Animal Facility Inspection. VIC Animal Welfare Scientific Procedures Premises/Field Licence audit.

• Audit Date

• Auditors

• Location/site being audited

• Other Attendees

• Have past the previous audit report and debrief forms been reviewed?

• Have all action items from the previous audit been addressed and completed?

Inspection of research animal facility

Part A: List of all premises nominated on licence

Room details

• Fit for purpose (Y/N)

• Remove from licence including reason why

• Action required - comment and action to be taken

Part B: Animal facility general checklist to be used at inspection of each animal facility

Management

• Person with ultimate responsibility

• Are facilities centrally managed

• undefined

Emergency plans & alarm systems

• Emergency plan in place

• Alarm systems present for: • plant (chillers, boilers etc) • room temperature • power interruption • fire / smoke • individually ventilated cages (IVCs)

• Alarms: • tested regularly • notifying correct people

• Essential services backup tested regularly (generator switchover; chiller switchover)

• Fuel present for generator, UPS (uninterrupted power supply) for alarm systems?

Handling and basic procedures

• Training provided to animal house personnel and investigators

• Training register

• Contemporary practices (Note any retro-orbital bleeding without GA, using animals for Abs production, etc)

Health monitoring

• Appropriate monitoring program

• Use of sentinels covered by AEC approval

• AEC-approved procedures for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease and for quarantine.

• Appropriate biosecurity/ biohazard containment (radiation, GM, infectious disease etc)

Transportation

• AEC-approval transport containers/vehicles where possible.

• SOP for domestic/internal and external transportation

• Transport containers/vehicles (where possible).

• Transport methods and arrangements must: be appropriate for the species and the circumstances: • minimise harm, including pain and distress, arising from factors such as containment, movement, noise, disruption of social groups, and changes in the environment and personnel • ensure that animals are: o provided with appropriate food and water when necessary o provided with the physical and social environment appropriate for the species o protected from, and treated for, injury and disease.

• Both suppliers and recipients of animals must ensure that satisfactory delivery procedures are in place, including receipt of the animals by a responsible person, accountability for animal numbers, and adherence to other regulatory codes, such as quarantine.

• The sender must ensure that the animals to be transported are in good health.

• An assessment of the health and welfare of the animals must be made upon arrival.

• Containers for domestic, local and internal transportation of animals must be: • adequately ventilated (with reduced stocking rates in containers with filters) • vermin- and escape-proof • durable (including crush-proof) • sufficiently spacious (higher stocking densities than normal housing may be required to prevent injury) • provided with appropriate bedding (for thermoregulation and impact absorption) • clearly labelled.

• Appropriate transport of young animals

Humane killing

• The method and procedures used for killing an animal must be humane and: • avoid pain or distress and produce rapid loss of consciousness until death occurs • be compatible with the purpose and aims of the project or activity • be appropriate to the species, age, developmental stage and health of the animal • require minimum restraint of the animal • be reliable, reproducible and irreversible • ensure that animals are killed in a quiet, clean environment away from other animals • ensure that death is established before disposal of the carcass, fetuses, embryos and fertilised eggs

• Dependent offspring of animals to be killed must be cared for or humanely killed

• The procedures must be performed only by competent persons approved as competent by AEC or under direct supervision of a competent person

Records

• All animals identified (age, sex, strain, species) link to AEC approval

• System of recording of animal breeding implemented

• Four retention of animal records

• Records and SOPs readily accessible for audit

AEC approval

• SOP’s

• All activities

• Facilities - date of most recent inspection

• Check that breeding of new GM lines are approved by AEC

• Check that AEC approves transfer from new GM to stock line

New admissions

• Admission of new animals • health and wellbeing of the animals is assessed by a competent person before their admission, • quarantine and preventive or other health treatment is provided, if appropriate • appropriate accommodation is available and that animals are transferred to this accommodation without unnecessary delay • assessing the suitability of the animals for their intended scientific purpose

Part C: Checklist – Animal Holding Rooms

Maintenance and hygiene

• Animal rooms/yards/stables: • clean, tidy • vermin-proof • in good repair to facilitate effective cleaning (see also Reg 93)

• Animal bedding appropriately changed so animals kept dry, comfortable, clean unless contraindicated

• Secure to avoid escapes • Rodent barriers (as appropriate)

Nutrition

• Suitable diet (species, age, stage, intervention level)

• Food storage (cool, vermin-proof)

• Communication re supplementation

• Condition score suitable

• Feeding consideration for handicapped/young animals

Water

• Potable and available always

• Flooding prevented

• Water bottles or containers should be sanitised or sterilised. They should be sufficiently transparent to enable water availability to be easily checked

• Automatic watering systems should be serviced and cleaned regularly

Animal enclosures

• Materials and Design: • Durable, comfortable, good repair, escape-proof • Safe, comfortable, withstand cleaning agents • Easy monitoring enabled • Nesting box for breeding animals • If wire floor, solid mat also

• Space requirements: • Adequate space and stocking density for exercise, social stability or single animals, breed, age, growth stage • See appendix 1 Lab animal code- note exemption for short-term housing of post-weaned/pre-issue animals – note any welfare concerns.

• Social requirements: • Social housing for social species, justification if not • Mitigation of isolation or deprivation

• NHP: Outdoor exercise (see NHMRC guidelines)

• Furniture: • Bedding material provided and appropriate • Nesting material for breeding animals • Materials –safe, absorbent, low allergenic, non-toxic, non-injurious, free from contaminants and vermin

• Labelling: • Special care needs • Experimental vs stock animals • Responsible researcher / AEC # • Emergency contacts (per room or project)

• Animals able to perform species-specific activities including sufficient exercise

Temperatures

• Room temp recording- daily, Max & Min Room temperature alarms regularly tested Special conditions clearly displayed

Ventilation and air quality

• Draught free, fresh or conditioned air in rooms (approx. 10-20 ACH) or IVCs

• HVAC systems regularly serviced, alarmed and tested

• Relative Humidity within acceptable range 40-70%

Light

• Max light intensity at 1 m is 350 lux, except albino animals (housing code)

• Consider use of light meter at inspection

• Opportunity to withdraw to lower light intensities- tunnels, darkened areas/nesting box etc

• Periods of daily light and dark provided- photoperiods

• Access to natural light, as appropriate (cats, NHP)

Special requirements

• Animals with special requirements identified

• The appropriate level of biohazard containment must be used for animals exposed to known infectious agents

• Other- biosecurity requirements for some NHPs

Part D: Checklist – Experimental/Procedural Rooms temporarily holding animals

Maintenance and hygiene

• Room/facilities: • clean, tidy • vermin-proof • in good repair to facilitate effective cleaning (see also Reg 93)

• Floor clear of: • trip hazards • places for escaped animals to hide

• Appropriate hygiene practices and sterile techniques/facilities available

• Equipment maintenance: • Calibration/service schedule • Manual available

• SOPs or equivalent for room maintenance available

• Room secure to avoid escapes

• Room/facilities booking history available

• Drugs – appropriate storage (refrigeration if required – within use by date ) – this is new

Temperature

• Room temp recording- daily, Max & Min

• Room temperature alarms regularly tested

• Special conditions clearly displayed

Ventilation and air quality

• Draught free, fresh or conditioned air in rooms (approx. 10-20 ACH) or IVCs

• HVAC systems regularly serviced, alarmed and tested

• Relative Humidity within acceptable range 40-70%

ACTION ITEMS

Items to address

• Item & Action required

• Timeframe for Completion

Sign Off

• Auditor 1 Name and Signature

  Sign