Vertebrate Animal Rules

The following rules were developed to help pre-college student researchers adhere to the federal regulations governing professional scientists and to protect the welfare of both animal subjects and the student researcher.

Index

What are Considered Vertebrate Animals
Prohibited Studies
Rules
After Experimentation/Euthanasia
Death Verification
Documentation and Approval
Exempt Studies

What are considered vertebrate animals?:

Vertebrate animals, as covered by these rules, are defined as:

  1. All nonhuman vertebrates (including fish) at hatching or birth
  2. Live nonhuman vertebrate mammalian embryos or fetuses
  3. Tadpoles
  4. Bird and reptile eggs starting three days (72 hours) prior to hatching
  5. Zebrafish past 7 days (168 hours) post-fertilization due to delayed cognitive neural development
  6. Cephalopods are to be treated as vertebrate animals

NOTE: A project is not considered a vertebrate animal study if tissue is obtained from an animal that was euthanized for a purpose other than the student’s project. (See Tissue & Body Fluid Rules)

Prohibited Studies:

  1. Research projects which cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress to any vertebrate animals are prohibited.
  2. Studies that are designed or anticipated to cause vertebrate animal death are prohibited.
  3. No vertebrate animal deaths due to the experimental procedures are permitted in any group or subgroup.
  4. Student researchers are prohibited from performing euthanasia.
    1. Projects conducted in a school/home/field location are prohibited from performing euthanasia for tissue removal and/or pathological analysis. (Such projects must be conducted at a Regulated Research Institution (RRI) with qualified personnel performing euthanasia.)
  5. Students are prohibited from designing or participating in an experiment associated with the following types of studies on vertebrate animals:
    1. Induced toxicity studies with known toxic substances that could cause pain, distress, or death, including but not limited to alcohol, acid rain, pesticides, or heavy metals or studies with the intent to study toxic effects of a substance on a vertebrate animal.
    2. Behavioral experiments using conditioning with aversive stimuli, mother/infant separation or induced helplessness.
    3. Studies of pain.
    4. Predator/vertebrate prey experiments.
  6. Students are prohibited from fishing with barbed hooks, live bait or from performing electrofishing.

Rules:

  1. All vertebrate animal studies must be reviewed and approved before experimentation begins.
    1. If a study is performed in a school, home or field, the local or affiliated fair SRC serves in this approval capacity for vertebrate animal studies. Any SRC serving in this capacity must include a veterinarian or an animal care provider with training and/or experience in the species being studied.
    2. If a study is being conducted at an RRI, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval must be obtained. An IACUC is the institutional animal oversight review and approval body for all animal studies at an RRI.
  2. The health and well-being of the vertebrate animal must be considered at all phases of the study.
  3. Throughout the study, proper care must be provided at all times, including weekends, holidays, and vacation periods. Animals must be observed daily to assess their health and well-being and must be continually monitored for signs of distress.
    1. Animals must be treated kindly and cared for properly.
    2. Animals must be housed in a clean, ventilated, comfortable environment appropriate for the species.
    3. They must be given a continuous, clean (uncontaminated) water and food supply.
    4. Cages, pens and fish tanks must be cleaned frequently.
  4. A vertebrate animal project must be designed to ensure no more than momentary or slight pain or distress is experienced.
    1. If conducted at an RRI under an IACUC protocol, more than momentary or slight pain or distress to vertebrate animals must be relieved by IACUC-approved anesthetics, analgesics and/or tranquilizers.
  5. A veterinarian must be consulted and certify experiments that involve supplemental nutrition, administration of prescription drugs and/or activities that would not be ordinarily encountered in the animal’s daily life.
  6. Justification is required for an experimental design that involves food or fluid restriction and must be appropriate to the If the restriction exceeds 18 hours, the project must be reviewed and approved by an IACUC and conducted at an RRI.
  7. Research conducted in an RRI in nutritional deficiency or research involving substances or drugs of unknown effect is permitted to the point that any clinical sign of distress is noted. In the case that distress is observed, the project must be suspended and measures must be taken to correct the deficiency or drug A project can only be resumed if appropriate steps are taken to correct the causal factors.
  8. Any illness or unexpected weight loss must be investigated and a veterinarian consulted to receive required medical care.
    1. This investigation must be documented by the Qualified Scientist or Direct Supervisor, who must be qualified to determine the illness, or by a veterinarian.
    2. If the illness or distress is caused by the study, the experiment must be terminated immediately.
  9. Because significant weight loss is one sign of stress, weight must be recorded at least weekly with 15% being the maximum permissible weight loss or growth retardation (compared to controls) of any experimental or control animal.
    1. If weighing of animals cannot be done in a fashion that is safe for both the researcher and the animal, then an explanation and approval by an SRC or IACUC needs to be included in the research plan, as well as an alternative method(s) to address signs of distress.
    2. Additionally, body conditioning scoring (BCS) systems for most species of animals utilized in research and agriculture and are an objective method for assessing the overall health status of the research subject, with or without weight loss. A BCS system should be included in the design of any study utilizing live vertebrate animals and results regularly recorded.
  10. If an illness or emergency occurs, the affected animal(s) must receive proper medical or nursing care that is directed by a veterinarian.
  11. A student researcher must stop experimentation if there is unexpected weight loss or death in the experimental
    1. The experiment can only be resumed if the cause of illness or death is not related to the experimental procedures and if appropriate steps are taken to eliminate the causal factors.
    2. If death is the result of the experimental procedure, the study must be terminated, and the study will not qualify for competition.
  12. Students performing vertebrate animal research must satisfy US federal law as well as local, state, and country laws and regulations of the jurisdiction in which research is performed.
  13. Animals may not be captured from or released into the wild without approval of authorized wildlife or other regulatory officials. All appropriate methods and precautions must be used to decrease stress.
  14. Fish may be obtained from the wild only if the researcher releases the fish unharmed, has the proper license, and adheres to state, local and national fishing laws and The use of electrofishing is permissible only if conducted by a trained supervisor.
  15. Vertebrate animal projects may be conducted at a home, school, farm, ranch, in the field, including:
    1. Studies of animals in their natural environment
    2. Studies of animals in zoological parks
    3. Studies of livestock that use standard agricultural practices
    4. Studies of fish that use standard aquaculture practices
    5. These projects must adhere to BOTH of the following guidelines:
      1. The research involves only agricultural, behavioral, observational or supplemental nutritional studies on animals. AND
      2. The research involves only non-invasive and non- intrusive methods that do not negatively affect an animal’s health or well-being.
  16. Some protocols permitted in a Regulated Research Institution are not permitted for participation in ISEF; adherence to RRI rules is necessary but may not be sufficient.

After Experimentation/Euthanasia:

  1. Projects conducted at school/home/field site must plan for the final disposition of the animals in the study.
    1. The final disposition of the animals must be conducted in a responsible and ethical manner.
    2. Euthanasia for tissue removal and/or pathological analysis is not permitted for a project conducted in a school/home/field site.
    3. Livestock or fish raised for food using standard agricultural/ aquacultural production practices may be euthanized by a qualified adult for carcass evaluation.
  2. Euthanasia at the end of experimentation for tissue removal and/or pathological analysis is permitted at an RRI by qualified personnel, not by the student researcher. All methods of euthanasia must adhere to current American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines.

Death Verification:

  1. Any unexpected death that occurs must be investigated by a veterinarian, the Qualified Scientist or the Direct Supervisor who is qualified to determine if the cause of death was incidental or due to the experimental procedures.
    1. The project must be suspended until the cause is determined and then the results must be documented in writing.
    2. If death was the result of the experimental procedure, the study must be terminated, and the study will not qualify for competition.

Documentation and Approval:

  1. Student researchers must have a Research Plan that includes all of the standard elements as well as the following areas specific to vertebrate animal research:
    1. Justification why animals must be used.
      1. including the reasons for the choice of species,
      2. the source of animals and the number of animals to be used;
      3. Description, explanation, or identification of alternatives to animal use that were considered with reasons these alternatives were unacceptable;
      4. explanation of the potential impact or contribution this research may have on the broad fields of biology or medicine.
    2. Description of how the animals will be used.
      1. Include methods and procedures, such as experimental design and data analysis;
      2. description of the procedures that will minimize the potential for discomfort, distress, pain and injury to the animals during the course of experimentation;
    3. identification of the animals proposed for use, to include:
      1. species
      2. strain
      3. sex
      4. age
      5. weight
      6. source
      7. number of animals
  2. All vertebrate animal studies must be reviewed and approved before experimentation begins.
    1. The local or affiliated fair Scientific Review Committee serves in this capacity for vertebrate animal studies performed in a school, home or Any SRC serving in this capacity must include a veterinarian or an animal care provider with training and/or experience in the species being studied.
    2. The local or affiliated fair SRC must determine if a veterinarian’s certification of the research and animal husbandry plan is required. This certification, as well as SRC approval, is required before experimentation and is documented on Vertebrate Animal Form 5A. A veterinarian must certify experiments that involve supplemental nutrition, administration of prescription drugs and/or activities that would not be ordinarily encountered in the animal’s daily life.
    3. An Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, known as an IACUC, is the institutional animal oversight review and approval body for all animal studies at a Regulated Research Institution.
    4. When working at an RRI, the IACUC or the comparable animal oversight committee must approve all student research projects before experimentation begins. Such research projects must be conducted under the responsibility of a principal investigator. The local and affiliated fair SRCs must also review the project to certify that the research project complies with ISEF This local and regional SRC review should occur before experimentation begins, if possible.
    5. A Qualified Scientist or Direct Supervisor must directly supervise all research involving vertebrate animals, except for observational studies under the exempt guidelines below.
    6. After initial SRC approval, a student with any proposed changes in the Research Plan/Project Summary of the project must repeat the approval process before laboratory experimentation/data collection resumes.
    7. The following forms are required:
      1. Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1),
      2. Student Checklist (1A),
      3. Research Plan/Project Summary,
      4. Approval Form (1B)
      5. Vertebrate Animal Form (5A) if conducted at home/school/field OR Vertebrate Animal Form (5B) if conducted at an RRI
      6. Qualified Scientist Form (2), when applicable
      7. Regulated Research Institution Form (1C), when applicable

Exempt Studies (Do Not Require SRC Preapproval):

  1. Studies involving behavioral observations of animals are exempt from prior SRC review if ALL of the following apply:
    1. There is no interaction with the animals being observed,
    2. There is no manipulation of the animal environment in any way, and
    3. The study meets all federal and state agriculture, fish, game and wildlife laws and regulations.