Welcome to the Non-Regulatory Animal Research System. This system provides submission, tracking, and maintenance services for IFAS animal research protocols. To get started, log in using your GatorLink username and password.
If you encounter a bug, have a feature suggestion, or would like to otherwise comment on the system, please contact the web master.
What is the purpose of this form?
The purpose of this form is to describe the research to be conducted on nonregulated animals (see following section). Based upon the humane, appropriate, and justified nature of the studies, a recommendation will be made by the IFAS Animal Research Committee (ARC) to the Director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station for approval or disapproval. A successful review often is reflected in a statement required by many sponsors and scientific journals. The most recently published guidelines for animal care and use by scientific societies listed for question 9 were used for development of this form.
Who should complete this form?
This form is to be completed by IFAS faculty who are planning to conduct animal research under the following scenarios:
cattle, horses, poultry, swine, sheep, goats, fish, or wildlife will be used,
animals will not be housed in Animal Care Services facilities,
the research is not funded by agencies of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) such as NIH, NSF, American Heart Association, etc.,
warm-blooded wildlife species will not be held and housed for more than 12 hours or if the carrying out of experimental procedures will not materially alter the animal's behavior, change the animal's well being, or are not invasive, and
results from warm-blooded animal studies will not be directly applicable to human biomedical research.
If all of the above scenarios do not apply, the principal investigator (PI) should submit a "Vertebrate Animal Research Assurance Form" to the University of Florida’s IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) found at http://iacuc.ufl.edu/ for their review rather than completing this IFAS form. Faculty not appointed within IFAS must have their animal research protocols evaluated by IACUC.
Will further forms be required?
Proposals in which several animal experiments are planned, can be described in one IFAS form.
An approved IFAS Form is valid for 3 years and may be extended for additional 3-year periods. Annual renewals for approved forms will not be requested.
Addendums are required to be submitted when one of the following conditions occur: 1) personnel working on the experiments are added, 2) major changes are made in animal procedures, methods of animal handling and data collection, 3) animal numbers during the course of a study increase by > 20%, and 4) a new grant/contract is signed that uses the same procedures as described in a currently approved form.
Assurance of Confidentiality
Information provided in this form will be treated in a confidential manner by the IFAS ARC and will not be discussed with non-committee members, except in those few instances where clarifying scientific information is needed from outside sources.
