DEFINITION: Vertebrate animals, as covered by these rules, includes all live, non-human vertebrate, non-human mammalian embryos or fetuses, bird and reptile eggs within three days (72 hours) of hatching and all other non-human vertebrates at hatching or birth. Any project involving vertebrate animals must have clearly defined objectives requiring the use of animals to demonstrate a biological principle or answer a specific scientific proposition.
ALL projects involving research with vertebrate animals must be pre-approved by the Los Angeles County Science Review Committee (SRC) before experimentation is begun. Any student research involving animals must comply with the requirements of the State of California Education Code Title 2, Division 2, Part 28, Chapter 4, Article 5, 51540.
Research that NEEDS NO PRE-APPROVAL
The use of Protista and other invertebrates is encouraged for most research involving animals and NEEDS NO PRE-APPROVAL.
Prohibited Research:
ln the public elementary and high schools or in public elementary and high school sponsored activities and classes held elsewhere than on school premises, live vertebrate animals shall not, as part of a scientific experiment or any purpose whatever:
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- Be experimentally medicated or drugged in a manner to cause a painful reaction or induce painful or lethal pathological conditions.
- Be injured through any other treatments, including, but not limited to, anesthetization or electric shock.
- Be involved in induced toxicity studies such as those using alcohol, acid rain, insecticide, herbicide, heavy metals, cosmetics, cleaning products, etc.
- Be exposed to behavioral experiments involving operant conditioning with aversive stimuli mother/infant separation or induced helplessness.
- Predator/prey experiments where one animal is deliberately being encouraged to hunt and eat another animal, with the exception of behavioral observations in the wild.
Students will NOT be involved in the sacrifice or euthanasia of a living vertebrate or cause pain, for whatever reason, to a vertebrate animal.
HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS
Live animals on the premises of a public elementary or high school shall be housed and cared for in a humane and safe manner.
Show evidence of a proper CA State Fish and Wildlife Collecting permit for collecting wild vertebrates.
Below are the resources needed for Research involving Vertebrate Animals:
Vertebrate Animals Online Pre-Approval template (This a fillable PDF. Please download this document to your device and enter your responses in the given boxes. You do not need to complete the form in one sitting. Choose Save to save your progress. Once you complete the form, get it approved by your adult supervisor and site coordinator BEFORE you go online to complete the online pre-approval form. You can then copy and paste your responses in the appropriate sections of the online form.)
In addition, Senior Division students working with human subjects need to complete the ISEF Human Informed Consent form and bring it to the fair.