SCHWINDAMAN, CONNOR, MCPHERSON, PIERCE, NORMAN, CASS, PARKER & HARMISON 1277 
work supported by their grant and contract 
mechanisms. Beyond that, the line, word and 
verse of the policy will be strengthened to a 
degree. 
I think quite definitely one of the things that 
will change is that it will apply to all warm- 
blooded animals and then let you define what is 
a warm-blooded animal, but the exclusion of 
rats and mice I think is something that's going 
to rapidly disappear. We will have to wait and 
see exactly what form it takes because it will 
have to be studied by the Departmental task 
force committee, but this is on the way. 
In conclusion, remember that for your NIH 
grants and contracts, there is something now 
that requires your institution to do something ; 
and in the very near future, it will apply to 
grants, contracts, and awards from other 
DHEW entities. 
Dr. Harmison : Next I would like Dr. Charles 
McPherson to give us a view of how he sees 
the policy and the guidelines influencing animal 
resources. 
Dr. Charles McPherson: Thank you. You 
have heard this evening of legal requirements 
for the care of laboratory animals and also 
about the NIH policy on the care and treatment 
of laboratory animals. However, for meaning- 
ful compliance with both the law and the policy 
a number of institutions are going to have to 
spend some money to improve their animal pro- 
grams, improve their caging, and improve their 
facilities. 
Congress recognized this when they passed 
the Animal Welfare Act, and they recognized 
it again last year when they made the appro- 
priations for fiscal year 1972 since they added 
$1.5 million to the budget of the Animal Re- 
sources Branch of NIH. We have specifically 
ear-marked this money for the purpose of help- 
ing institutions comply with the NIH policy 
and with the Animal Welfare Act. These monies 
will be distributed by a competitive grant 
mechanism. We of course have had an Animal 
Resource Grant Program for a number of years, 
and we support a variety of activities which are 
designed to help institutions and groups of in- 
vestigators improve their animal resources so 
they can conduct research more effectively. 
Now this is added to that program. I said 
that they would be competitive grants. The 
competition will be based both on needs and 
the overall quality of proposals. The need will 
be judged in relation to the medical research 
requiring laboratory animals in the institu- 
tions and the actual requirement for assistance. 
We obviously are not going to spend money to 
help institutions that don't really need it, if 
their facilities and programs are now in good 
condition. The quality of the program will be 
judged on the basis of the overall plan, and the 
items that go into this are the administrative 
arrangements for the Animal Resource Pro- 
gram. 
The Animal Resource Program has to be 
responsive to the requirements of the investiga- 
tor because that is its purpose, but it also has 
to have a firm administrative base. It has to 
have institutional support and it has to be 
organized in a manner so that any improve- 
ments that are made will be lasting ; it is not a 
matter of going in and buying new cages and 
papering over any deficiencies. What is really 
required are the changes in the organization 
and changes in the commitment of the institu- 
tion to maintaining a good animal resource. 
Of course, the ability of the program to 
markedly upgrade the quality of care will be 
considered. Are the changes they are making 
really going to be significant? For a very 
mundane example, are the cages they're pro- 
posing to buy really what is required to uplift 
the quality of care? Are they appropriate for 
the species and the research? Perhaps most 
importantly, is the staflF of the animal resource 
program that the institution proposes com- 
petent to carry out such an improvement pro- 
gram? These are just a few of the things that 
are judged when we look at the overall quality 
of the program in determining the competition 
for these grants. Thank you. 
Dr. Harmison : Next, I would like Dr. Joseph 
E. Pierce from NIH to discuss the impact on his 
laboratory and give us his views concerning 
the Animal Welfare Act and Guidelines. 
Dr. Pierce : My experience as a veterinarian 
in the laboratory has convinced me that there 
are many inadequacies in the use of animals 
in the laboratory and the law presented here 
