f6098d8b__and_Use_of_Laboratory_Animals__Comments
[ID] 213 [Entry Date] 04/19/2011 at 05:23:49 PM [Affiliation] Self [Comments] 
Comment 1: I vote NOT to adopt. The new Guide is nearly twice as long as the 1996 version, and contains a great deal of new policy that promises to significantly increase: (a) the expense of research to investigators and institutions with no real enhancement of animal welfare, (b) the paperwork burden on researchers, and (c) the authority of local IACUCs to restrict already peer-reviewed research. And while some of the new recommendations are based on empirical research, many are not (e.g., cage sizes, food & liquid restriction). Comment 2: For the deadline for full compliance if the new Guide is adopted, I recommend at least 4 years (e.g., 2015) before requiring investigator and institutional compliance, given the expense of a variety of cage size and housing requirements that are being required at a time of great financial difficulty for investigators and research institutions.
Listing of Public Comments on Proposed Adoption and Implementation of the Eighth Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals