Toe Clipping
The regulations contained
in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals stress the
importance of proper animal identification in sound research and humane
animal care. The Guide, as well as a number of other sources, lists
many acceptable identification methods for most common laboratory
animal species.
One method of identification that has been used for
rodents is toe-clipping. This method involves removal
of phalangeal (toe) bones of one toe on one or more
limbs. The different digits removed code the identifier.
Because toe-clipping can alter the gait or weight-bearing ability of a rodent's
rear limbs, the Guide limits its use to justified instances. According to the
1996 edition, toe-clipping "should be used only when no other individual identification
method is feasible and should be performed only on altricial neonates." The
IACUC has adopted the following policy in accordance with these guidelines:
• Investigators considering using toe-clipping
as a means of rodent identification must first show
that they have considered alternative methods of
identification.
• The investigator must provide the IACUC
with a justification of why toe-clipping is necessary
for identification of his or her rodents, including
a discussion of why alternative methods are unsatisfactory.
For example, a requirement for permanent marking
of rodents, and a requirement for early determination
of genotype are justifications for toe-clipping.
• Toe-clipping without anesthesia is limited
to rodents within the first week of life and must
be limited to one digit per extremity.
• A proposal to use toe-clipping in an IACUC
protocol must be discussed by the IACUC.
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