ILAR becomes the Board on Animal Health Sciences, Conservation, and Research

[Laura Bies]

The Institute of Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR) is now the Board on Animal Health Sciences, Conservation, and Research (BAHSCR) within the Division on Earth and Life Studies of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. ILAR, established in 1953, evaluates and reports on scientific, technological, and ethical use of animals and related biological resources, and of non-animal alternatives in non-food settings, such as research, testing, education, and production of pharmaceuticals. ILAR published the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, which sets the framework for the humane care and use of laboratory animals, now it its eight edition.

The OC has been working closely with ILAR in recent years. In early 2002, ILAR held a workshop on “Discussing and Understanding Animal Welfare Challenges in Research and Education on Wildlife, Non-Model Animal Species, and Biodiversity,” which brought together regulators and the regulated community to discuss and understand challenges related to wildlife, non-model species, and biodiversity in research and education.

In addition, Dr. William Bowerman, chair of the OC, was selected in 2022 to serve on the new Standing Committee on Animal Care and Use. That committee will be undertaking a revision or expansion of The Guide to the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and the February workshop was organized to inform those efforts.  The Guide to the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals is a suitable standard for biomedical research, but it has little information relevant to wildlife research beyond general principles and is therefore not well suited to wildlife work, particularly fieldwork. Through the virtual workshop and other efforts, the OC is partnering with ILAR to assist them in broadening their guidance to better include the realities of wildlife research. 

There will be an online meeting on October 17, 2023 from 10:30am – 4:15pm EST to formally launch of the Board on Animal Health Sciences, Conservation, and Research, with speakers discussing needs and future opportunities for enhancing animal health sciences, conservation, and research, with a nod to the past work of the ILAR and a look to the future of animal health research and practice. Attendance is open to the public; register here.

[Allen Doyle]

I understand that the Guide has been under revision for a couple of years, and I had hoped to provide some technical input, to no avail.  Do you know what stage the revision is in, and if there is still a comment period?

[Laura Bies]

We recently released a new edition of the Guidelines - you can learn more here: https://ornithologyexchange.org/articles/community/new-edition-of-the-guidelines-to-the-use-of-wild-birds-in-research-now-available-r297/