Observational (Unobtrusive) Research, Testing, or Teaching in Facilities Not Owned by OSU
Wildlife Research
The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is charged with the responsibility of reviewing research and instructional protocols as required by various Federal agencies and the university. Approved protocols are required for all instructional and research activities involving live vertebrates, domesticated or wild. Activities limited to observation of unrestrained vertebrates in the wild are exempt from this requirement.
Wild vertebrates are used in a wide variety of research and instructional activities ranging from the collection of animals for museum specimens to surgical implantation of radio transmitters. Vertebrates are also taken from the wild and held for laboratory investigations. Less frequently, breeding colonies are established from wild stock. Nearly all such work involves capture and handling of animals in which minimization of pain and distress to the individual animals is an important consideration. However, survival and maintenance of normal behavior in animals after they are returned into the wild is of equal importance, particularly as these factors affect the welfare of natural populations.
The impact of proposed procedures on population parameters is an important consideration in the design of any field study. In fact, maintenance of population size often carries moral and legal obligations when threatened or endangered species are involved. Modern analytical techniques in population ecology generally require large sample sizes and efficient handling procedures that do not increase mortality. In this regard, appropriate handling procedures and quick release following capture are of primary importance. In some cases the use of an anesthetic might not be justified if it increases the risk of death in animals stressed from captures or compromises the ability of an animal to feed or defend itself after release.
Guidelines for the use of wild vertebrates in field research at The Ohio State University are based on those of the Canadian Council on Animal Care as set forth in Chapter 22 of the Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, Volume 2. This document was chosen because it describes succinctly a wide variety of procedures commonly used on wild vertebrates.
The ASM Guidelines recognize toe clipping as the standard method for marking mouse to rat-sized animals. The Canadian Guidelines do not prohibit toe clipping, but the use of alternatives is strongly encouraged. Animals may be toe clipped only when no other method is available or feasible in the context of the proposed research. No more than one toe per foot should be clipped and the procedure should not be used on fossorial animals. Mice need not be anesthetized for toe clipping. The stress of captivity in the live trap combined with that of an inhalation anesthetic could prove fatal for some animals. Even if the animals were attended until able to move off on their own, lingering, subtle, effects of the anesthetic could compromise their ability to feed normally or avoid predation.
Unobtrusive (Observational) Studies
The IACUC has adopted guidelines related to unobtrusive (observational) research or instructional protocols proposed to be conducted in facilities not owned or operated by the University. Such facilities would not be inspected by IACUC under the following conditions:
- The researcher must obtain a statement from the facility indicating that it is responsible for its animals and premises.
- Protocol should specify that
- the researcher(s) do not own the animals or building
- the researcher has no other direct control over the facility
- the animals or their environment will not be manipulated in any way (observation only).
NOTE: The key here is that the researchers are only "observing". If there is any manipulation of the animal or environment, further guidance from USDA is recommended.
