HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS USED IN RESEARCH 335 
The small office is for the chief animal technician. This office will function 
as the record center for the facility. 
TRAINING TECHNICIANS 
The proper care of experimental animals requires skilled, knowledgeable per- 
sonnel. Animal technicians must understand the basic principles of laboratory 
animal husbandry and how to apply them. They must acquire skills in humane 
handling and restraint of animals. They must learn to recognize normal ani- 
mals and deviations from normal. At a more advanced level, they must have 
the technical competence to carry out prescribed postoperative care. In short, 
laboratory animal care requires specific technical skills ; it is more than a simple 
custodial activity. 
The director of the animal facility should be familiar with the increasing 
opportunities for technician training in laboratory animal care. Teaching aids 
are available for training programs. A list of films related to laboratory animal 
care has been published , 13 and several technical bulletins for animal technicians 
are obtainable . 1416111 Recently, a correspondence course in laboratory animal 
care has become available . 17 Local brances of the animal care panel have spon- 
sored formal training courses in several cities. Information about these pro- 
grams is available from the secretary. The animal technician’s certification 
board has adopted standards of experience and education for certification of 
junior and senior animal technicians and supervisors. These standards have 
been published . 18 19 
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS 
Grants provide most of the financial support for animal facilities. Research 
grants from Federal and private sources provide for the purchase and care of 
animals and for necessary equipment and supplies. Some of the indirect costs 
may be covered as well. A per diem recharge system commonly is used to pay 
for animal care in medical schools. However, a single annual assessment against 
each grant might be a less cumbersome approach in a smaller hospital animal 
facility. The assessments would vary according to the investigators’ use of 
animals. The true cost of laboratory animal care frequently is underestimated 
in grant requests, and items such as the cost of sick leave and vacations for 
employees, depreciation of equipment and maintenance of the facility are not 
considered. Hospital budget officers should review grant applications with 
investigators before they are filed to make certain that adequate funds for 
animal care are provided. 
Many institutions, including hospitals, recently have been able to construct 
research facilities, with the aid of matching funds from the Federal health 
research facilities program. A unique cooperative effort enabled one medical 
school to build a new research kennel . 20 WARDS (Welfare of Animals used for 
Research in Drugs and Surgery) is a Washington, D.C., humane organization 
dedicated to improving facilities and methods for the care of dogs used in 
research. With the medical school’s assistance, WARDS sponsored a fund- 
raising campaign. Federal matching funds were made available to complete the 
financing. The WARDS example shows that the interests of research and 
animal welfare can be combined to advance both causes. With sound leadership, 
volunteer groups in other communities could be organized to offer similar 
assistance to hospitals in need of laboratory animal facilities. 
SUMMARY 
Hospital research laboratories share a common interest with other medical 
research institutions in providing the best possible care for laboratory animals. 
13 Bleicher, N. Films and filmstrips relating to animal care. Proceedings Animal 
Care Panel. 11 :137, 1961. 
14 Care and Management of Laboratory Animals. Washington, D.C., Departments of 
the Army and the Air Force Technical Bulletin. TB Med. 255. AFP 160-12-3, 1958. 
16 A Practical Guide on the Care of Laboratory Animals. Decatur, 111. A. E. Staley 
Mfg. Co., 1958. 
16 Slanetz, C. A. Care of Laboratory Animals. New York, American Public Health 
Association Subcommittee on Diagnostic Procedures and Reagents, 1954. 
17 Manual for Laboratory Animal Care. St. Louis, Mo., Ralston Purina Co., 1961. 
18 Christensen, L. R. Training in animal care. J. Med. Educ. 35 : 45, 1961. 
19 Christensen, L. R. Laboratory Animal Caretaker Training. Washington, D.C. Fed- 
eration of American Societies of Experimental Biology. In press. 
20 Research kennels at Georgetown, J. A. M.A. 167 : 872, 1958. 
