All orders for vertebrate animals must be placed by the DLAR in order to assure availability of space for housing, control the potential ingress of disease animals, protect the human population from potential zoonoses, and assure compliance with regulations.  Vendors will not accept orders unless they are placed by DLAR.

With an approved Institutional Animal Care and Use Protocol you may submit an animal order to the Division, the sole purchaser of research animals for the Duke campus. Centralization of animal ordering within DLAR assures the availability of housing space, controls the potential ingress of diseased animals, and assures compliance with important animal welfare regulations. Animal vendors will not accept orders unless they are placed by DLAR, and animals from other institutions must be processed through the Division.

Animal Ordering Procedure:

1. Obtain an Animal Vendor Purchase Order:  Procurement will issue a purchase order for whichever vendor you wish to purchase animals as long as you have an approved Animal Use Protocol. Rabbits, pigs, cats and dogs will purchased directly by DLAR and charged back to the researcher.
    

2. Complete an Animal Order Request:  Please submit an animal order to the Division on an Animal Order Request. Please fax to 684-8575 or deliver to GSRB II Room 1072. Please fill out the form as completely as possible, making sure the animal purchase order, DUIACUC protocol number and current fund code are included.
   

3. Note the Deadline for Submission:  Animals requested by the ordering deadline of 5 pm Monday will be delivered the following week. However, vendors may need more than one week to fill orders with large numbers of animals or orders with very specific requests (i.e. timed pregnant animals, exact age or weight requirements, unusual strains, etc.) Dogs, sheeps, cats, non-human primates and rodents from other institutions may also take longer to process.
   

4. Consider a Standing Order:  The single most reliable method of assuring timely delivery of animals is to establish a standing order with our staff. Standing orders may be cancelled with one-week notice and reinstated at any time thereafter.
   

5. Review Your Confirmation:  Once an order has been placed a copy of the Animal Order Request will be faxed or mailed back to you. Please review the information to be sure everything is as requested. Please contact our animal ordering staff at 684-5212 if you have questions.
   

6. Use Your Animals:  You can assume your animals will arrive on the day you requested. We will not call you to let you know of their arrival. We recommend that your animals be given a period for psychologic, physiologic and nutritional stabilization before their use, the length of which depends on the type and duration of animal transportation to our facilities. Also, vendor errors should be reported within three days of arrival.
   

7. Purchasing Costs:  The DLAR re-bills all investigators for a handling fee/set-up charge for each carton of animals. DLAR will also re-bill for the cost of purchasing certain species, i.e. dogs, cats, pigs and rabbits, as well as associated cost of freight, shipping cartons, etc. for these species.

For information on ANIMAL DELIVERY, click here.