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Lab Animal celebrates its 50th birthday this month. This milestone anniversary presents an opportunity to reflect on how animal research has changed over the past fifty years and consider what the future might hold.
Lab Animal asked a group of experts in industry and academia about how the field has changed over their careers and how they think animal research can be improved in the future.
For over a century, researchers have used mice as models and adapted many new methods to create novel mutations in them. In the past 100+ years, we have gone from breeding strains for selected traits to inducing random mutations throughout the genome to creating designer alleles with multiple functions. Each method offers opportunities and challenges for researchers as they try to address specific research questions with mouse models.
‘Good welfare is good science,’ the saying goes. But how do researchers, veterinarians, and animal care staff refine the lives of their laboratory animals?
There is a growing interest in being able to better describe a Culture of Care, particularly as institutions are being asked to nurture such a culture and engage proactively on the care and welfare of the animals used for research purposes. Based on responses collected using an anonymized virtual interactive online poll, we provide some suggestions to help promote further awareness of how animal welfare ethical review bodies can champion a Culture of Care.