Dead Animal Handling (BU ASC)

When an animal care staff member finds a dead animal in a cage:

1. They record the death on the cage card.
2. They email the researcher and veterinary staff about the death.
3. Animal is placed in a bag and the bag is placed in the refrigerator, with the animal info (PI, user, protocol, etc.) recorded on the bag.
   • The bag is placed on a shelf labeled with the day of week on which the animal was found.
   • After 48 hours, carcasses are removed to the ASC – CRC freezer.
   • When a researcher has a carcass in the Non-Barrier, they are instructed to double-bag it and put it in the ASC – CRC freezer.
   • In the Barrier, researchers are instructed to place the carcass in the refrigerator located in the procedure room.
4. After 48 hours, the carcasses in the Barrier refrigerator are moved to the large freezer in the Non-Barrier by ASC – CRC staff.
5. There is a large freezer in the non-barrier facility into which all carcassess are eventually placed prior to pickup by private vendor , handled as medical waste and incinerated.

If radioactive or other biohazards are present in dead animals, procedures will be worked out in conjunction with Environmental Health & Safety during the animal protocol review by the IACUC.

Any unexpected deaths should also be reported to the veterinarian and potentially to the IACUC. Researchers may request a necropsy, or may just accept a death as an expected part of an experiment.

When animal care staff find a dead animal in a cage, they:

1. Record the death in the Problem Log for the room
2. Record at the cage card with “Dead Animal” sticker which has unique identification number, quantity dead, date and person’s initials. Adjust census as appropriate if census is done by cage.
3. Dead animal(s) are double-bagged and the bag labeled with “Dead Animal” sticker which has a unique identification number (as on cage card), date, initials. If possible, include original cage card if only (1) animal was present in the cage.
4. Place bagged carcass(es) in labeled bin (day of the week), at cold room for specific animal facility.
5. If special arrangements made to notify PI or User, then proceed with those.
6. PI can retrieve carcass(es) from the appropriate day of the week bin in the cold room by matching “Dead Animal” label unique ID number on cage card with corresponding “Dead Animal” label that is identical to the unique ID # on the bag. PI must retrieve dead animals within 3 days from date of death.
7. Carcass(es) are held by BU ASC – MED for 3 days, then if not claimed by PI, carcass(es) are disposed. Diposal is by a private vendor, who handles it as medical waste and incinerates it.

1. Veterinary Services are promptly notified of any unexpected death of any regulated animal.
2. Euthanized and dead animal(s)of regulated species are double bagged and bag labeled with PI name, protocol, animal ID number, room, date of death, persons initials. Dead animals are placed in cold room of specific animal facility.
3. Problem Log is notated, census is adjusted.
4. PI or BU ASC Veterinary Services can retrieve the carcass from respective facility cold room within 3 days.
5. BU ASC will dispose of carcass after 3 days and only after confirming with ASC Veterinary Service or PI that carcass in not needed.