Evolution of Laboratory Animal Program Management

Abstract

The use of animals for research and teaching began many hundreds of years ago, wherein animal dissection provided education and training for scientists, medical students, and physicians. Such animal use coupled with human’s ownership and subsequent treatment of domesticated species eventually led to the creation of societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals; the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was the first one, created in the United Kingdom in 1824. The first national law addressing animal experimentation, the Cruelty to Animals Act, was passed in Britain in 1876.Since that time, the presence of those societies and antivivisection and animal welfare organizations, and the passage of associated animal anticruelty laws throughout the hemispheres eventually formed the societal posture upon which laws, regulations, and standards evolved that now form the regulatory and oversight environment we now work under in our pursuit of knowledge through the humane and responsible care and use of animals in biomedical research, education, and testing.In 1947, the Laboratory Animal Bureau was formed in the United Kingdom. The initial directors were R. E. Glover and W. Lane-Petter. They recognized that there was no standardized education system for laboratory animal care providers, and without a standard education and training program, the quality of animal care and research studies would be inconsistent and variable. The bureau organized the first of several conferences for animal care personnel on April 20, 1948, at the Royal Veterinary College of London. Subsequent conferences were held all around the United Kingdom. The organizational meeting for the new Animal Technician Association (ATA) was held on August 27, 1949 (renamed the Institute of Animal Technology [IAT] in 1965). Under the chairmanship of Dr. W. Lane-Petter, the association was ratified on March 30, 1950. The actions to establish a certification program and branches, appoint journal editors, and elect officers were also ratified.