Abstract
The Veterinary Consortium for Research Animal Care and Welfare (VCRACW or Consortium) was established in 2019 to provide accurate information to the public, lawmakers, and the scientific community about the veterinary care and welfare of research animals. The consortium includes 2 representatives from 4 member organizations: AALAS, American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM), Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV), and American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP). As time for revision of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Guide) approaches, the Consortium sought to conduct a survey of the animal research community with the goal of generating objective data and providing analysis that would identify priorities for updating the Guide. An initial survey was conducted of stakeholders from the 4 member organizations. "Chapter 3 Environment, Housing, and Management" was identified as most in need of revision. The "Terrestrial Housing" section was ranked most in need of revision, followed by the "Terrestrial Environment" and "Terrestrial Management" sections, all from Chapter 3. Of the top ten topics the respondents identified that needed revision, 9 were from Chapter 3. Open-ended questions asked respondents to describe key issues that needed to be revised and what new topics should be added, including references. Most responses (199) related to the revision of Chapter 3 and focused on space requirements and environment. New topics proposed for inclusion ranged from additional information on ferrets, agricultural species, and cephalopods to new sections on mental health for employees and study design and additional information pertaining to operations. As a follow-up to the original survey, 5 additional questions were posed to ACLAM diplomates and National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) members. These questions focused on topics that came from responses to and discussion about the original survey. These topics included the use of must, should, and may; inclusion of additional species; inclusion of mental health topics; future format; and funding source for the Guide. The results of both surveys are presented here. The Consortium believes that these data could be used to refine and revise portions of the Guide to ensure it remains the most current and relevant reference document for the care and use of research animals.