Unaffiliated or out-of-the-loop?

The unaffiliated member of an IACUC has perhaps the most ambiguous role on the Committee. A representative of the general public and often someone without a background in biological science, an unaffiliated member must wade into the complex and controversial areas of animal welfare regulations and humane animal treatment. This is no easy task even for those trained in laboratory animal science, but is all the more daunting for those who serve as unaffiliated members—often lawyers, ethicists, or clergy who live in the community. The author, a lawyer by trade and himself an unaffiliated member of an IACUC for eight years, describes what he sees as the shortcomings of his own initiation into protocol review and offers practical suggestions for standardizing and improving the training and orientation of other unaffiliated IACUC members. See page 21

Training for biodisaster

Over the past several years, research involving biohazardous agents has greatly increased. The rapid expansion of animal facilities that deal with these agents has amplified the potential for biocontamination and heightened the need for biosafety training. Here, the authors present an introductory guide to training models, techniques, and topics that managers of every animal facility with biohazardous materials should know. See page 31

Signs of animal pain

Rodents, rabbits, and ferrets are common laboratory animals in research protocols that may be painful or stressful. Because many of the physiological or chemical parameters used to measure pain and distress are not practical in the laboratory setting for these small mammals, animal caretakers and others must rely on behavior as a sign of pain or discomfort. Unfortunately, prey species such as these often manifest pain in ways that are not intuitive to the untrained observer. In this article, the author relates some of the difficulties assessing pain in small mammals and outlines common behavioral indications of distress or discomfort. See page 43