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17 Info. Rep.: Animal Welfare Inst. 1 (1968)

handle is hein.animal/awiqu0017 and id is 1 raw text is: January, February, March, 1968 ANIMALS IN LABORATORIES GET IMPROVED HOUSING AS INSTITUTIONS COMPLY WITH P. L. 89-544 Recent visits to scientific institutions by AWI representatives indicate that prompt compliance with the requirements for humane care and housing of re- search animals is being sought in institution after institution. For example, at Montefiore Hospital, the animals are now under the care of Dr. Ruth Kaslow, whose outstanding quarters and care at Brooklyn Jew- ish Hospital were featured in the AWI manual, Com- fortable Quarters for Laboratory Animals. Major changes have been made, and others are in progress. A group of old cages have been removed and three rooms divided into pens in which dogs are maintained on wood shavings. Five additional rooms are to be built on the roof, where the dogs will also be housed in compatible groups on wood shaving bedding. The only cages, when the facility is completed, will be ten post-operative cages, 48 long for small to medium sized dogs and four 60 long for large dogs. The staff car- ing for the animals has been raised by Dr. Kaslow from four to seven. The dogs still housed in cages, while awaiting construction of the new rooms, are released for exercise three times each day. At New York Medical College, old cages for both dogs and rabbits had just been replaced by new ones which conform with the regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Agriculture under P. L. 89-544, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act. Flooring which can- not catch the animals' feet is part of the requirements. For cats, resting boards are mandatory. Some of the cats had cages conforming to the regulations, others were on order, or remodeling for compliance was being undertaken. Dogs are released from their cages to a runway for exercise. Larger runways are planned when a new research building is constructed. At Mount Sinai Hospital, the halls were lined with old (log cages being discarded and new ones being moved in. All the new cages have resting boards, and some are extra large in size. Cats have two resting boards in their new cages, and some will be housed in compatible pairs. New monkey cages are being in- stalled. replacing the low, dark cages which have caused complaints for many years by animal welfare workers who have visited the extensive animal quarters of the hospital. On the eighth floor, part of which extends to a roof area, runways are being constructed for the dogs. At Hahitemann Medical College in Philadelphia, completely new accommodations for animals were shown to AWI Laboratory Animal Consultant, Mrs. Robert Dyce. Cages with resting boards, in sizes to comply with U.S.D.A. standards were ready for incoming dogs and cats. Ncw rabbit cages were ready, too. However, the majority of 4the animal population as of December seventh were still housed in the old quarters for fear of spreading disease into the new quarters. A fresh start is deeded in many laboratory animal quarters through- out the nation; and the four institutions mentioned in this report are to be congratulated on the major im- provements, all conducive to comfort and health of the experimental animals benefiting from the changes. Until P. L. 89-544, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act, went into effect, AWI efforts to obtain needed changes in the treatment of the animals fell, to a great extent, on deaf ears. Full implementation of the law can be expected to create a new atmosphere in the nation's medical research institutions, in which the experimental animal may be viewed in a more sympa- thetic light and maintained under conditions corres- ponding with the importance of the contributions these animals have made to medicine. Vol. 17, No. 1 THE FOUNTAIN REPORT To those who have been dismayed over the years by the failure of the National Institutes of Health to ob- tain proper care for experimental animals used in a large proportion of the projects it has paid for, the Fountain Committee Report* comes as no surprise. But it does document the grave deficiencies in the admin- istration in the National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, which have led to so much useless animal suffering as well as to so much waste of government money. The Fountain Committee was not concerned with animals at all. They are never mentioned in the course of the 113-page report; but the decline in quality of NIH-supported research, the management practices characterized more than once by the Committee as inept, and the unfair way in which favorites have been played in dispensing government money all have a bearing on the animals used in the research. For many years the AWI has emphasized that qual- ity, as opposed to mere quantity, is vitally important (Continued on page 2) USDA ISSUES REVISED LIST OF DEALERS LICENSED TO HANDLE RESEARCH ANIMALS A revised list of dealers licensed to handle dogs or cats in interstate commerce and destined for use in re- search laboratories has been released by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The list was published in the Federal Register on December 22, 1967. As of December first, USDA'S Agricultural Re- search Service had licensed 181 dealers in 35 states and the District of Columbia. The dealers were licensed after submitting applications and appropriate fees to ARS Animal Health Division representatives in the various States. Animal Health Division veterinarians have inspected the premises of all licensed dealers to determine if the facilities comply with standards established by USDA for enforcement of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (PL 89-544). When facilities do not comply with the standards, the dealers are advised of existing deficiences and cor- rective measures that must be taken to bring facilities into compliance. Some dealers who could not meet the requirements have already gone out of business, while others have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to make extensive improvements in order to comply, ARS officials said. The standards for humane care and treatment es- tablish requirements for housing, feeding, watering, sanitation, ventilation, shelter, separation of species, and veterinary care on dealer premises and during transportation. The Act requires dealers who buy, sell, or transport dogs or cats in interstate commerce, or sell dogs or cats to research facilities covered by the Act, to obtain a license from USDA and to conform to the standards and regulations providing for humane treatment for animals. The dealers indicated on their applications that they will handle over 239,000 dogs and 82,000 cats annually. Research facilities covered by the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act are required to register with the Depart- ment. By December 1, 1967, 517 research facilities with 1,499 inspection sites in 44 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, had been registered. ANIMAL CELFA E INSTITUTE P. 0. Box 3492, Grand Central Station, Now York, N. Y. 10017

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