THE UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO INSTITUTIONAL ANIMAL CARE AND USE COMMITTEE SUBJECT: Use of Anesthesia when Tail Clipping for Genotyping DATE: September 24, 2013 ____________________________________________________________________________ The US Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training states that “Procedures with animals that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress should be performed with appropriate sedation, analgesia, or anesthesia…” The UT IACUC has determined that the following procedures must be implemented when tail clipping rodents for the purpose of genotyping: For rodents < 21 days of age, dip the tail in ice cold ethanol for appropriately 10-15 seconds. Clip appropriately 1-3 mm of the tail using sterile scissors or a scalpel. Apply pressure as necessary to control bleeding. Rodents > 21 days of age must be anesthetized prior to tail clipping. Isoflurane is the recommended anesthesia as the animals recover quickly. The vaporizer and isoflurane can be obtained from DLAR. Place the rodent in the chamber and introduce the isoflurane at 2-5% in O2. Remove the animal from the chamber and clip the tail using sterile scissors or a scalpel. Apply pressure as necessary to control bleeding. The above procedures are considered to be Pain Category B. Failure to properly anesthetize the tail or the animal results in a higher pain category (Category C) and is a protocol violation. This is considered to be a serious matter that the institution may have report to the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare at the National Institutes of Health. All research staff must follow the IACUC approved procedures for tail clipping rodents. *This was in the form of a memo that was sent to all PI’s and research staff.