Draft policy RS01: Animal Care replaces existing VIU policy 31.07 Animal Care and its associated procedure.
The purpose of this policy is to set out the responsibilities, requirements, and authority for all teaching, research, and other activities at VIU that involve animals.
Consultation on the draft policy is now open and members of the VIU community are invited to share their feedback. The consultation runs from December 16, 2024 until 4 pm on January 24, 2025. Input received during the community consultation will help inform changes to the proposed policy. Any feedback or submissions received after the consultation period concludes may not be reflected in the revised policy or in the consultation summary report.
The Tri-Agencies require that all universities using animals in research and teaching have a senior administrator responsible for animal ethics and care (the President) who may delegate the day-to-day administration of the program to the Associate-Vice President, Research. The senior administrator must ensure that an animal care committee is in place and properly resourced. This policy ensures VIU is meeting the tri-council requirements and manages risk.
VIU’s existing policy was adapted into the new template, with new sections added where required. The associated procedures were removed from the policy. The procedures are based on the Tri-Agency requirements for animal care committees and must follow those requirements. The procedures will become part of the Terms of Reference/procedures for the animal care committee. The procedures were de-coupled from the policy to allow the procedures to be more easily updated if/when Tri-Agency requirements change, and because they are highly operational in nature.
Table of Concordance: Policy
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Section – New Policy |
Notes |
|---|---|
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Purpose |
New |
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Scope and Application |
New, based on comparators |
|
Policy |
Takes content from the existing sections of the policy called:
|
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Considerations |
New |
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Roles and Responsibilities |
Takes content from the existing sections of the policy called:
New sections also added to clarify roles |
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Review |
New, added to reflect shorter initial review so that research policies do not all renew the same year |
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Related Documents |
New |
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Revision History |
New |
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Appendix A: Definitions |
New |
Share your input
Once you have reviewed the policy, please share your feedback in one of the following ways:
- By taking this short survey
- By sending an email to: Policy@viu.ca
- By writing to:
Policy Office
Office of the General Counsel and University Secretary
Nanaimo Campus
Building: 305, Room: 432
Mail drop: 305-4A
Feedback provided will be anonymized in all reporting.
Formal submissions
Formal submissions from groups or organizations can be submitted by email to Policy@viu.ca or in writing (see above). Please state the name of your group and the position of the person submitting the feedback. These submissions will not be anonymized and feedback will be attributed in reporting.
Thank you for participating!
Once consultation is complete, this policy will go through the Board of Governors approval process. The policy may be updated based on the feedback received. The Policy Office may also make minor changes to formatting/wording for consistency. Consultation feedback and policy changes will be outlined in the consultation report. The consultation report will be provided to the Board of Governors and posted on this policy page.
We anticipate this draft policy will be provided to the March 31, 2025 Board of Governors meeting for approval. Check back on the RS01: Animal Care policy page for updates as this policy moves through the policy approval process.