Reporting of Incidents & Concerns

As part of regulatory requirements, PIs are required to report any incidents to IACUC within 5 working days. An Incident include any Adverse events, Unexpected outcomes, Unpredicted phenotypes, or Non-compliances. 

Examples of incidents to be reported include:

  1. Conditions that resulted in unexpected animal harm or deaths (e.g. accidents or errors, equipment failure, natural disaster, death during transport, etc.)
  2. Inadequate veterinary care
  3. Inappropriate euthanasia techniques and/or failure to confirm euthanasia
  4. Illness, injury and post-procedural complications that have not been anticipated in the AUP
  5. Deviations or non-compliances from approved protocols or the NACLAR Guidelines
  6. Unexpected phenotypes
  7. Animal use not approved by the IACUC

     

An Adverse Event is defined as “Any unexpected incidents or unexpected outcomes that has a negative impact on the well-being of an animal used for scientific purposes, or a significant human health issue directly related to the animal care and use programme.”

Whilst Incidents are usually to be reported by the study team, animal welfare Concerns regarding any animal use are usually reported by non-study team members. Please click on the relevant section below for more info.  

 

When an animal use incident occurs, protocol personnel should:

  1. Promptly notify the protocol’s PI (if he/she was not present).
  2. Contact the Attending Vet or Facility vet for advice, if needed.
  3. Retain any animal carcasses until released by the Vet.
  4. Conduct an initial investigation of the nature and possible causes of the incident, in consultation with the Vet and/or IACUC, if appropriate. In the case of animal death for unknown reasons, necropsy should be considered.
  5. Develop a plan of action, in consultation with the Vet and/or IACUC, to treat ill or injured animals (if applicable) and to prevent recurrence of the incident. 
  6. Submit a Incident Report Form (available on our intranet) to NTU-IACUC within 5 working days of incident occurrence.

 

Individuals may also choose to report an animal welfare concern to NTU-IACUC by email, or to the IACUC Chairperson, or to the Facility Manager.

Contact details of relevant personnel are also prominently displayed at the NTU's Animal Research Facilities.

Concerns may be reported by anyone, and he or she may wish to remain anonymous. For anonymous reporting, individuals can submit a report via the Report a Concern  webpage.