About the Animal Resources and Care Division
The Animal Resources and Care Division (ARCD) is comprised of three units: administration, veterinary services, and animal care and operations.
Administration is responsible for the business operations of the ARCD including budget management, purchase of equipment and supplies, animal requisition, and monthly billing of services.
The attending (university) veterinarian is responsible for the provision of adequate veterinary care and for ensuring animal welfare of university owned animals used in teaching and research activities consistent with current veterinary standards and practices, federal regulations, Public Health Service (PHS) Policy, AAALAC standards, and university policies.
The attending veterinarian delegates the responsibility for the daily provision of veterinary care, including emergency care provided on weekends, holidays, and after normal business hours, to trained and experienced veterinarians within the Animal Resources and Care Division and the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Veterinarians use professional judgement to provide veterinary care that encompasses but is not limited to preventive medicine; disease surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, and control; surgical and perioperative care; appropriate use of anesthesia, analgesia, and euthanasia; and animal well-being.
Animal Resources and Care Division ARCD veterinarians have assigned primary and backup clinical responsibilities at ARCD managed facilities. They also liaise with Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine veterinarians to provide guidance on regulatory and institutional procedures and requirements for animals used under Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approved protocols. Veterinarian information is provided on emergency contact lists posted throughout animal housing areas.
Routine, non-emergency clinical concerns in ARCD managed areas are typically reported using email (ARCDvets@vt.edu) Monday – Friday during normal business hours. The on-call phone number (540-315-2051) is used to report clinical concerns after hours, on weekends and holidays or to report any emergency at any time.
For medical emergencies involving animals not owned by Virginia Tech, contact the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine's Veterinary Teaching Hospital at 540-231-4621 to reach the Emergency and Critical Care Service.
The daily operation of the ARCD managed animal facilities, also called vivaria, is overseen by the associate director of animal care and operations. Each facility is managed by an ARCD manager or supervisor that reports to the associate director. Daily animal observation and husbandry procedures are conducted by animal care technicians.
The animal care and use program is diverse and complex with oversight provided by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). All live animal research and teaching activities are conducted under IACUC approved protocols in accordance with regulatory requirements and other standards.
Virginia Tech maintains an Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) approved Public Health Service (PHS) Animal Welfare Assurance (#A-3208-01) and a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) research registration (#52-R-0012).
Virginia Tech's animal care and use program follows the standards of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Public Health Service Policy for all animals, the Animal Welfare Act and Regulations for covered species, and the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching for agricultural animals used in agricultural research, teaching, and biomedical research as applicable.
The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Science, College of Engineering, College of Natural Resources and Environment, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and the Fralin Life Sciences Institute are accredited by AAALAC International.