The COST Manual of Laboratory Animal Care and Use Refinement, Reduction, and Research

Judge Your Practices Against This Benchmark Manual COST Action B-24 established four working groups to research and discuss issues relevant to laboratory animal science. These included the housing of animals, environmental needs, refinement of procedures, genetically modified animals, and cost-benefit analysis. Based on the groups’ findings, The COST Manual of Laboratory Animal Care and Use: Refinement, Reduction, and Research provides a consensual European view of best practices for individuals and institutions caring for and working with laboratory animals. What is COST?COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is an intergovernmental initiative that promotes coordination of nationally funded science and research at a European level. This book focuses on reduction and refinement strategies and includes insightful contributions from 44 experts drawn from various EU countries. Addressing only the most commonly used mammalian species—rats, mice, and rabbits—each chapter of the book follows a similar structure: Objectives outline the breadth of the chapter’s coverage Key Factors summarize the central issues that underpin good practice Questions Unresolved close each chapter, identifying areas of uncertainty and prompting investigations directed at advancing knowledge and application within relevant fields The COST Manual of Laboratory Animal Care and Use: Refinement, Reduction, and Research is the reference sure to be found in the lab coats of those responsible for the care and welfare of animals and those overseeing and conducting activities related to the use of animals for scientific purposes.

Introduction; Bryan Howard, United KingdomDesign and Oversight of Laboratory Animal Facilities; Dag Sørensen, Norway; Heinz Brandstetter, Germany;Nikolaos Kostomitsopoulos, Greece; and Richard Fosse, FranceHousing and Care of Laboratory Animals; Hanna-Marja Voipio, Finland; Ping-Ping Tsai, Germany; Heinz Brandstetter,Germany; Marcel Gyger, Switzerland; Hansjoachim Hackbarth, Germany;Axel Kornerup Hansen, Denmark; and Thomas Krohn, DenmarkAnimal Needs and Environmental Refinement; Vera Baumans, The Netherlands; Hanna Augustsson, Sweden;and Gemma Perretta, ItalyEthical Evaluation of Scientific Procedures: Recommendations for Ethics Committees; Rony Kalman, Israel; I Anna S Olsson, Portugal; Claudio Bernardi, Italy; Frank van den Broek, The Netherlands; Aurora Brønstad, Norway;Istvan Gyertyan, Hungary; Aavo Lang, Estonia; Katerina Marinou,Greece; and Walter Zeller, SwitzerlandReduction by Careful Design and Statistical Analysis; Michael Festing, United KingdomAnimal Models: Selecting and Preparing Animals for a Study; Patrick Hardy, France and Sarah Wolfensohn, United KingdomCreation of Genetically Modified Animals; Belen Pintado, Spain and Marian van Roon, The NetherlandsManagement of Genetically Modified Rodents; Jan-Bas Prins, The NetherlandsImpact of Handling, Radiotelemetry, and Food Restriction; Timo Nevalainen, Finland: Marlies Leenaars, The Netherlands;Vladiana Crljen, Croatia; Lars Friis Mikkelsen, Denmark; Ismene Dontas,Greece; Bart Savenije, The Netherlands; Carlijn Hooijmans, The Netherlands;and Merel Ritskes-Hoitinga, The NetherlandsBasic Procedures: Dosing, Sampling and Immunisation; Ismene Dontas, Greece; Jann Hau, Denmark; Katerina Marinou, Greece;and Timo Nevalainen, FinlandImaging Techniques; Aurora Brønstad, Norway and Ismene Dontas, GreeceAnaesthesia and Analgesia; Patricia Hedenqvist, Sweden and Paul Flecknell, United KingdomUse of Humane Endpoints to Minimise Suffering; Coenraad Hendriksen, The Netherlands; David Morton, United Kingdom;and Klaus Cussler, GermanyEuthanasia; Luis Antunes, PortugalEducation, Training and Competence; Bryan Howard, United Kingdom; Katey Howard, Spain; and Peter Sandøe, DenmarkAnimal Experimentation and Open Communication; Ann-Christine Eklöf, Sweden; Anne-Grethe Berg, Norway;and Jon Richmond, United Kingdom

Bryan Robert Howard is the former Director of Animal Welfare at the University of Sheffield. Timo Nevalainen is a Professor of the National Laboratory Animal Center at the University of Kuopio. Gemma Perretta is the Head of the Division of Special Zoology and Animal Models for the Institute of Neurobiology and Molecular Medicine of the Italian National Research Council in Rome.