Researchers Vigilant As NAS Revises Lab Animal Guide

Bench scientists, along with antivivisectionists, wonder what an updated `bible' of animal care will bring Earlier this month, a National Research Council (NRC) committee held the last of three public forums to gather input for a revision of its widely influential Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Although publication of the new guide is not expected until next year, scientists and animal protectionists already are

Written byFranklin Hoke

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Bench scientists, along with antivivisectionists, wonder what an updated `bible' of animal care will bring

Earlier this month, a National Research Council (NRC) committee held the last of three public forums to gather input for a revision of its widely influential Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Although publication of the new guide is not expected until next year, scientists and animal protectionists already are debating the impact of changes that might result. Among these are new guidelines addressing the psychological well- being of lab animals, specifications for animal housing, and categories of animals not previously discussed in detail.

Some changes possible --new cage sizes or facility ventilation standards, for example, if these are suggested--could translate into the need for expensive lab alterations, scientists say, but others should bring a welcome harmony between the guide and new laws and regulations put into effect since the last edition, ...

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