4.3 - Break Ins

 

  1. Animal health checks: Any animals loose in the facility will be captured, identified (if not individually marked, they will be held in cages labeled with the room in which they were found), and returned to their home cages or euthanatized depending on their condition. Any animals killed as a result of vandalism will be disposed of. If the animal morgue is damaged by vandalism, the dead animals will be taken to a cold room in another facility or cremated. All animals in the affected facility will be evaluated by the veterinary staff for health status and usefulness for research and treated as their condition warrants. Special consideration will be given to SPF animals which may have been contaminated and biohazardous animals which may have shed contamination, as a result of the break-in.
  2. Food and water supplies: If animal feed is destroyed or contaminated by an act of vandalism, an order will be placed immediately with the local vendor for replacement. Feed will be shipped in by overnight delivery if needed, or obtained from another facility. If the water supply is interrupted, water will be obtained from other facilities.
  3. Sanitation: Routine sanitation will be resumed as soon as possible, assuming equipment is functional. If equipment such as cagewashers or autoclaves are not available, they will be repaired as soon as possible and in the interim alternate arrangements made (hand washing, deferring some activities, using equipment in other facilities) at the judgment of the Operations Manager.
  4. Environmental support: Following a break-in, the Director will evaluate the environment in each affected space. This information will be reported to the Director/designee who will determine the action to be taken (see instructions for the following emergencies as applicable: 4.4 - Chemical Radiation/HazMat Spill; 4.5 - Electrical Power Outage; 4.6 - Fire; 4.7 - Flood; 4.11 - Temperature Problems; 4.13 - Water Supply Interruption). In cases of serious damage to environmental systems, animals may have to be relocated to alternate facilities as determined by the Director/designee.
  5. Personnel: Personnel will have access to the facility as permitted by authorities. Extra personnel may be called upon to deal with damage to the facility. Care should be taken to not disturb any evidence at the site.