Request for Special Treatment or Procedure (SToP) Form

Examples of special treatments and/or procedures that are exceptions to the Animal Welfare Act, PHS Policy, IACUC policies and/or guidelines, or the Guide, and which require approval in the IACUC protocol and review by IACUC compliance staff:

• Delayed weaning
• Food/water manipulation
• Food/water restriction (not including routine pre-surgical fast)
• Feeding animals on the cage floor
• Delayed suture removal
• Not providing exercise or human contact for dogs
• Housing animals in cages/enclosures smaller than normal
• Animals housed outside of normal light/dark cycle (e.g., 24-hour darkness)
• Animals housed outside of normal temperature range
• Rodents housed on wire-bottom cages
• Different species housed together in the same room (requires faculty veterinarian approval; does not need to be in the IACUC protocol)
• Expected adverse consequences or adverse phenotype expressions
• Single-housing of social species (not including fighting rodents/rabbits or for veterinary treatment)
• Prolonged restraint (USDA species)
• Not providing environmental enrichment
• Multiple survival surgery if surgeries occur on the same animal over multiple protocols (USDA species)

Examples of special treatments and/or procedures that are exceptions to ULAM policies and SOPs, which only require review by ULAM Husbandry Managers (or IACUC compliance staff for non-ULAM areas):

• Lab to feed, water, and/or provide other husbandry care to certain animals or cages within a room, or on certain days
• Contacting lab prior to removing dead animals
• Contacting lab when a birth or death occurs
• Turning laminar flow hood off after each use
• Changing cage daily or more frequently than normal
• Housing on a specific type of bedding/substrate

Ensure that all information is complete, up-to-date, and correct. The Description of Request should be simple, straightforward, and brief. It should convey the special circumstance (see examples above). The Rationale must be related to scientific objectives or animal welfare.

Completed forms must be submitted to ulam-h-managers@umich.edu (for ULAM-managed areas) or acuoffice@umich.edu (for non-ULAM areas).

The approved form will be sent to the appropriate animal facility supervisor. It will be prominently posted or readily available in the animal housing area. The Principal Investigator (PI) will also receive a copy.

Requests for special treatments or procedures for non-USDA species (Mus Musculus, Rattus Norvegicus, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish) are approved for the life of the protocol. Requests to house mixed species (all non-USDA) in the same room are approved for a one-year period regardless of the protocol expiration dates.

For USDA-covered species (other rodents, rabbits, cats, dogs, ruminants), requests are valid for a six-month period of time. If it is known whether the special treatment or procedure request will still be needed, it should be renewed prior to expiration date following the outlined procedure(s) above.