Department of Comparative Medicine
The PDF Instructions on How to Initiate an Animal Order have been updated as of 2/25/2020

Animal Purchasing is governed by the Department of Comparative Medicine and IACUC procedures. There are many approvals involved in purchasing animals at the University of Washington.

All animal procurement must be processed by DCM Animal Purchasing, via the AOps system.

Questions? Contact Animal Purchasing by e-mail at animals@uw.edu or by phone at 206-543-0640.

Before you order…

There are several prerequisites for ordering and receiving animals:

  1. Please review the Animal Purchasing Work Flow(below) so that you know where orders may encounter difficulties and may require action by the lab group.
  2. All animal handlers and investigators must be on an Approved Protocol List. To be listed on the protocol each person must complete a training session offered through the University’s Office of Animal Welfare.
  3. No animals may be ordered without an approved protocol, including a project review, which describes the nature of the research and the procedures that will be followed. Any significant change in the research or personnel will also require approval from the Office of Animal Welfare.
  4. If investigators and animal handlers need access to a facility they must first meet all training prerequisites. To verify that you have met the training requirements please visit the Center for Laboratory Animal Training Resources.

All animal procurement requests are processed through the AOps system including approved vendors, non-approved vendors, and animal imports.

The order submission deadline is 11:59 PM on Mondays for possible delivery the following week for approved vendor orders. NIA and USDA species require at least 2 weeks lead time.

Order Cancellation and Change Policy:

  • Small Animals (Mice, Rats, Guinea Pigs, Gerbils, Hamsters): Cancellations, suspensions, or changes to animal orders must be received at least one (1) business day prior to scheduled ship date.
    • Order Cancellations via AOps: by Thursdays at 9am prior to shipment day
    • Order Changes via email to Animal Purchasing: by Wednesdays at 9am
  • Large Animals (Pigs, Dogs, Rabbits): Cancellations, suspensions, or changes to animal orders must be received at least five (5) business days prior to scheduled ship date (prefer 6-10 days to ensure cancellation can be communicated with the vendor).
  • Change order requests must be emailed to Animal Purchasing.
  • Cancellation requests must be made via the AOps system to Animal Purchasing as follows:
  • Send requests for order cancellations in AOps inside the requisition order work space from the left hand navigation.
  • Animal Purchasing will review the cancellation feasibility and log a comment (look in requisition’s “history” tab) if there are any issues.
  • A comment will be logged in the order and a notification will be sent once the cancellation or change has been confirmed.
  • Status of order line items will transition to “Cancelled” once cancellation is confirmed by vendor.

If you do not receive the “Cancellation or Change Confirmed” notification within 24 hours, the cancellation or change has not been made.

*JAX Repository-Live Strains*

Ages specified in the ‘age’ field will be ignored. If you have special needs for a repository strain, please specify it in the special ordering instructions field.

Because of the limited availability, an age can only be requested, and not guaranteed.
Repository Strains typically are delivered at 4 to 8 weeks of age and will not exceed 12 weeks of age on the day of shipping.