Under the Animal Welfare Act regulations (AWA), the definition of an animal includes any live or dead dog being used or intended to be used in research, teaching, testing, experimentation, or as a pet1. In addition, the regulatory definition for a dealer includes any person who, in commerce, for compensation or profit, delivers for transportation, or transports, except as a carrier, buys, or sells, or negotiates the purchase or sale of any dog whether alive or dead (including organs, limbs, blood, serum, or other parts) for research, teaching, testing, experimentation, exhibition, or use as a pet2.

In this scenario, an investigator had an arrangement with a local not-for-profit shelter and the institution’s veterinary school to obtain canine hearts at no charge from animals that either died or were euthanized there. The protocol was not under Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) oversight because no live animals were used. The veterinary school and the shelter decided to charge for harvesting the hearts to recoup costs and as a result, the IACUC felt it necessary to oversee the study to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements for storage/disposal of animal parts, and not allow any further work to be performed until the shelter and the veterinary school obtained a USDA license as dealers.

The harvesting of organs by the veterinary school and charging the lab for this service is not an AWA covered activity because animals were not euthanized for research purposes and animal death was unrelated to experimentation. As a result, a dealer’s license is not required. In regards to the shelter, the scenario does not provide any specifics other than it is not-for-profit. Government (city, state) owned or operated pounds and shelters are excluded/exempt from the definition of a dealer and therefore do not require a license. Entities with questions about licensing can use the Licensing and Registration Assistant, a tool available online to help determine whether an activity requires a license or registration. The tool can be accessed at https://efile.aphis.usda.gov/LRAssistant/s/. Policy 20 on the sale of dead animals is no longer available for guidance because it was inactivated and removed from the website in 2018.

There is no requirement under the AWA regulations for a research facility to obtain dead animals or parts (limbs, organs, blood, tissues, etc.) from a licensed dealer. Other regulatory requirements (State, Federal) or Institutional policies may apply depending on the species and material obtained.

Institutions registered with the USDA are required to meet the regulatory requirements for storage and disposal of dead animals and parts3. There is no regulatory requirement for IACUC oversight of this study because no live animals are being obtained or used; however, the IACUC has the regulatory authority to determine the best means to conduct program and facility evaluations and as a result4, it can require a written protocol to ensure storage and disposal are in compliance with the AWA regulations.