UNIV*6600 Animal Care Short Course is an opportunity for graduate students working with animals in science to receive recognition for the completion of the online training course in the Animal User Training Program also known as the ‘Core Modules’. The UNIV*6600 Animal Care Short Course (or Core Modules) covers the following topics:
- Legislation, Regulation & Guidelines
- Ethics in Animal Experimentation
- Research Issues and Ethological Considerations in Animal Management
- The Three R’s (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) of Humane Animal Experimentation
- Occupational Health and Safety when working with animals
The Core Modules is mandatory training for any individual involved with live animals at the university, and thus includes graduate students in research projects, teaching assistants, and graduate student volunteers working or caring for animals.
The course is an introduction to laboratory animal science, animal welfare and the ethical review of animal use at the University of Guelph. The objectives of the course are to:
- Familiarize course participants with existing regulations and guidelines, provincial and federal, when using animals for science;
- Set into perspective the moral and ethical obligations to the animal so the researcher can weigh objectively the potential harm and stress inflicted on the animals against societal/research benefits gained from their use;
- Demonstrate the importance of animal care and welfare both for protecting the researcher and the animal from potentially harmful zoonoses, and to help improve the quality of research and teaching.
In order to enroll in UNIV*6600 Animal Care Short Course University of Guelph graduate students must apply through the Office of Graduate Studies, and will gain access to the course in Courselink. Formal recognition on the graduate transcript is issued by the Animal Care Services and course instructor Dr. Anna Bolinder, x53110, abolinde@uoguelph.ca.
Additional information to Graduate Students using animals in science
Graduate students involved in animal-based research must also be identified and approved on an Animal Utilization Protocol (AUP) by the Animal Care Committee. In this process, the AUP’s Principal Investigator is provided information on required training for the graduate student amended to the AUP. This training covers a) onsite facility orientations; b) hands-on workshops, and c) protocol-specific methodology training. The graduate student’s advisor may provide guidance on AUP-specific information and training. For further information on the Animal User Training Program, please contact training@uoguelph.ca.