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All research, teaching, and outreach activities involving vertebrate animals at the University of British Columbia must receive approval from the Animal Care Committee (ACC) before initiation of the activity.
To ensure that the highest animal welfare standards are maintained along with the conduct of accurate, valid scientific research at UBC, Principal Investigators and obtain approval from the Animal Care Committee (ACC) before initiating any research, testing, or instructional project(s) involving the use of animals.
Drafting Your Protocol
There are 4 types of animal care protocols available: Research, Teaching, Breeding or Pilot Project applications. Sample animal care protocol applications are available from the ACC.
All protocols are good for one year with three yearly renewals (total of four years), with the exception of Pilots, which are only approved for three months, with one three-month renewal (total of six months).
Resources are available to you in preparing your animal care protocol:
- Our Clinical Veterinarians and facility managers can help you navigate the process
- The Animal Care Committee has developed a document to summarize the most common errors made when protocols are submitted to the ACC.
- To obtain the most recent copy of the document, please email Suzanne Richardson, Manager, or Fred Woo, Assistant Manager, Animal Care, Biosafety & Radiation Committees.
- Protocol Writing Workshops are available and are particularly helpful if you are submitting your very first animal care protocol at UBC. We recommend attending this workshop prior to submitting your protocol.
- Pre-review is also available through the Animal Care Committee.
- If you have any Biosafety/Radiation certificates that pertain to the work listed on your animal care protocol, please ensure you list these on your protocol.
Where the designated staff draft the protocol in RISe, the PI can review and approve the submission.
Once completed, the PI submits the protocol application through RISe which then must be approved by the Academic Head of Unit before going to the Animal Care Committee administration.
All deadlines are posted here.
Visit the Drafting Your Protocol page for information on how the ACC reviews protocols and for details on additional documentation that may be required prior to submission for projects with special circumstances.