Animal Housing
Location
The following areas are used for the housing of research animals. All species cannot be housed in every area.
- School of Medicine Animal Facilities
- Medical School Teaching Facility (MSTF)
- Bressler Research Building (BRB)
- Howard Hall (HH)
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC)
- Health Sciences Facility (HSF)
- Dental School Animal Facility
- School of Pharmacy Animal Facility
- Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center - Animal Facility
- Maryland Biotechnology Center
Satellite Facilities
The facility selected for housing animals will generally be the most convenient to the investigators' laboratories and consistent with available space, PHS requirements regarding species separation, and with other needs of the investigator.
School of Medicine Faculty
- All investigators who house animals in the School of Medicine must have a primary School of Medicine Faculty appointment.
- All School of Medicine faculty with laboratories in the School of Medicine must house their research animals in the School of Medicine animal facilities.
Access to Facilities
Access to the animal housing facilities for investigators and their staff can be granted only after a University access card I.D. badge has been obtained from the Campus Police. See your administrative staff or the Campus Police to obtain a badge.
Once an approved I.D. badge has been obtained, a memorandum on the investigator's department stationery should be sent/delivered to Veterinary Resources, Rm. G-100 of the MSTF building.
The memorandum should contain the following information:
- Name of the person requiring access
- The facility/floor to which the person requires access
- Social security number
- Number from the back of the University I.D. badge
The Campus Police can update the card access system within 24 hours of a request from Veterinary Resources. The simplest way to determine whether access has been granted is to try the card reader.
Investigators are granted access only to one location (e.g., MSTF or BRB/HH) to help prevent the transmission of adventitious pathogens between facilities.
Unauthorized persons (including visitors, friends and children) are not permitted in the facilities without the approval of Veterinary Resources. Veterinary Resources veterinary staff and professional colleagues, such as site visitors accompanying the veterinary staff, have unrestricted access to all areas of the campus where animals are held.
Amphibian and Fish Holding Areas
We are required by AAALAC to house all amphibians within our centralized facilities.
Sites for housing of fish outside the centralized facilities must meet minimum standards. In general these areas must conform to the guidelines written by the Canadian Council on Animal Care as such guidelines are recognized by AAALAC. The guidelines include monitoring of water quality, appropriate husbandry and handling practices, and appropriate use of anesthetic and euthanasia methods for various species.
Written standard operating procedures, prepared by the investigator, should be available in all fish holding areas. Records of water monitoring, treatments, and husbandry procedures should also be maintained.
Guidelines and reference materials are available through Veterinary Resources.
Satellite Facilities
If animals will be housed for more than 24 hours outside of the animal facility, the area must be formally approved as a satellite area. This will require adequate justification and approval by the IACUC.