Animal Care

The use of animals in research and teaching requires the highest ethical standards related to the practice. Trent University ensures that all researchers working with animals receive the proper training, guidance, and resources. In addition, the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) provides nationally and internationally recognized standards and verifies their effective implementation in Canadian institutions

For more information about the Department of Animal Care, animal research at Trent, and FAQ section, please visit the Animal Care page.

For more information about the Animal Care Committee, please visit the Research Committees page.

• For field-based projects that may or may not have a laboratory component, choose the Wildlife Form.
• For strictly laboratory-based projects, choose the Laboratory Form.
• For teaching or research protocols, where the level of interaction with animals is predominantly observational, choose the Minimal Interaction Form. 

Please contact the Coordinator, Research Conduct and Reporting, or the Manager of Animal Care if you would like to consult your protocol draft before submitting it for review by the Animal Care Committee.

Multi-year Protocols

Protocols can run a maximum of four years before a resubmission to the Animal Care Committee is required. Principal investigators are required to submit an annual summary after the protocol is approved.

*This does not apply to any recurring Teaching Protocol. An annual resubmission of a full protocol is mandatory.

Live Animals and Teaching

The use of live animals for undergraduate teaching purposes where animals are euthanized as part of the teaching exercise is discouraged. All teaching protocols involving the use of live animals must have a positive pedagogical review prior to the proposal being reviewed by the Trent ACC.  Please contact Coordinator, Research Conduct and Reporting to obtain the templates for the Pedagogical Merit Review Form (filled out by the PI) and the Reviewer Comment Form. A pedagogical merit review should be requested by the PI from the curriculum committee of the relevant University department. Additionally, ACC requests a statement from the department Chair confirming financial support for the proposed work.

Minimal Interaction Form

All formal teaching and research projects involving vertebrates or cephalopods require ACC approval.  There are some exceptions to the requirement for a full protocol.  Animal users are encouraged to consult REQUIREMENT FOR SUBMITTING AN ANIMAL PROTOCOL  Addendum to the CCAC policy statement on: terms of reference for animal care committees. 

In cases where the exception for a full protocol DOES apply but there is still a need for animal users and the ACC to connect, please use the “Minimal Interaction Form” available in ROMEO.  This form applies when animals are being used in teaching or research, but the level of interaction between personnel and animals is predominantly observational, and any interaction is commensal or beneficial to the animals but is still part of the goals associated with the interaction.  Note that a departmental curriculum committee must still complete a pedagogical merit form for teaching activities to ensure the home department is aware of the work and that there is sufficient support in place to proceed.   

Common examples at Trent are as follows: 

• Practicums; 

• Observational work such as production of ethograms at the Riverview Park and Zoo where any changes to the environment of the animal would be abnormal compared to day-to-day zoo operations; 

• Any work that is currently categorized in CCAC category of invasiveness A (see the CCAC policy statement on: categories of invasiveness in animal experiments (CCAC, 1991). 

• Animals that will only be observed in formal teaching and in research, that are not being held captive by Trent for these purposes, and where there is no expected negative impact on these animals or those around them.  This includes field trips to wild or farm spaces, or contractors bringing animals on site for demonstrations.  Tangential contact with animals is understood as something that may happen, but not intentionally planned as part of the work.   

Note that social and extracurricular interactions with animals not related to teaching and research goals do not require a protocol with the Animal Care Committee.  The Department of Animal Care (separate from the Animal Care Committee) can advise on these matters if organizers desire to increase the chances of a successful event.   

External Peer Review

Any application using live vertebrates and cephalopods, which has not completed the peer review process prior to submission, will be subject to external peer review prior to review by the ACC. In addition to submitting your AUP in ROMEO, please complete the Scientific Merit Review Form For Applicants and forward it to the Coordinator, Research Conduct and Reporting.

For more information please contact Coordinator, Research Conduct and Reporting.

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Please visit Animal Care - SOP Library to access current list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). The library will be updated regularly, and new SOPs added. If available, use the SOP files from the library when submitting a new AUP. If edits are required to the existing SOP - tracked changes should be used in the SOP attached to your ROMEO submission.

If you cannot find the SOP relevant to your animal use protocol, please contact the Manager of Animal Care. If you need to create a new SOP, please use this template.

Any person working with live vertebrates is required to complete the Animal Care Course prior to commencing work under an approved protocol. Refer here for instructions on how to access the training. 

An in-person orientation is required for any personnel working in campus Animal Care facilities and may be arranged by emailing the Manager of Animal Care. Further training on field work or experimental procedures is provided by individual labs.

Every three years the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) assesses members’ animal care and use programs, including Animal Care Committee function, standard operating procedures, policies, housing facilities and research protocols. Its assessment panel includes scientists, veterinarians experienced in laboratory animal medicine, and community representatives.

CCAC assessment reports include commendations and recommendations in three categories: Major, Serious and Regular. Read more on the CCAC Certification Process.

In its 2023 assessment of Trent’s animal research program, the CCAC made a number of commendations and regular recommendations. The regular recommendations concern refining our definition of enrichment for animals, codifying or formalizing work done to comply with the new CCAC Animal Welfare Assessment Guidelines, and putting in writing our commitment to update any remaining rodent caging to be in line with newer rodent guidelines where necessary. Note, institutions generally have several years to apply guideline updates as some changes have significant financial implications or commitments, and we are ahead of schedule for this work. No major recommendations were made as part of the assessment. Prior to recertification, Trent must satisfy all recommendations made in the assessment.

Regular recommendations involve potential weaknesses in the animal ethics and care program based on CCAC policies, guidelines, and other CCAC-recognized standards. The measures taken and planned in response to these recommendations must be provided to the CCAC within six months of the institution receiving the written recommendations. We are working to have our responses in months ahead of the deadline.

Animal Care Application Guidelines
Animal Care Webpage
Trent University Animal Care Handbook
Trent Animal Care Standards Policy                                                                 

Animals for Research Act (Ontario)
Canadian Council on Animal Care       

Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Medicine 
Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Science 
Canadian Bioethics Society 
Canadian Animal Health Institute 
Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing 
Lab Animal
Laboratory Animals

Animal Welfare Assessment Tool

Animal Care - SOP Library

Frequently asked questions

Are there any exceptions to a full ACC protocol review? 

Yes!  Co-op placements or animal interactions without manipulation can be a simpler connection to keep everyone appropriately informed and connected but avoid the effort of a full review.  This is done by using the Minor Interaction Form in Romeo.  Click here for more information. 

How much administration is required by Principal Investigators on a protocol? 

Not everyone agrees with using animals for human needs.  When using public funds, the expectation is that we maintain transparency and accountability.  Authorities, therefore, require multiple contact points between animal users and the ACC to ensure all is going as best as possible.  The number of contact points can change depending on the context of the protocol and how invasive or novel the work is.  At minimum, for a four-year protocol, there is a report filed once a year and a report to close the protocol. (4 contact points). 

The government requires Trent to report animal use numbers annually.  Trent has combined animal use reporting with the requirement to connect annually in an effort to reduce administrative burden. 

There are also “post approval monitoring” (PAM) visits conducted.  Externals expect as many of these to be done as possible, understanding that we may not do every protocol.  We try to make sure invasive work has a timely PAM visit.  If we are visiting an investigator for PAM on one of several active protocols, we try to schedule multiple protocols with one visit for efficiency. 

What is the average time between when a protocol is submitted and fully approved? 

The goal of the ACC is to have full protocols reviewed at one meeting and fully approved before the next meeting.  Factors that influence this are the complexity of the review, how many protocols were on the agenda for any meeting, the time it can take for a busy Chair to assemble review comments, and the time it takes for a Principal Investigator to satisfactorily respond. 

Average processing times from submission: 

Minor amendments, 1-3 business days. 

Major amendments, processed at the next scheduled ACC meeting. 

Animal Use Protocol in full, approximately 30 days (the window between ACC meetings).

Is there an appeal process for ACC decisions?

Yes.  The procedure for an appeal is in the ACC Terms of Reference.  Ideally a response from a Principal Investigator to the ACC Chair is how an appeal process begins. 

Does Animal Care run the Animal Care Committee? 

No!  These are separate entities, though there is a significant overlap of personnel and some activity by nature of the work being done.  The Department of Animal Care is a support department which helps with the care and use of live animals on campus, whether the activity falls under an ACC protocol or not.  Animal Care personnel are subject to reviews and requirements of the ACC just as other animal users and under regular scrutiny of the ACC with monthly reports and annual inspections.  The ACC relies on Animal Care to help ensure compliance with the standards outlined in ACC approved protocols and requirements by external agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Canadian Council of Animal Care. 

Animal Care and the Animal Care Committee may have disagreements on certain matters such as ethics, standards for best practice, programming or responses to ACC requirements. The expectation is that these disagreements are worked out through consensus.

Does Trent have an official policy on animal use? 

The Trent Animal Use Policy can be found here. 

There is no mention of not working with certain types of animals.  Personnel can expect if they submit protocols wanting to work with species with high needs, the needs will need to be addressed for approval to proceed. 

There is no mention of only approving certain types of work with animals.  The ACC relies on the peer scientific or pedagogical review processes to review merit of the work.  That process is handled through the Office of Research.  The ACC requires a positive merit review be in place prior to reviewing a protocol.

How often does the ACC meet? 

Submission and meeting dates should be posted on the Office of Research webpages.  The ACC meets monthly through the main academic year, September through June inclusive. 

What happens in July and August when I have urgent need of a protocol review? 

Researchers are encouraged to submit protocols with the summer hiatus in mind; however, unforeseen opportunities for teaching or research can arise.  In this case, an ACC subcommittee will review a submission.  Interim approvals may be granted and formally approved at the next full ACC meeting.   

Please be advised that response times over summer months may vary as subcommittee members may not be checking email or ROMEO while away from Trent.  ACC members will help address unforeseen needs as soon as possible in this context.