Rules on the farm

Agricultural animals may serve either in biomedical or in food and fiber research. Although the Animal Welfare Act only covers the former situation, the same ethical principles of appropriate oversight apply to both. As with other areas of animal research, ensuring the proper training and qualifications of the individuals working with agricultural animals for use in research, teaching, and testing is critical to both animal welfare and the successful outcome of the study or teaching exercise. Underwood provides guidance in the development of appropriate training programs for organizations that use agricultural animals in research. See page 29

Help for anorectic rabbits

Anorexia is a common sign of illness in laboratory rabbits. When not treated promptly, the condition can lead to hepatic lipidosis and death. The oral gavage techniques typically used in the anorectic rabbit require restraint and may cause or contribute to stress and present inherent risks such as gavage tube misplacement. Makidon describes a technique for cervical esophagostomy as an alternative to pharyngostomy tube feeding, oral gavage, and nasogastric procedures. See page 33

Rat intubation made easier

Endotracheal intubation of rats is often necessary for lengthy survival surgeries, but may be complicated by the animal's small size and lack of suitable equipment. It is possible to adapt instruments used in other species, but these are usually expensive and are not always readily available. Ordodi et al. describe the construction and use of a simple device for the easy intubation of rats, requiring no expensive, specialized equipment. See page 37