40629263_-_IACUC_Vet_Services_1.pdf

VETERINARY SERVICES FOR AN IACUC COMMITTEE

Performance Work Statement (PWS) or Statement of Objectives (SOO) – Acquiring Professional Services of an Attending Veterinarian as member of US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Flagstaff, Arizona.

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

To meet and maintain Animal Welfare Act Regulations (AWAR) compliance within US Geological Survey (USGS), Ecosystems Mission Area Animal Care and Use Policy, the Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is standing up an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) in FY2023. The IACUC consists of a panel composed mainly of USGS science center staff (Institutional Officer (IO), Chair, and one Non-Affiliated member at-large), but also requires expertise not employed at the SBSC. In doing so to meet policy requirements, SBSC needs to enlist professional expertise of an Attending Veterinarian (AV) to establish an adequate program of veterinary care to manage the health and well-being of animals used by Ecosystem Mission Area (EMA) personnel at the science center to evaluate condition of physical environments (e.g., enclosures, facilities, pastures, range, etc.), husbandry practices, and potential biosecurity concerns that affect animals during, non-exempted field work, surgical and holding areas involving fishes and terrestrial species (including salmonids and other non-native species found in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam, endemic native fish of the Colorado River and its tributaries in Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and desert tortoises of the Mojave desert).

2.0 SCOPE

The AV participates as one of the external panel members of the SBSB’s IACUC at regularly scheduled meetings convened by the SBSC (minimum of two meetings annually). Participation may be undertaken remotely or in person. In this role, the AV assists the SBSC in maintaining compliance through the following activities:

- Develops and writes a program of veterinary care, approved by the SBSC’s Institutional Officer (IO) for when continuous coverage is not available, e.g., for when the AV is not a full-time employee of the SBSC, or when veterinary services are obtained through a collaborative agreement or other means.

- Performs veterinary consultation to the SBSC’s IACUC regarding recognition and palliation of pain in animal subjects.

- Provides oversight of multiple major survival surgeries resulting from a veterinary condition in an animal that also had experimental surgery.

- Maintains full authority to treat or euthanize any animal for humane reasons, even if the SBSC’s PI does not concur or the animal is being actively used in research, testing, or teaching.

- Serves as a subject matter expert and provide guidance and training to SBSC’s scientific and support staff on all aspects of humane handling, immobilization, anesthesia, analgesia, tranquilization, and euthanasia of research animals.

- Serves as a resource to the SBSC’s scientific staff relative to housing, enrichment, exercise, and other species-specific requirements.

- Consults with SBSC PIs and jointly determine the best options to treat sick animals and other disease control measures whenever an animal health or welfare concern is identified.

- Serves as a voting member of the SBSC’s IACUC.

- Provides professional input and guidance to assist the SBSC’s IACUC efforts during the investigation and resolution of adverse events, non-compliance, and other animal care concerns.

- Exercises professional judgment as a SBSC IACUC member to balance animal care and use considerations with scientific objectives and facilitate a constructive research environment.

- Acknowledges any potential conflicts of interest and avoid conflicts through consultation with other veterinarians, the SBSC’s IACUC Chairperson, the IO, and/or others as appropriate.

- Provides professional veterinary medical consultation to the SBSC’s IACUC on protocol reviews.

- Delegates – as conditions may dictate, and as long as needed - their duties and responsibilities to another, accredited veterinarian and/or designee.

3.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey “ECOSYSTEMS MISSION AREA TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM 1.0” dated January 12, 2022, and its appendices (A through G). This memo includes details related to the role of the AV as a member of the SBSC’s IACUC (Appendix B), the various regulations and policies tied to need for establishing the IACUC, and the requirements related to the AV’s activities associated with this need.

4.0 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

The AV participates as a professional animal veterinarian in reviewing animal care protocols developed and proposed for use in conducting research at the SBSC within experimental facilities and in some cases also in various field areas where animal research is conducted. The AV maintains knowledge and understanding of the AWAR, and other regulations identified in the guiding USGS memo “ECOSYSTEMS MISSION AREA TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM 1.0” and any ongoing revisions identified by the SBSC’s IO.

This requirement is for a Base Year and four Options for a potential total of five years.

5.0 DELIVERABLES – Deliverable Checklist, as follows:

- Major Task: To support initial establishment of the SBSC’s IACUC, prior to the first committee meeting, the AV shall draft a program of veterinary care to guide and support the required protocol reviews conducted by the SBSC’s IACUC, and it will be submitted for review and approval by the SBSC’s IO.

- Minor Tasks: As requested, the AV shall review animal care protocols associated with SBSC research projects at scheduled semi-annual meetings and prepare and deliver report(s) of the review findings, including recommendations for meeting compliance requirements. These reports are provided to the IO and other committee members within 30 days of meetings, along with an annual report provided to the IO by September 30th of each year.