For many years Dr. Georgio Martinelli, a professor at Great Eastern University, had been studying the neuroanatomy and microvascular anatomy of the canine heart. With the written permission of the animals’ owners, his research used hearts from dogs that were euthanized or died naturally at the university’s veterinary hospital or at a nearby not-for-profit animal shelter. Because the animals were already dead and no money changed hands, the Great Eastern IACUC never required a formal protocol from Martinelli, although the committee was fully aware of his ongoing research.

After many years of collaboration with Martinelli, the shelter began to experience financial difficulties and told Martinelli that it would have to charge him a small fee for removing the hearts from the deceased animals. Learning of this, the veterinary school also began to charge Martinelli a fee for the labor involved in removing the hearts. Concurrently, the IACUC began to reconsider if a protocol was needed, because the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and its regulations (AWAR) include dogs used for research, whether live or dead. Some members of the IACUC office staff said that the pertinent sections of the AWA and AWAR that mention dead animals refer to dogs or dog organs obtained from dealers, and therefore the shelter and veterinary hospital now require a dealer’s license because they are charging a fee to Martinelli. They recommended that Martinelli should not be allowed to continue using those sources for hearts until the needed licenses were obtained. Furthermore, they added that a protocol was needed to assure the IACUC that Martinelli was disposing of the hearts in a manner that was consistent with §3.1,f of the AWAR.

This reasoning did not sit well with Martinelli and most IACUC members who argued that the veterinary hospital was part of the university, and an internal transfer of funds from Martinelli to the hospital was not the same as a payment to a dealer. If a not-for-profit shelter charged a small fee and therefore might be considered a dealer under the AWA, they said that was something the shelter could resolve by contacting the USDA. Either way, they felt that important research should not be hindered by a technicality. As for §3.1,f of the AWAR, the IACUC members claimed that was an operational issue for the school, not the IACUC, and it was strange that the IACUC office never before brought that up as an issue.

The IACUC office could call the USDA and resolve the quandary, but if it is determined that a dealer’s license is needed, should the IACUC prohibit Martinelli from obtaining hearts until a license is received? Does the IACUC have the authority to do that? In your opinion, is a dealer’s license needed by the veterinary school?