Animal Care Committee

The purpose of the Animal Care Committee (ACC) is to ensure the humane and ethical care of animals used in teaching and research. As required by the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research and the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions, the ACC ensures the animal care and use program complies with the policies and guidelines set forth by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), the national oversight body of animal-based scientific activities in Canada.

Specific policies, procedures and guidelines governing the use of animals at KPU should be reviewed by all investigators and instructors before submitting an animal use protocol to the ACC.

• Canadian Council on Animal Care - Policies
• Canadian Council on Animal Care - Guidelines
• Policy RS6 - Animal Use and Ethics in Teaching and Research Policy
• Policy RS6 - Animal Use and Ethics in Teaching and Research Procedure

All research and teaching involving animals (and in certain cases, animal tissues) under the auspices of KPU requires prior review and approval by the ACC. This includes collaborations involving animals with those who are not KPU employees or students.

Anyone can report concerns regarding the welfare of animals associated with KPU. Please contact the ACC at acc@kpu.ca.

Animal use protocol applications for ACC review should be submitted to the Animal Care Coordinator at acc@kpu.ca. Protocol forms and instructions, as well as the Animal Use Protocol Guidance Form (which can be used to determine if planned use of animals or animal tissues/samples requires oversight by the ACC), can be found on the (SharePoint Link) ACC SharePoint site. 

Scientific or pedagogical merit review must be completed prior to ACC review of the animal use protocol. Merit review forms and instructions can be found on the (SharePoint Link) Compliance SharePoint Site.

Animal-based community outreach activities are non-invasive activities meant to informally engage and educate the public and for which there is no assessment of understanding or retention of knowledge obtained from the involvement of animals. A Community Outreach Form should be submitted to the Animal Care Coordinator at acc@kpu.ca prior to the outreach event.