Animal Purchasing & Shipping

Importation of Animals to Penn State

The following procedures must be completed before research animals imported from non-approved sources may be housed in ARP facilities.

1. The investigator should complete a Request for Animal Importation form.

2. Submit the completed form to Dr. Dodds by mail at 101 Centralized Biological Laboratory, fax at 865-3685 or by e-mail (jwd12@psu.edu).

3. Personnel from the Animal Resource Program office will then contact the animal care department at the exporting institution to obtain relevant health surveillance reports. We will also request additional cohort animals be shipped for health surveillance purposes.

4. Upon receipt of health surveillance reports from the exporting institution an ARP veterinarian will evaluate the health status of incoming animals to determine where they can be housed during the post-shipping quarantine period at PSU.

5. After veterinary review is complete, ARP will authorize the exporting institution to ship and provide the appropriate (PSU) shipping address to the exporting institution's animal care department.

6. Animals will be delivered to the CBL and received by Animal Resource Program personnel. The animals are unpacked in a designated quarantine room. Research staff access to the animals while they are in quarantine is limited and will depend on their health status.

7. The animals are quarantined until their current health status can be confirmed by testing. Representative animals from the group may be sent to a diagnostic laboratory for testing or sentinel animals may be placed in the room. A minimum of three weeks in quarantine should be expected. If sentinel animals are used a minimum of six weeks should be expected.
Note: If animals will not need to be housed after arrival, (i.e. all animals will be euthanized on arrival for experimental purposes) confirmatory health surveillance testing may not be necessary.

8. Animals will be released from quarantine after their health status has been confirmed. Animal Resource Program personnel will then transport them to their assigned animal holding room.