And they wonder why some people question their motives.

The Guide [Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals: Eighth Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12910] is the authority on what is and isn't allowed and on what is and isn't absolutely required when dealing with animals in biomedical research funded by the NIH and other federal agencies.

Here's the germane passage from page 35:

ANIMAL CARE AND USE PROGRAM

Disaster Planning and Emergency Preparedness

Animal facilities may be subject to unexpected conditions that result in the catastrophic failure of critical systems or significant personnel absenteeism, or other unexpected events that severely compromise ongoing animal care and well-being (ILAR 2010). Facilities must therefore have a disaster plan. The plan should define the actions necessary to prevent animal pain, distress, and deaths due to loss of systems such as those that control ventilation, cooling, heating, or provision of potable water. If possible the plan should describe how the facility will preserve animals that are necessary for critical research activities or are irreplaceable. Knowledge of the geographic locale may provide guidance as to the probability of a particular type of disaster.

Disaster plans should be established in conjunction with the responsible investigator(s), taking into consideration both the priorities for triaging animal populations and the institutional needs and resources. Animals that cannot be relocated or protected from the consequences of the disaster must be humanely euthanized. The disaster plan should identify essential personnel who should be trained in advance in its implementation. Efforts should be taken to ensure personnel safety and provide access to essential personnel during or immediately after a disaster. Such plans should be approved by the institution and be part of the overall institutional disaster response plan that is coordinated by the IO or another senior-level administrator. Law enforcement and emergency personnel should be provided with a copy of the plan for comment and integration into broader, are-awide planning [my emphasis] (Vogelweid 1998).

Call me naive, but I assumed that since the Guide said that law enforcement and emergency personnel would be provided with a copy of the plan, that the plan existed, that I could ask for a copy of it. I have to laugh. I'll never learn.

From the University of Wisconsin, Madison:

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of 4/2/2020.
Reference #P001069-040220

Dear Requester,

The university received a public records request from you on 4/2/2020. You requested the following: "the university's disaster plan (the plan specified on pg 35 of The Guide.)"

Before we can begin the search for responsive records, we need clarification from you.We estimate that your request encompasses between 1,000 and 10,000 pages of documents. Many of these documents are not exclusive to the university’s research and teaching animal program because they cover emergency response to adverse events that impact university students, staff, visitors, property, and functions as well as research and teaching animals. If it is even possible to sort out all of the emergency response documents that address research and teaching animals, it is likely to take months and much staff time simply conduct such a search. Each record would then need to be reviewed at multiple levels to determine whether you are entitled to it under Wisconsin’s Public Records Law.

What? Between 1,000 and 10,000 pages of documents? How could "Law enforcement and emergency personnel should be provided with a copy of the plan for comment" get turned into somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 pages of documents?

They did say though, at the end of their lament, that a summary plan was available. Hello? So I wrote back and said yes, to please send me the summary plan. No idea why they just didn't send it in the first place; I'm sure it will be captivating.