I. Purpose

To standardize the methods for ordering and for assuring housing availability for commercially available laboratory animals used in Laboratory Animal Resources (LAR) at the University of Montana.

II. Responsibility

It is the responsibility of the Facility Manager or IACUC Coordinator to order animals for all investigators using LAR facilities for animal housing.

III. Procedure

• Animal users submit an animal order form electronically to the Facility Manager or IACUC Coordinator with instructions for a requested arrival date of animals. 
• Order forms are compared 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.
• Housing availability is verified by the Facility Manager or through consultation with LAR staff before placing orders.
• Health reports are either faxed from the company or retrieved from the company web site and reviewed by the Facility Manager and/or AV prior to placing animal orders.
• Preferred vendors include:
  SPF Mice: Jackson Laboratories, Charles River Laboratories, Harlan
  Rabbits: Charles River Laboratories
  Pigmented guinea pigs: Elm Hills
  Timed-pregnancy Sprague-Dawley rats: Harlan
  
• Orders are placed by phone with a request for e-mail or fax confirmation from the company. For all companies except Harlan, 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. Harlan bills investigators directly for rats.
• Order forms are then completed with arrival date. An electronic file of the completed order form is sent back to the animal user and to LAR staff. A hard copy of the order form is placed on the animal order clip board in the LAR office in HSB 009.
• Transportation is provided by commercial airlines, animal shipping companies, and City Transfer of Missoula.