Training Requirement for Students Who Handle Live Vertebrate Animals in Class

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

This training, which includes information about animal handling to reduce risk to both the animals and the handler, is for students who handle animals only for class assignments. If data from vertebrates will also be used in research, then a research protocol must be approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) before the animals are handled in the class assignments. It is the responsibility of the instructor to ensure that all training requirements have been met.

The training requirement may be met in one of three ways at the discretion of the instructor:

Students may complete the “Working with the IACUC” course through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). The course instructor is responsible for collecting the certificates from the students and ensuring all students have completed the training before animals are handled.
Students may read a document titled Use of Animals in a Course: What You Need to Know (Word). The document may be modified and tailored to fit the needs of the course at the discretion of the instructor. Documentation of this training option must be maintained by the instructor.
Students may be trained by a method of the instructor’s choice, provided that the essentials of proper handling of animals are conveyed in the training. The instructor will be responsible for submitting a written description of the training for IACUC review prior to delivering this training to the students. Documentation of this training option must be maintained by the instructor.