Use of animal tissue or fluids does not require a research or teaching/training application prior to using the animal fluid or tissue. An ethics application is not required when work involves a Category of Invasiveness Level A, which includes:
- use of eggs, embryos, fetuses, and larvae (except fish and amphibian larvae that have reached a stage where survival can reasonably be expected through independent feeding),
- cadavers, fluids, or tissue from animals not killed specifically for the research or teaching, including tissue or fluids from established industry or commercial practices, and
- animal tissue or fluids shared from other Waterloo approved research or teaching/training protocols.
Good lab safety practices are important when working with any animal tissue, fluid, or cadaver. It is encouraged for students to take the animal user training Basic field and tissue course (theory) (AR0009) to learn about the ethical treatment of research and teaching animals. Please consult the Safety Office for Laboratory Safety procedures before planning any work and consult the Manager, Research Ethics to discuss when a protocol is required if unsure.
When to submit an Animal Use Protocol
Any use of animals that involves direct manipulation of an animal or cephalopod species requires an ethics application to be submitted and reviewed by the Animal Care Committee (ACC) prior to use of the animal or cephalopod species. This includes the use of animals for breeding, research, teaching/training purposes, and testing.
Direct manipulation of an animal can involve handling or moving an animal to different location than their home environment/cage) for the specific purpose of research or teaching/training.
A researcher that wishes to use blood or urine samples from an animal that are collected for the primary purpose of their research or teaching, would be required to submit an AUP.
- For example, obtaining a blood sample directly from the animal or a urine sample (even through free catch purposes) would require an AUP as it is for the purposes of research and must be justified accordingly.
- The protocol must also have shown pedagogical or scientific merit review prior to being reviewed by the ACC.
For fish and amphibian embryos, an ethics application for review must be submitted when the animals are at a development state when they are capable of independent feeding.
If the animals, will be euthanized specifically for research or teaching purposes, for example to obtain your data, or the disposition of the animals will change in any way to accommodate your research, you must submit an AUP. This is also applicable to a supplier, for instance if the supplier purchases and/or euthanizes the fish for the research study, an AUP is required as the animals are being euthanized specifically for research or teaching purposes.
If the animals will be euthanized for reasons other than your research study, you do not need an AUP. This includes the use of animals euthanized using standard commercial practices (e.g. necropsy specimens collected from animals euthanized/processed at an abattoir) and animal tissues shared from other approved protocols (including breeding protocols).
If you are unsure when an ethics application is needed, contact the Manager, Research Ethics, ext. 45003.