Policies and procedures

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

The ACC and the Animal Care and Veterinary Service have produced a set of policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for use when planning animal procedures at the University of Ottawa. Deviations from policies and SOPs require a description and justification in the Animal Use Protocol and must receive approval by the Animal Care Committee.

Contact the Animal Ethics and Compliance Team

The Office of Animal Ethics and Compliance will provide copies of Standard Operating Procedures to persons working with animals as part of their animal user training. These documents are currently available upon request, with plans to make them more widely available in the near future. In the meantime, please contact the Animal Ethics and Compliance Team for assistance.

Policy on Animals Used in Research and Teaching (Policy 31)

Preamble

The University of Ottawa is committed to ensuring that the use of animals in research and in teaching conforms to the most rigorous ethical standards that are compatible with the goals of science. The University of Ottawa is equally committed to maintaining very high standards for all facilities which support research and teaching involving laboratory animals. As a result, methodology in support of animal care and use is constantly upgraded as are facilities. The standards for animal care and use conform with or exceed those outlined in the Canadian Council on Animal Care Standards . The University of Ottawa is a registered research facility under the Province of Ontario's Animals for Research Act (the Act)1.

Summary

Any project in which animal use (research and teaching) is contemplated must be reviewed by the Animal Care Committee prior to its commencement. Approval is granted only after the project proposal has been carefully examined. The Animal Care Committee ensures that no physical or psychological discomfort will be caused to an animal except where there is a clear and authoritative scientific or pedagogical justification for doing so, as determined by peer review. Where such justification exists, the Animal Care Committee ensures that the level of discomfort caused will be no higher than what is absolutely necessitated by the scientific or pedagogical purposes of the procedure in question and in so doing, that every animal will be humanely treated by providing anesthesia, analgesia and all other support as required. Wherever a non-sentient substitute is available and accessible, such substitutes will be preferred. The Animal Care Committee also ensures that the appropriate species has been selected; that the minimal number of animals will be used, a number appropriate to permit scientifically valid inferences to be drawn; and that personnel are qualified to work with the animals. The review process involves research and veterinary scientists, as well as Community Representatives who are not scientists, but are concerned about animal welfare. A failure to obtain approval from the Animal Care Committee means that a project involving animal use cannot proceed. Furthermore, once approval has been granted, failure to adhere to the conditions of approval for a project may result in loss of research privileges or rights.

All animal care and use is reviewed and approved at least annually by the Animal Care Committee. Research laboratories and Animal Care and Veterinary Service facilities are inspected annually by the Animal Care Committee, more frequently and on an unannounced basis by a veterinary inspector in accordance with the Animals for Research Act and on a predetermined schedule by the Canadian Council on Animal Care. The Canadian Council on Animal Care assessments include a review of University animal care policy; research and teaching involving animals; Animal Care Committee operations; Animal Care and Veterinary Service operations; site visits; and research or teaching laboratory site visits.

All Animal Care and Veterinary Service facilities are directed by the University Veterinarian who is also a member of the Animal Care Committee. The University Veterinarian is responsible for ensuring that the standards and policies established by the University for animal care and use in research and teaching are maintained and followed. The University Veterinarian has the authority to terminate any procedure or animal use which in his or her opinion causes undue discomfort to an animal.

The Associate Vice-Rector (Research)
1. is responsible for the Animal Care and Use Program at the University of Ottawa and is the Operator under the Standards and the Act.
2. is the Chair of the Animal Care Management Committee;
3. is an ex officio member of the Animal Care Committee;
4. is the University Veterinarian's Supervisor; and
5. delegates responsibilities for implementation of the Animal Care and Use Program to:
  - the researcher;
  - the Animal Care Committee;
  - the Animal Care Management Committee; and
  - the University Veterinarian.
The Researcher

satisfies the criteria established by the University for the care and use of animals in research and teaching by:
1. holding an academic appointment at the University of Ottawa;
2. assuming responsibility for the humane and ethical use of animals in research and teaching and compliance with University Policy 31 on animals used in research and teaching;
3. submitting to the Animal Care Committee, a request for permission to use animals in research projects (including field studies) and teaching with the Animal Care Committee;
4. initiating or changing procedures involving the care and use of animals in research and teaching only upon confirmation of approval of the Animal Care Committee;
5. informing the Animal Care Committee of adverse events encountered during a procedure or study or of significant new information which becomes available after the Animal Care Committee ethical review either of which may impinge on the ethical appropriateness of continuing with a procedure or study;
6. assuming responsibility for all persons, whether students, visiting scientists or others, who will be carrying out their work in accordance with approved Animal Care Committee protocols, and ensuring that such persons are competent to do so;
7. ensuring that all persons associated with a project are thoroughly knowledgeable about the standards for the care and use of animals and applicable requirements as articulated in the Standards, the Act and University Policy 31 on animals used in research and teaching and are technically skilled to perform all procedures in keeping with enunciated ethical norms;
8. ensuring that all persons associated with a project respect and care for the material and physical resources put in place by the University in support of animal care and use Standards, the Animals for Research Act and of the University Policy on animals used in research and teaching and maintain these at all times.
9. serving, as may be reasonably required, on the Animal Care Committee and in this capacity contributing advice with respect to protocol review, animal care and use policy, facilities planning or as otherwise required;
10. complying with University Media Relations Program with respect to the care and use of animals in research and teaching; and
11. complying with the University Emergency Response Program concerning Animal Rights Activism.
The Animal Care Committee
1. is established by the University's Administrative Committee;
2. is a statutory committee under s. 17 of the Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.22;
3. ensures that the care and use of animals in research and teaching conform to ethical standards that are compatible with the goals of science and education;
4. coordinates and reviews standards, activities and procedures relating to the care and use of animals; the facilities available for their care and housing; procedures for the prevention of unnecessary pain in animals including the use of anesthetics and analgesics; and the training; and qualification of persons working with animals.
5. implements University Media Relations Program with respect to the care and use of animals in research and teaching in cooperation with the University Veterinarian and Public Relations and Information Services; and
6. implements the Animal Rights Activism Emergency Response Program in cooperation with the University Veterinarian; Protection Services; Public Relations and Information Relations Services; Faculties and/or Scientists.
The Animal Care Management Committee
1. is established by the University's Administrative Committee; and
2. is responsible for policy development and implementation through the Associate Vice-Rector (Research).
The University Veterinarian

under the supervision of the Associate Vice-Rector (Research) and in cooperation with the Animal Care Management Committee and the Animal Care Committee:
1. advises the Vice-Rector (Research), the Animal Care Management Committee, and the Animal Care Committee on matters of policy concerning the care and use of animals in research and teaching;
2. is an ex officio member of the Animal Care Policy Committee;
3. is an ex officio member of the Animal Care Committee;
4. holds statutory office under the Act as a person licensed to practice Veterinary Medicine as regulated by the College of Veterinarians's of Ontario under the Veterinarian's Act3;
5. enforces University Policy 31 on animals used in research and teaching with respect to the care and use of animals in research and teaching;
6. interprets "established" and "acceptable" veterinary practices in the Standards and the Act;
7. ensures compliance with all other statutes concerning animals;
8. is Director of the Animal Care and Veterinary Service;
9. may enter any area where animals are kept or thought to be kept;
10. ensures animal health and well-being through implementation of University Policy 31 concerning minimum health standards for incoming animals, as well as through the delivery of veterinary care;
11. may order the cessation of any procedure causing an animal unnecessary pain or other suffering and in addition will refer this matter to the Animal Care Committee for review and further action;
12. may order the immediate treatment or euthanasia of any animal for any professional reason;
13. will order the treatment or euthanasia of an animal where the animal is suffering unnecessary pain or other suffering that cannot be relieved whether as a consequence of a procedure or for any other reason; and
14. will review and initial every research or teaching project involving animals to qualify these for examination and consideration by the Animal Care Committee.

Obtaining Animal Care Committee Approval
1. A researcher may not begin a project involving animals without the PRIOR approval of the Animal Care Committee.
2. The Animal Care Committee will review and approve a new project or an application for the renewal or amendment of a previously approved project where the work:
  1. meets the criteria for scientific or pedagogical merit as determined by a peer review process; and
  2. will be executed in the spirit of reduction, refinement and replacement of animals.
3. The Animal Care Committee will grant approval to a new project or renew or approve a change in a previously approved project with or without condition, through review by:
  1. the Executive Committee, the decision to be subsequently ratified by the Protocol Review Group; or
  2. the Protocol Review Group meeting monthly, the decision to be subsequently ratified by the Animal Care Committee meeting twice yearly; or
  3. the Animal Care Committee meeting twice yearly or by special meeting if, on the recommendation of the Executive Committee or the Protocol Review Subgroup, the project is potentially sensitive as a result of the nature of the work, anticipated difficulty with monitoring the conduct of the work or other issues that may arise.
4. The Animal Care Committee will reconsider the ethical merits of a prior decision by:
  1. reviewing the proposal along with supplementary material, which if it were available at the time of the original review may have influenced the outcome of the decision; or
  2. seeking an opinion on the matter being reconsidered from the Canadian Council on Animal Care, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food or such other competent authority and taking such opinion into consideration in its deliberations.
    
    A decision rendered as a result of this ‘reconsideration of the ethical merits of a prior decision’ is a final decision of the Committee.
5. The Animal Care Committee may review or limit approval of a protocol at any time.
6. The Animal Care Committee may revoke any prior authorization in the event of inappropriate or unauthorized use of laboratory animals.
7. The Animal Care Committee may order the immediate treatment or euthanasia of any animal where the animal is experiencing unnecessary pain or other suffering that cannot be relieved as a consequence of a procedure.
8. The Animal Care Committee will document the competency of any individual to work with laboratory animals.
9. The Animal Care Committee may enter any area where laboratory animals are kept or are thought to be kept.
10. The Animal Care Committee will document all of its activities and prepare reports as required by law or otherwise.
The Acquisition and Transportation of Animals at the University of Ottawa
1. The Animal Care and Veterinary Service is responsible for the acquisition, transportation and care of all animals at the University of Ottawa and does so on behalf of the Associate Vice-Rector (Research).
2. All documentation required by law or otherwise for the acquisition, capture, importation, exportation and transportation of animals to or from the University will be prepared by the University Veterinarian and the Animal Care and Veterinary Service.
3. The Animal Care and Veterinary Service must receive advance notification from the researcher of an intention to acquire animals in order to prepare and obtain, as required by law or otherwise, the necessary documentation to safeguard the health status of resident animals and to ensure that sufficient space, materials and human resources are available to receive and support the animals being acquired.
4. As required by law or otherwise, the Animal Care and Veterinary Service must receive advance notification from the researcher of an intention to ship animals from the University to allow sufficient time for the sampling and testing of animals to permit the issuance of health certificates; to prepare or obtain the required documentation which may include export permits and to arrange for the transportation of the animals including the acquisition of shipping crates, food and gel-type water delivery systems.
5. The Animal Care and Veterinary Service will only acquire and maintain the number and species of animals that University facilities and resources can receive and accommodate. The approval of a project by the Animal Care Committee or the authorization of a research grant or contract is no guarantee that the Animal Care and Veterinary Service will be able to acquire, house and care for animals if, at the time an approval is granted, there is no vacancy in Animal Care and Veterinary Service facilities. Under such circumstances, the project may have to be modified or rescheduled, or funds allocated for the needed facilities, material or human resources. In this regard, the signature of a University Officer on a grant application or a contract indicates only that the University will exert its best efforts to provide the appropriate and necessary resources for the execution of a project.
6. All laboratory animals MUST meet University animal health standards to qualify for acquisition and entry to Animal Care and Veterinary Service facilities. Animal health standards will be established for each animal species by the University Veterinarian and will be in keeping with established veterinary practice in the specialty discipline of Laboratory Animal Medicine.
7. The acquisition of animals unauthorized by the Animal Care Committee or the Animal Care and Veterinary Service may result in loss of research privileges or rights.
8. An acclimatization period of at least four clear days (96 hours) MUST follow the acquisition of rodents unless an exemption has been granted by the University Veterinarian and the Animal Care Committee.
9. An acclimatization or quarantine period for species other than rodents may be imposed and MUST be respected by researchers and all personnel unless an exemption has been granted by the University Veterinarian and Animal Care Committee.
The Animals
1. Animals acquired by the University or maintained by the Animal Care and Veterinary Service are the property of the University.
2. The University Veterinarian, the Animal Care and Veterinary Service, and the Animal Care Committee will monitor the physical and behavioral well-being of animals by means of quality assurance testing. In addition, the Animal Care and Veterinary Service may enrich the animals' environment to meet species-specific social and behavioral needs.
3. All animals experiencing pain or other suffering will receive analgesics or anesthetics or other appropriate treatment as required by the Standards, the Act, University Policy 31 on animals used in research and teaching and in accordance with instructions contained in Animal Care Committee documentation.
4. The University Veterinarian will act in the best interest of an animal and order treatment or euthanasia where an animal is:
  
  Under such circumstances, the decision of the University Veterinarian will be final.
5. All procedures involving animals will be performed in accordance with established veterinary practices or in compliance with the Standards, the Act or standards established by the University.
6. All surgical procedures, regardless of the subject species, are to be performed using aseptic techniques in accordance with the Standards, the Act or standards established by the University unless exemption is granted by the Animal Care Committee.
7. All surgical procedures will be performed in facilities meeting surgical standards as determined by the Animal Care Committee and the University Veterinarian in accordance with the Standards, the Act, and standards established by the University unless otherwise specified by the Animal Care Committee.
8. No animal may be kept in a laboratory beyond a working day (overnight), unless prior approval has been granted by the Animal Care Committee.

Terms of references

The following ethical principles concerning the scientific use of animals are a restatement of those articulated by the Canadian Council on Animal Care in the Standards and supplementary documentation and policies. These principles shall guide the Committee in its decisions concerning all research and teaching protocols and in its recommendation or implementation of policy within the University:
1. The use of animals in research and teaching is acceptable only if it promises to contribute to understanding of fundamental or applied biological principles, and to the development of knowledge that can reasonably be expected to benefit humans or animals.
2. Animals should be used only if the researcher's best efforts to find an alternative have failed. A continuing sharing of knowledge, review of the literature, and adherence to the Russell-Burch "Three R" tenets of "Replacement, Reduction and Refinement" are also requisites. Those using animals should employ the most humane methods on the smallest number of appropriate animals required to obtain valid information.
3. If animals must be used, they should be maintained in a manner that provides for their physical comfort and psychological well-being, where species-specific needs and vulnerabilities are taken fully into account.
4. Animals must not be subjected to unnecessary pain or distress. The experimental design must offer them every practicable safeguard, whether in research, or in teaching procedures. Cost and convenience must not take precedence over an animal's physical and mental well-being.
5. Expert opinion must attest to the potential scientific value of studies with animals if it is to be considered justified. Expert opinion is determined by external peer review or internal review which must include impartial third party review. Such a review meets the threshold test for a submission to move to ethical review. The request for review is directed to the research office of the responsible Faculty or alternatively, the Faculty of Medicine. The results of the scientific review will be forwarded in confidence to the Animal Care Committee for consideration on ethical deliberations. The following procedures, which are restricted, require independent, external evaluation to justify their use:
  1. burns, freezing injuries, fractures, and other types of trauma investigation in anesthetized animals, concomitant to which must be acceptable veterinary practices for the relief of pain, including adequate analgesia during the recovery period;
  2. staged encounters between predators and prey or between con-specifics where prolonged fighting and injury are probable.
6. If pain or distress are necessary concomitants to the study, these must be minimized both in intensity and duration. The Committee must be especially cautious in evaluating the proposed use of the following procedures:
  1. experiments involving withholding pre- and post-operative pain-relieving medication;
  2. paralyzing and immobilizing experiments where there is no reduction in the sensation of pain;
  3. electric shock as negative reinforcement;
  4. extreme environmental conditions such as low or high temperatures, high humidity, modified atmospheres, etc., or sudden changes therein;
  5. experiments studying stress and/or pain;
  6. experiments requiring withholding of food and/or water for periods incompatible with species-specific physiological needs; such experiments should have no detrimental effect on the health of the animal;
  7. injection of Freund's Complete Adjuvant.
7. An animal observed to be experiencing severe, pain or discomfort which cannot be alleviated should immediately be humanely killed, using a method involving rapid initial induction of unconsciousness.
8. While non-recovery procedures involving anesthetized animals, and studies involving no pain or distress, are considered ethically acceptable, the following experimental procedures inflict excessive pain or distress and are thus unacceptable:
  1. utilization of muscle relaxants or paralytics (curare and curare-like) alone, without anesthetics, during surgical procedures;
  2. traumatizing procedures involving crushing, burning, striking or beating unanesthetized animals.
9. Pursuits such as toxicological and biological testing, cancer research and infectious disease investigation may, in the past, have required continuation until the death of the animals involved. However, in the face of distinct signs that such processes are causing irreversible pain or distress, alternative endpoints should be sought to satisfy both the requirements of the study and the needs of the animals (see the Canadian Council on Animal Care Guidelines On: Choosing an Appropriate Endpoint in Experiments Using Animals for Research, Teaching and Testing).
10. Physical restraint should be used only after alternative procedures have been fully considered and found inadequate. Restrained animals must receive exceptional care and attention, in compliance with species-specific and general requirements as set forth in the Canadian Council on Animal Care's Standards.
11. Painful experiments or multiple invasive procedures on an animal(s), conducted solely for the instruction of students in the classroom, or for the demonstration of established scientific knowledge, cannot be justified. Audiovisual or other alternative technique should be employed to convey such information.

The Committee shall meet at least twice a year and as often as necessary to fulfill its Terms of Reference and to be satisfied that all animal use is in conformity with institutional and provincial regulations and Canadian Council on Animal Care Standards. All meetings will be minuted and ancillary documentation will be entered on file as directed by the Committee.
The Committee shall require that all persons who hold an academic appointment at the University or Ottawa and who are planning to use animals in research or teaching submit to the Committee, in advance of undertaking such work, a written proposal in which the use to which the animals will be put is thoroughly described. Each protocol description will include
1. a project title and descriptive keywords or brief protocol description (abstract) (Schedule I);
2. an outline of the prospective benefit to be derived from the research;
3. a list of the principal researcher/teacher and all persons who will work with or handle the animals or their tissues;
4. the department under whose auspices the research will be conducted;
5. the proposed start and end dates for the project;
6. the funding source and status of funding approval and the scientific merit of the proposed work;
7. a course number and an indication of the pedagogical merit;
8. a lay summary;
9. an indication of the use of biohazardous, infectious, biological, or chemical or radioactive agents in living animals; and if so, an indication of institutional approval of this use;
10. categories of invasiveness as defined in the Standards and categories of risk as defined by the University (Schedule II);
11. an indication of whether the study is acute or chronic;
12. species and numbers of animals to be used and justification for such use;
13. a description of possible replacement, refinement or reduction alternatives and justification if these are not to be employed, or a description of the applicant's efforts to find such alternatives;
14. the anticipated levels of pain and degrees of invasiveness that will be experienced by the animals;
15. anesthesia and analgesia, including dosages and methods of use; justification for not using anesthesia or analgesia, if relevant;
16. a description detailing the procedures that are to be carried out on the animals;
17. a description of the endpoint(s) of the experiment or teaching exercise;
18. a description of capture, restraint, transportation and/or housing of animals used in field studies, as well as any other information pertinent to field studies, such as capture of non-target species and potential injuries or mortality during capture or transportation, if relevant;
19. the method of euthanasia, if used; justification for any physical euthanasia methods, or for any methods that deviate from those described in the Standards, the Act or the American Veterinary Medical Association Panel on Euthanasia;
20. a description of how the animals will be disposed of if they are not to be euthanized;
21. any other information considered important or necessary and pertinent, including information on results derived from any relevant previous protocols.
The submission will be reviewed by the Committee and projects satisfying the ethical (see Article II) and statutory norms for the conduct of the work will receive Committee approval. Approvals may include such terms and conditions as are necessary to bring the proposed work within such norms. Only upon receipt of notice of approval may the animals be acquired and the work initiated.
Where a standard operating procedure must be developed to satisfactorily address all of the issues of concern to the Committee and wherein endpoints are defined, animals will be removed from study when the humane endpoints have been reached. Any doubts as to whether the animals have reached endpoint will be resolved in favor of the animals.
Where in the opinion of the Committee a procedure is in violation of the guiding ethical or statutory principles, or the conditions imposed on a researcher for compliance with such norms, the Committee shall cause the objectionable procedure to be terminated and direct that animals be treated or euthanized by the University Veterinarian. In such a case, the Committee may further direct that approval for a protocol be suspended or revoked.
The Committee coordinates and review standards, activities and procedures relating to the care and use of animals; the facilities available for their care and housing; procedures for the prevention of unnecessary pain in animals including the use of anesthetics and analgesics, and the training and qualification of persons working with animals.
The Committee or its agents may inspect at any time all localities wherein animals are held or thought to be held at the University and must inspect all Animal Care and Surgery Service facilities at least once a year.
The Committee will regularly review its Terms of Reference to meet evolving standards for the care and use of laboratory animals at the University of Ottawa or its Institutes.
The Committee will develop a crisis management program to deal with emergencies which may arise.
The Committee will maintain liaison with the Canadian Council on Animal Care and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and comply with all reporting requirements.
The Committee will fulfill its educational responsibilities by informing the University Community about the issues concerning the use of animals in research, teaching and testing and about steps taken by the University to address these issues.
In matters of general policy and in keeping with its mission, the Committee will submit its recommendations to the Policy Committee of the University (Animal Care Management Committee), which is solely responsible for administrative policy determination and implementation.
The Committee will submit an Annual Report to the Vice-President (Research).

Composition of the Committee:
1. Chairperson.
2. University Veterinarian.
3. One or more members, elected by Faculty Councils or appointed by administrative prerogative for a three-year term, from each of the user communities within the University jurisdiction except those which are already represented according to another clause of this Article:
  1. Faculty of Health Sciences
  2. Faculty of Medicine:
    1. Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology
    2. Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
    3. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
    4. Department of Surgery
    5. Other
  3. Faculty of Science;
    1. Department of Biology
  4. Faculty of Social Sciences
    1. School of Psychology
  5. University of Ottawa Heart Institute
  6. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
  7. CHEO Research Institute
4. A non-animal-user from the University community, appointed by the Vice-President (Research).
5. A member of the University's graduate-student or post-doctoral community, appointed by the Vice-President (Research);
6. A member of the University's technical support staff, appointed by the Vice-President (Research).
7. A member from the Office of Risk Management, Environmental Health and Safety;
8. At least two community representatives appointed by the Vice-President (Research).
9. Up to two other members appointed by the Vice-President (Research). Research.
10. Ex officio members or their designates:
  1. Dean of the Faculty of Medicine;
  2. Dean of the Faculty of Science;
  3. Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences;
  4. Dean of the School of Graduate Studies;
  5. Director of the School of Psychology;
  6. Chief Executive Officer - Scientific Officer of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute;
  7. Chief Executive Officer - Scientific Officer of the Ottawa Health Research Institute;
  8. Chief Executive Officer - Scientific Officer of the CHEO Research Institute
11. Ad Hoc Committee advisors may be appointed from:
  1. Occupational Health, Leave and Disability;
  2. Protection Services;
  3. Public Relations and Information Services.
  4. Up to three members may be appointed from the ACVS from among its Veterinary and Operations Management personnel, one of whom is the Veterinary Officer.
Voting Privileges
1. All duly appointed and elected members are assigned voting privileges. Ex officio and ad hoc members do not have voting privileges [see article IV(1)(k)] but otherwise participate fully in meetings.
Meetings
1. Quorum is 50% plus 1 of voting members;
2. Decisions will be made by consensus. Where a matter cannot be resolved by consensus and where a vote would be appropriate in light of the issue before the Committee, a vote will be taken. The view of the simple majority will prevail. The Chair will cast the deciding vote in the event of a tie. Committee minutes must incorporate the dissenting opinion(s):
  1. Where the dissenting opinion is that of the University Veterinarian and the Committee's view is contrary to the Veterinarians' Act, R.S.O. 1990 as administered by the College of Veterinarians of Ontario, the decision taken by the Committee will not be deemed final. It will be referred to the Vice-President (Research), the College of Veterinarians and the Canadian Council on Animal Care for advice towards a final resolution of the issue by the Committee.
  2. All deliberations, discussions and decisions of the Committee are subject to the Collective Agreement of the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa and the Agreement's Regulations governing confidentiality, conflict of interest and disclosure. These regulations will apply to all Committee members including those who are not bound by the Collective Agreement.
  3. All deliberations, discussions and decisions of the Committee are confidential and may not be disclosed by a member to a third party or by a Member to an applicant to the Committee subject to the permission of the Chair. The formal process for the communication of the outcomes of Committee deliberation, which is through the Committee Secretariat, must be respected.
Duties and obligations of Committee Members (Members)
1. Members will attend meetings of the Committee. Where attendance is not possible, the Member will provide to the Committee Secretariat notice of absence.
2. Members will properly review and consider materials submitted for Committee review.
3. Members will familiarize themselves with the Mission and criteria for the discharge of their Committee responsibilities.
4. Members may bring to bear, during deliberations, the perspective, interests and concerns of the discipline or constituency they represent, however they do not champion any particular perspective, interest or concern. Rather, they are Members whose primary obligations are to fulfill their Committee responsibilities in the context of its Terms of Reference, the University Policy 31 on animals used in research and teaching, the Standards, the Act and other applicable criteria which articulate or inform ethics review, deliberation and decision-making.
5. Members will demonstrate exemplary conduct in all matters concerning the care and use of laboratory animals and will lead by example.
6. Members will undertake to educate colleagues or constituents about the process of ethics review, the principles which inform ethics deliberation and decision-making and changes in practice, policy and values which may have a bearing on deliberations and decision-making.

Membership in the Protocol Review Group is as follows:
1. Animal Care Committee Chair;
2. University Veterinarian;
3. Community members appointed by the Vice-President (Research);
4. At least five (5) other Committee members selected by the Committee so as to effect a broad representation of the user communities.
The Protocol Review Group under the chairmanship of the Chair/delegate, reviews all submitted protocols on behalf of the Committee, and is empowered by the Committee to grant the approval of newly submitted protocols, amendments to and renewals of previously approved protocols and to receive notice of protocol terminations. Such approvals are subject to revocation upon reasonable grounds and at any time by the Committee with notice of the Committee's intention to do so to the researcher.
Where the Protocol Review Group is of the opinion that protocol approval should be refused, suspended or revoked due to an actual or contemplated breach of ethical principles (Article II), by act or omission, the Protocol Review Group will recommend such action to the Committee. Where the Committee has not yet had time to consider the Protocol Review Group recommendation, the Protocol Review Group is authorized to take such interim action as is necessary to protect the interests of the animals. This may include ordering that an experimental procedure be suspended pending the Committee's decision. Where the Protocol Review Group's recommendation to refuse, suspend or revoke a protocol is accepted by the Committee, the Protocol Review Group shall file a report outlining the grounds for its recommendation with the Vice-President (Research), with a copy sent to the appropriate Academic Administrator, whether a Dean of a Faculty or Director of a School or Institute. As refusals, suspensions and revocations are decisions of the Committee, and not of the Protocol Review Group, requests for reconsideration of the ethical merits of these decisions will be made to the Committee. There is no other mechanism for decisional reconsideration (the Act).
The Animal Care Committee will reconsider the ethical merits of a decision by:
1. reconsidering the proposal de novo where a case can be made that there has been procedural unfairness;
2. reconsidering an ethical decision of the Protocol Review Group where new and relevant information becomes available which, if available at the time the protocol was decided, may have affected the outcome of the Protocol Review Group’s ethical deliberation; or
3. seeking an opinion on the matter being appealed from the Canadian Council on Animal Care or the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs or such other competent authority and taking such opinion into consideration in its deliberations.
The Protocol Review Group may withhold approval of a protocol pending re-submission as a consequence of incomplete information or because of a request to redesign the protocol so as to better reconcile animal welfare considerations with the needs of science. This does not constitute refusal, suspension or revocation, and is not subject to the procedural constraints outlined in (3) above.
The Protocol Review Group will ensure that unanticipated problems are reported to the Committee together with remedial actions, actual or proposed. A like-duty is imposed on researchers to report to the Committee unanticipated problems along with remedial actions, actual or proposed.
The Protocol Review Group will document the competency of any individual to work with laboratory animals.
Members of the Protocol Review Group or their delegates may enter any area where laboratory animals are kept or are thought to be kept. In the event that any animal may be in distress, the member of the Protocol Review Group or a designate is obligated to intervene in the best interests of the animals.
The Protocol Review Group will meet monthly.
A meeting agenda and copies of protocols and other information necessary to properly deliberate on the ethical merits of the protocols will be distributed to Protocol Review Group members for review in advance of the meeting.
Members of the Committee who are not Protocol Review Group members may attend the monthly Protocol Review Group meetings but do not have Protocol Review Group voting privileges.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Policy on Animals Used in Research and Teaching (Policy 31)

Part I: Animal Care and Use in Research and Teaching at the University of Ottawa arrow_drop_down

Part II: Institutional Structures for the Animal Care Program at the University of Ottawa arrow_drop_down

Part III: The Care and Use of Animals in Research and Teaching arrow_drop_down

Part IV: Compliance with University Policy Concerning the Care and Use of Animals in Research and Teaching arrow_drop_down

Part V: Declaration arrow_drop_down

Footnotes arrow_drop_down

Terms of references

Article I: Preambule arrow_drop_down

Article II: Ethical Principles arrow_drop_down

Article III: Procedural Duties arrow_drop_down

Article IV: Animal Care Committee arrow_drop_down

Article V: Subcommittees arrow_drop_down

Article VI: Protocol Review Group Subcommittee arrow_drop_down

Article VII: Executive Committee arrow_drop_down

Article VIII : Chair arrow_drop_down