In Revising The Guide For Lab Animal Use, We Welcome Comments From All Quarters

Comments From All Quarters Author:Thomas L. Wolfle pp.13 Date: June 13,1994 For the past several months, the National Research Council's (NRC) Committee to Revise the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals has been poring over an 83-page booklet that provides humane guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals. The committee's charge from NRC is to revise and update the booklet--first published in 1963-- while keeping its original tone and approach intact. Work on this revision of the booklet--better known simply as "the Guide"--has generated more than 200 written comments from researchers and others and has attracted sizable crowds at public meetings across the United States. Those who use, care for, and oversee the use of animals in biomedical research are following the progress of our work. The Guide, now in its sixth edition, has had an important impact both in the U.S. and abroad; nearly 400,000 copies have been distributed since its initial appearance. The Public Health Service and other agencies that set guidelines for government-funded research consider it the standard reference for activities involving laboratory animals. Numerous advances have been made in laboratory-animal science since the booklet was last revised in 1985, and considerable experience has been gained from its use by federal agencies as well as the American Association for the Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, a private organization whose accredited institutions account for nearly 80 percent of all animals used in U.S. labs. New information has been obtained during the past decade about animal behavior; improved methods for the care and use of laboratory animals have been established; experimental animal models, such as transgenic mice, have been developed that require new husbandry and veterinary-care practices; and new techniques have been created for animal husbandry that may permit more flexibility in facility design. At the same time, there has been a dramatic increase in public awareness of and concern over the use of animals in research. These developments pointed to the need to revise the Guide. Two committees--one appointed to make recommendations to NRC as to whether a revision was needed, and the other to accomplish the revision--have agreed that new information must be incorporated in the Guide's current coverage of institutional policies, husbandry, veterinary care, and physical plant, so that it will be consistent with current scientific knowledge, major changes in animal-welfare regulations, and changes in patterns of animal usage, and will refer to published materials to support recommendations where possible. The revision committee was appointed by NRC, the administrative arm of the National Academy of Sciences, with oversight provided by NRC's Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources. The 15 people on the committee represent various scientific disciplines and backgrounds, including laboratory-animal medicine, behavior, husbandry, medical ethics, education, and testing. Two are nonscientists--a philosopher and a community representative of an animal care and use committee. The latter--appointed in response to recommendations from participants at public meetings--is, among other things, gathering comments from animal- protection organizations and concerned individuals. The committee, and ultimately the success of the seventh edition of the Guide, depend on community involvement. It welcomes and encourages input from the scientific community, animal-protection groups, and the general public. As a part of the revision process, the committee has held six public meetings to date, and written comments have been received from 216 organizations and individuals. Much of this information has come from people familiar with laboratory-animal medicine literature and practice, as well as from members of the public. The committee invites comments from scientists and others at any time during the revision process, which is expected to be completed in 1995. With the help of the scientific, animal-welfare, and lay communities, we trust that the document will continue to be considered the standard of laboratory animal care and use worldwide. Thomas L. Wolfle is program director of the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Research Council, and study director for the revision of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Reader comments for the Committee to Revise the Guide may be sent to Wolfle at the institute, 2101 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418; E-mail: twolfle@nas.edu.

In Revising The Guide For Lab Animal Use, We Welcome Comments From All Quarters

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