Last Review Date: August 31, 2020

I.  Purpose
The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is to standardize the methods for ordering and assuring housing availability for commercially available laboratory animals used in the Laboratory Animal Resources (LAR) facilities.

II.  Policy

It is LAR policy to meet or exceed all federal, state, and local regulations and guidelines and to comply with all institutional policies and procedures as they apply to the use of animals in research.  Personnel must attend any applicable training in animal care and use, occupational health and safety, equipment operation, and SOPs prior to performing activities outlined in this SOP or work under the direct supervision of trained personnel.

II. Responsibility
It is the responsibility of the Facility Manager (or IACUC Coordinator in the absence of the Facility Manager) to order animals for all Principal Investigators using LAR facilities for animal housing.

III. Procedure

1. Principal Investigators submit an animal order form electronically to the Facility Manager  which includes the species and strain of rodents, the number requested, and AUP number. 
2. The Facility Manager compares the order form to the AUP (cited on the order form) to ensure Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval of the species and numbers of animals ordered.
3. The Facility Manager will forward a copy of the animal order to the IACUC Coordinator 
4. Housing availability is verified by the Facility Manager before placing orders.
5. Health reports are either faxed from the company or retrieved from the company website and reviewed by the Facility Manager prior to placing animal orders.
6. Preferred vendors include:
   1. SPF Mice: Envigo, Jackson Laboratories, Charles River Laboratories, Taconic Laboratories
   2. Rabbits: Western Oregon Rabbit Company 
   3. Pigmented guinea pigs: Charles River Laboratories
   4. Timed-pregnancy Sprague-Dawley rats: Charles River Laboratories or Envigo
7. The Facility Manager places the orders by phone with a request for e-mail confirmation from the company
8. For all companies, orders are charged to a departmental charge card but include the account number of the investigator as the purchase order number. This account number is used for internally charging the investigator's account after receipt of the paid invoice
9. Order forms are then completed with arrival date
   1. An electronic file of the completed order form is sent back to the animal user
   2. A hard copy of the order form is placed on the animal order clipboard in the LAR office in HSB 009.