Regarding the article "New Animal Care Guide Leaves Details To Scientists' Discretion" (R. Finn, The Scientist, July 22, 1996, page 1): Although it was mentioned that scientists who are experts in animal care agree that the new guidelines are a real improvement over the old ones, there needs to be more emphasis on the following positive aspects of performance-based approaches:
The inhumane treatment of millions of chickens and beef animals deserves far more attention than it now receives. The sentence of death on every meat animal is carried out inevitably, but a biologist rearing experimental animals, whether Drosophila or Rattus, aims for a living animal in good condition. Laboratory animals are practically never caged lifelong, as are chickens, in order to limit movement and maximize fattening.
