Table of Contents
Acquiring Animals
Research animals are acquired from either LARC-approved vendors or animal imports.
All approved vendor purchases must be processed by the LARC office at each LARC site (except LARC Abilene who purchases through the LARC Lubbock campus). Likewise, all animal imports must be coordinated through the LARC office, and approved by the Institutional Veterinarian prior to shipment.
We have created the LARC-Approved Vendor page and the Animal Imports (non-standard) page to help investigators coordinate with the LARC to acquire research animals for IACUC-approved studies.
Upon arrival, all animals require acclimation to stabilize their physiology. The acclimation time periods range from 24-48 hours, or longer, depending on the animal species, age of animals, travel conditions, etc. The LARC Veterinarians are available to discuss what acclimation time is appropriate for the shipment. Further, upon arrival the non-standard animal imports of rodent species will likely require quarantine to verify health status. This is usually done with sentinel animals to help identify any presence of infectious rodent pathogens that are of interest to exclude from the vivarium. The LARC Veterinarians will develop the appropriate quarantine program for each shipment of imported rodents.
LARC Approved Vendors
The links listed below are LARC-approved vendors for purchasing animals for research and training purposes. Although subject to acclimation, they are not quarantined for infectious pathogens. We are confident in the quality of the animals they provide.
Animal Imports
In general, animals received from non-approved vendors (i.e. other Universities, overseas vendors, research colonies, etc.) must be screened more cautiously to prevent introduction of infectious rodent pathogens into the vivarium.
A copy of the last two health reports from the non-approved originating facility must be sent to the LARC Institutional Veterinarian/Director (fax 806-743-1028), prior to shipment.
Please check with your local LARC office at each campus site when deciding on which animal vendor to use. We would be more than happy to help you find the right source of animals that will best fit your research and financial needs! All animals MUST be ordered through your local LARC office.