable.
Ideally be the animal’s home cage to limit stress.
Live animals should not remain outside of approved housing facilities for more than 12 hours unless specifically approved in the animal protocol.
Following transportation, animals should have access to food and water unless a restriction is stipulated and approved in the animal use protocol.
Pedestrian Transportation Between Buildings
Small animals (e.g., mice, rats, birds, frogs) may be manually transported from the housing facility to a laboratory in secured caging.
Caging must be protected from temperature extremes, sunlight, car lights, or visual observation by use of opaque plastic bags or boxes, opaque fabric, or other opaque covering.
To prevent the escape of animals or spillage of contents, cages should be secured with nonresidue tape, bungee cords, rubber bands, etc. during transport.
Vehicular Transportation
Under no circumstances shall animals be transported by public transportation such as campus or city buses or shuttles.
Transportation of animals in non-dedicated vehicles must have prior approval, which includes:
Inclusion of the transportation activity in the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC)-approved animal protocol.
ACUC inspection of the vehicle (applies to U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA]-covered species only).
Adequate heating/cooling to keep the animal ambient temperature between 45-85 degrees F (7-30 degrees C), which may involve preheating or precooling the vehicle used for transport.
Protection from direct sun.
Protection from public view.
A method to contain waste.
A method to discourage allergens.
A Method to secure caging inside the vehicle (e.g., bungee cords).
For additional information, see facility-specific standard operating procedures (SOPs):
Primate Center
Biomedical Research Models Support (BRMS)
CALS
RARC internal
Harlow
If you wish to transport animals in a non-dedicated vehicle, such as your personal car or departmental van, you must first complete the online training module “Transport in a Non-Dedicated Vehicle."
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources: