The animal enclosure - a microenvironment

Area of Science:

• Laboratory animal science
• Environmental control
• Animal welfare

Background:

• Current standards for laboratory animal environments lack explicit criteria for micro and macroenvironments.
• Existing data can inform improvements for better animal health and operational efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key factors for controlling enclosed laboratory animal environments.
• To evaluate the impact of environmental control on animal well-being, personnel safety, energy use, and economics.
• To propose revisions for existing standards and suggest methods for their promulgation.

Main Methods:

• Review of commonly cited standards and guidelines for laboratory animal housing.
• Identification of twelve critical control factors.
• Evaluation of control impacts on health, well-being, energy, and economics.

Main Results:

• Twelve factors for describing control criteria in enclosed laboratory animal settings were identified.
• The impact of these factors on animal health, personnel safety, energy consumption, and economics can be evaluated.
• Current standards are not explicit regarding micro and macroenvironmental criteria.

Conclusions:

• Improvements to existing standards are possible using available data, leading to cost-effective and energy-efficient operations.
• Promulgation of voluntary standards is suggested to expedite revisions.
• Optimized environmental control is crucial for animal welfare and operational efficiency.