Maintenance of laboratory animals among themselves. Use of laboratory animals in toxicological experiment (guidelines). The number of vivarium attendants

The vivarium is an important part of research institutes, laboratories and other institutions where animal research is carried out. Basement or unsuitable premises (sheds, annexes, etc.) with high humidity and drafts are completely unsuitable for a vivarium. The building of a vivarium, as well as a nursery for breeding animals, should be built on an elevated and dry place, with a land plot adjacent to it. The vivarium should have enough sunlight, the area adjacent to the premises should be protected from the wind. The territory of the vivarium is surrounded by a blank fence; enclosures are arranged in close proximity to the main room.

The building of the vivarium consists of the main premises, where laboratory animals are kept, and ancillary ones. Each room in the vivarium should contain animals of the same species. As a rule, large laboratory animals (monkeys, dogs) are kept in different rooms, and cats are also kept separately. Small animals (guinea pigs, rats, mice) are usually placed in the same room. Dogs and rabbits can be kept outdoors, in cages under a canopy or in aviaries.

An important and necessary part of the vivarium are utility rooms: kitchen, staff room, quarantine, isolation room, washing. The kitchen for preparing feed is equipped with a stove and a refrigerator with hot and cold water supply. The kitchen is located in the same building of the vivarium next to the pantries for food. The service personnel room is equipped with individual lockers for storing overalls and special footwear. A shower facility for vivarium personnel should be adjacent to it. All animals entering the vivarium are transferred to the main department only after being in quarantine. The quarantine room must be isolated and have everything necessary for the care of animals. Along with this, it is necessary to have an isolation room for sick or suspicious laboratory animals, as well as a room for autopsy. A room is provided for washing, disinfecting and drying cages and other equipment of the vivarium, as well as overalls for employees. The vivarium should have an incinerator and a bath for bathing animals.

An essential part of the vivarium is the animal clinic. Usually dogs are placed in the clinic after operations; they are in it until they get out of a serious condition after the intervention. The clinic is equipped with special cells or cells of the usual type; it should have hot and cold water, gas, a first aid kit with the necessary medicines for nursing animals. Depending on the nature of the research, the clinic is equipped with special machines for fixing animals.

The floors of the vivarium, especially the main compartment, must be watertight and sloping towards sewerage. The floors are covered with plastic, metlakh tiles, concreted or, in extreme cases, asphalted. Walls to a height of 2 m from the floor are covered with glazed tiles, plastic or painted with oil paint. The sewerage system should have wide drains to avoid clogging, covered with a metal grate. Waste water must be neutralized before entering the public sewer.

In the premises of the vivarium, in addition to natural ventilation (windows, transoms, opening windows), supply and exhaust ventilation with multiple air exchanges is arranged. The heating of the vivarium should be central, it is necessary to prevent the appearance of dampness and maintain the temperature within 12-18°.

Depending on the profile of the research institution (experimental surgery, normal and pathological physiology, microbiology, toxicology, etc.), when planning a vivarium, the necessary special additional rooms should be provided. In some cases, isolated rooms are allocated for keeping laboratory animals infected with cultures of pathogens of especially dangerous infections and radioactive substances, with an operating room at each of these rooms. Each room should have a refrigerator and the necessary equipment for infecting animals and dissecting corpses.

The vivarium should be run by a livestock specialist trained in laboratory animal husbandry.

Dogs. When dogs are caged in the main section of the vivarium, there should be no crowding, since this creates unfavorable sanitary and epidemiological conditions with the danger of a rapid spread of infection to a large group of animals. Dogs are best placed in separate small rooms with a device in each of them 5-6 cages.

If it is necessary to collect urine, dogs are placed in so-called exchange cages, the floor of which is made of a mesh and a movable tray with a drain.

Dogs with silent barks. Since the maintenance of a large number of dogs is associated with certain difficulties due to the noise that barking animals create, in some cases they resort to ligation of the recurrent nerves in the neck on both sides, as a result of which the vocal cords are denervated and the dogs lose the ability to bark.

Operation technique. Animals are operated under morphine anesthesia with the addition of local anesthesia (0.5 or 0.25% novocaine solution) or under ether anesthesia. A skin incision 8-10 cm long is carried out along the midline of the neck from the lower edge of the thyroid cartilage down. Dissect the fascia together with the skin muscle of the neck. Both sternohyoid muscles are bluntly separated, the left muscle is pushed outward (Fig. 1). A solution of novocaine is injected into the tissue between the left sternohyoid muscle and the trachea. The recurrent branch of the vagus nerve passes in a narrow gap between the trachea and the esophagus and is adjacent to the posterior-lateral surface of the trachea. The nerve is found in the tissue at the level of the 6-10th tracheal ring, brought into the wound with a blunt hook and crossed or resected for 1 cm. The hooks are removed and the left sternohyoid muscle is placed in place. In the same way, the recurrent branch of the vagus nerve is crossed on the right. It must be taken into account that at the level of the upper tracheal rings, the recurrent branch of the vagus nerve is divided into terminal branches and takes on a loose type. It is not possible to cross all the small nerve branches during the operation, and the operation may not give the desired result.

In dogs, after transection of the recurrent nerves, respiratory failure is observed, which makes them unsuitable for complex experimental operations (L. M. Nagibin et al., 1967; N. A. Super et al., 1967).

cats. Keeping cats in a vivarium is difficult because they cannot tolerate cages. For cats, they allocate a special room where they have freedom of movement. Under these conditions, they can live in a vivarium for a long time. The room should be bright, warm, well ventilated, with shelves for cats to sit on. A latrine is arranged on the floor of the room, which is a box filled with dry sand, peat, sawdust. The drawer should be cleaned frequently, the smell in the room can be eliminated with potassium permanganate.

Rabbits and small laboratory animals. Animals are kept in cages placed on racks mounted in the form of batteries, or in sets of cages located on wheels. Cages are installed on racks at a distance of 30-50 cm from the walls, the bottom row of cells should be located 50-70 cm from the floor. A passage of at least 1 m is left between the racks. The floors of the cells on the racks or batteries are isolated from each other with waterproof material, which excludes excrement from entering the cells located below.

Depending on the type of animal, the following cell sizes are recommended (V.N. Ivanov, 1967): for mice (10-20 animals) - 200X300X150 mm, for rats (10-15 animals) - 334X450X200 mm, for guinea pigs (5-10 animals) - 486X450X200 mm, for rabbits (1-2 depending on age and breed) - 486X450X300 mm.

Cells are made from various materials: tin, wire, steel,
plywood, plastic, etc. They must be durable and economical, easy to clean, resistant to disinfectants and heat treatment. Stainless steel cages are the most suitable for working with radioactive isotopes.

Rice. 1. The operation of isolating and cutting the branches of the recurrent nerves to create silent barking in dogs.
1-left lobe of the thyroid gland; 2 - age branch of the vagus nerve; 3 - left sternohyoid muscle (drawn with a hook); 4 - esophagus; 5-trachea.

The room where the cages with animals are located should be well ventilated, the relative humidity of the air should be in the range of 40-45%. Even in the presence of supply and exhaust ventilation, in order to reduce the content of ammonia and animal waste products in the air, it is recommended to use peat bedding or sawdust with the addition of superphosphate. The cell harvesting process can be automated; cleaning is carried out 1-2 times a day.

On the front wall of the cage, a feeder, an autodrinker are installed and a sign is hung on which the basic data about the animal, the type of surgical intervention, etc. are entered.

Rabbits and guinea pigs are often kept outside the vivarium. For this, cells are used, placing them in several tiers, under a common roof. Outdoor housing contributes to the cultivation of healthy, more resistant to various diseases of rabbits and is mostly common in nurseries.

4.3. Animals received from a specialized nursery (located in the same city, district) are placed for a period of three days to adapt to new conditions. The subsequent periods of isolation or quarantine for these animals, as well as for animals obtained from a nursery in other cities, are determined depending on the conditions of keeping the animals, the nature of the upcoming experiments, the distance and conditions of transportation, etc.

4.4. For animals not obtained from specialized nurseries, the following quarantine period is established:

For mice and rats - 14 days;

For guinea pigs and rabbits - 21 days;

For dogs and cats - 30 days;

For other animals and birds - 21 days.

In some cases, for the use in experiments of pregnant pigs, newborns and young animals, as well as in short-term experiments, the quarantine period may be reduced, provided that these animals are placed in isolated rooms and appropriately monitored.

4.5. During the quarantine period, the animals are subjected to daily clinical observation, thermometry and registration of the general condition of the animals in a special journal according to the form in accordance with Appendix No. 5.

4.6. In quarantine and experimental sections, animals are placed in clean, pre-disinfected (autoclaved) cages.

4.7. Animals in quarantine are cared for by staff assigned to these premises.

4.8. It is forbidden to take out food, overalls and equipment from quarantine premises to other premises and sections for experimental animals.

4.9. During the quarantine period, a periodic change of cells (baths) is performed. At the end of the quarantine, the released cages and inventory are transferred to the disinfection and washing department.

Cleaning and washing of cells and other equipment from quarantine sections can be carried out in the general disinfection and washing department of the vivarium only after preliminary disinfection. Waste must also be disinfected and incinerated. Methods of disinfection, disinfestation, autoclaving mode are established in each case, depending on the specifics of the institution.

4.10. During the period of adaptation or quarantine, an animal suspected of infectious diseases is subjected to bacteriological examination. When an infectious disease is confirmed, mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits are destroyed in the entire batch, and for dogs, cats and other domestic animals, the quarantine period is extended depending on the established disease.

4.11. Quarantine rooms after each batch of animals transferred for experiment and after each case of detection of infectious diseases are thoroughly disinfected.

4.12. In case of occurrence of mass diseases among animals that were in quarantine, or if individual cases of infectious diseases that are especially dangerous for laboratory animals and humans are detected during the experiment, the necessary set of preventive measures is carried out in the vivarium. In this case, experiments on animals are temporarily suspended.

4.13. At the end of the quarantine period, the animals are transferred to the experimental sections.

V. Mode of operation and basic content rules

laboratory animals

5.1. It is recommended to keep animals of only one species in each separate room. If, according to the conditions of the experiment, it is necessary to keep laboratory animals of different species in one section, then they should be placed on different racks.

5.2. Each cage (box, aviary, etc.) must have a label indicating the data on the animal and the timing of the experiment (a sample label is indicated in Appendix No. 6).

5.3. Laboratory animals and birds are kept in cages with a solid bottom on a litter or in cages with a mesh bottom - a floor. Wood chips, shavings or bedding peat are used as bedding. The litter is autoclaved in advance or kept in a dry-heat cabinet (at T 150 - 180 degrees C for 15 - 20 minutes). The thickness of the litter layer in the cage is 5 - 10 mm. When keeping animals in cages with a mesh bottom, the bedding is sprinkled into a tray (baking tray).

5.4. All work on the care and maintenance of laboratory animals is built in accordance with the daily routine and work schedule approved by the head of this institution. The daily routine provides for time for sanitizing the premises and equipment, distributing feed and conducting experimental work and manipulations.

5.5. Feeding of laboratory animals is carried out in accordance with the standards approved by the Order of the Minister of Health of the USSR dated March 10, 1966 N 163.

5.6. Feed and semi-finished products are stored in a room (warehouse) specially designated for this purpose. The distribution of feed is carried out in the prescribed manner.

In the feeding kitchen of the vivarium, storage of no more than 2-3 days of food supply is allowed. When feeding animals with granular feed and in the presence of bunker feeders in the cages, advance receipt of feed from warehouses for 7-10 days is allowed.

5.7. Special chests (metal or upholstered with tin on the inside) are equipped in the feed kitchen and in the pantry of the vivarium to store the supply of feed. Perishable foods are stored in the refrigerator. Delivery of feed from warehouses is carried out by specially assigned personnel (workers who are not directly involved in caring for animals).

5.8. The distribution of feed in the rooms-sections is carried out by workers or kitchen staff specially allocated for this purpose in disinfected dishes (containers) assigned to each section. Feed is written off in accordance with the established procedure according to the actual availability of animals for each day with the submission to the accounting department of the institution of acts from the laboratories on the animals that have left the experiment or were forced to kill them.

5.9. Entrance to the feed kitchen of personnel caring for laboratory animals and unauthorized persons is prohibited.

5.10. The supply of laboratory animals with drinking water is made from a water supply system, the quality of water must comply with GOST "Drinking Water".

5.11. Germination of grain on green mass for feeding laboratory animals is carried out in rooms specially designated for this purpose. It is allowed to feed the animals with the root mass of plants in the absence of mold in it.

5.12. The distribution of feed and watering of animals should be carried out only after cleaning the premises, cleaning or changing cages and removing dirty equipment, trays with bedding and other materials to be disinfected or disposed of from the sections.

5.13. Cleaning of cages and cleaning of rooms is carried out with the help of inventory strictly assigned to each room.

5.14. With a periodic change of cages, the animals are transplanted 1-2 times a week into pre-disinfected cages with a prepared feeder, drinkers and bedding. Dirty cages, along with bedding, feeders and drinkers, are transferred to the disinfection and washing department for their subsequent processing.

5.15. Cells are cleaned daily. At the same time, contaminated bedding and other waste from the cages are collected in special metal tanks with lids. Tanks with lids are tightly closed and transferred to the disinfection and washing department.

5.16. When using cages with a mesh bottom and trays isolated from cages, the latter are periodically (at least once a week) replaced with new ones. Dirty pallets with bedding are transferred to the disinfection and washing department for their further processing.

5.17. When one worker serves several types of laboratory animals, cages with guinea pigs are first processed, then cages with mice, rats and rabbits. Last but not least, the premises where dogs and cats are kept are processed.

5.18. Washing and disinfecting cages, feeders, drinkers directly in the sections is prohibited.

5.19. Before the end of the working day, wet cleaning is carried out in the sections using a 1% solution of chloramine or other disinfectant. At least once a month, a sanitary day is held, during which all premises are cleaned. The order of the sanitary day is determined by the head of the clinic (vivarium).

5.20. Disinfection, cleaning and washing of cages, feeders, drinkers and other equipment is carried out by workers specially assigned to the disinfection and washing department. Control over the effectiveness of cleaning and disinfection of inventory is assigned to the vivarium veterinarian.

5.21. The conditions for the collection, storage, removal (or disposal) of waste (litter, manure, feed residues, etc.) must be determined in each specific case in agreement with local authorities and institutions of the sanitary and epidemiological service. When working with infected material, it is necessary to neutralize waste by autoclaving or treatment with disinfectant solutions.

5.22. In sections with laboratory animals, it is necessary to establish constant control over the temperature and humidity conditions. To control the quality of the air environment in rooms where animals are kept, it is recommended to periodically (2-3 times a month) determine the concentration of harmful gases (carbon dioxide and ammonia).

5.23. The transfer of animals for experiments is carried out according to one-time requirements according to the annual application from the laboratories, approved by the head of the institution. Work with animals is allowed only during the hours provided for by the daily routine of the vivarium.

5.24. If sick animals are found in the sections, the latter, with the knowledge of the experimenter, are destroyed or transferred to an isolation ward. The issue of further use of diseased animals is resolved within no more than 2 days.

5.25. Animal corpses are stored in a special refrigerator of the diagnostic room for no more than one day before pathoanatomical autopsy, after which they are subject to disposal. Storage of animal corpses in cages and on the floor in the experimental sections is strictly prohibited.

5.26. Pathological anatomical autopsy of animals is performed by the experimenter. In the event of the death of an animal, regardless of the experiment, a representative of the clinic (vivarium) is present at the autopsy.

5.27. Each case of death or forced slaughter of an animal must be recorded in a special journal in the form in accordance with Appendix No. 7.

5.28. It is forbidden to visit the clinic (vivarium) by unauthorized persons without special permission. Employees of the institution performing work in the clinic (vivarium) are required to:

A) observe the established rules of the daily routine and work schedule;

B) conduct systematic monitoring of their experimental animals;

C) maintain primary documentation, timely filling in labels on cages with experimental animals;

D) visit only those premises of the vivarium in which there are animals assigned to this employee;

E) upon completion of experiments or any other ongoing work with laboratory animals, leave the workplace in the proper order;

E) monitor the timely write-off of experimental animals that have left the experiment or were forced to kill them;

G) inform the specialists of the clinic (vivarium) about all observed cases of diseases among experimental animals, as well as timely notify the specialists of the vivarium about the alleged pathological conditions of animals in accordance with the conditions of the experiment.

5.29. Employees of the institution performing work in the vivarium with experimental animals are prohibited from giving any instructions to workers on changing the mode of keeping and feeding animals without the consent of the vivarium specialists.

5.30. When conducting joint research on animals in other institutions, laboratory employees are prohibited from working in the clinic (vivarium) of their institute (institution) for this time.

5.31. All actions that can cause pain to laboratory animals (surgeries, total bleeding, implantation of sensors, etc., as well as forced slaughter of animals) must be carried out using anesthetics. If, under the conditions of the experiment, the use of anesthesia is contraindicated, then all of the above actions must be carried out as soon as possible, guided by the Rules for the Humane Treatment of Laboratory Animals (Appendix N 8).

VI. Personal hygiene rules

6.1. All vivarium personnel should be provided with overalls, safety shoes, soap and towels in accordance with applicable rules and regulations.

6.2. In rooms with animals, a feed kitchen, a disinfection and washing department, an operating room and a diagnostic room, it is necessary to have disinfectant solutions for disinfecting hands.

6.3. Vivarium staff must:

A) when coming to work, take off outerwear and shoes and put on overalls, safety shoes;

B) at the end of work (preferably before the start of work), undergo treatment in the sanitary block (take a shower or bath);

C) it is obligatory to hang home clothes and overalls in different sections of an individual closet;

D) periodically (but at least once a month) disinfect their individual cabinets;

E) at the end of each individual stage of work in accordance with the daily routine, as well as before eating, be sure to wash and disinfect hands.

6.4. It is strictly forbidden to eat and smoke in all industrial premises of the clinic (vivarium).

6.5. All persons employed with laboratory animals must undergo a medical examination, including a study on the bacilli carrying of tuberculosis pathogens and the entire group of intestinal infections. Follow-up examinations are carried out at least once a year. Patients with tuberculosis, venereal diseases, skin and other contagious diseases are not allowed to work in the vivarium.

6.6. When conducting experiments on animals with infectious pathogens that are dangerous to humans, the vivarium attendants are subjected to prophylactic immunization.

6.7. All newly hired employees in the vivarium are instructed on labor protection and safety, internal regulations, depending on the work performed. The responsibility for conducting the briefing rests with the head of the vivarium. Access to work without instruction is prohibited. In the future, at least once a year, a repeated briefing is carried out. The results of the briefing are recorded in a special journal in the form established by Appendix No. 5 to the Order of the Minister of Health of the USSR of June 20, 1968 N 494.

Of no small importance for a toxicological experiment are the conditions for keeping experimental animals. Keeping animals under conditions that cause them stress (single keeping in a pencil case, rough fixation in a non-physiological position) leads to an increase in toxicity. Dietary changes also affect toxicity rates.

For experimental studies in toxicological laboratories, Wistar rats or white outbred rats are used, which are albino black (Rattus rattus) and gray (Pasyuk - Rattus norvegicus) rats, as well as white mice, which are albino house mice (Mus musculus). Both rats and mice belong to the same order of rodents (Rodentia), the mouse family (Muridae).

An important advantage of white rats as laboratory animals is that they are quite resistant to infectious diseases and give a large offspring.

White rats are kept in rooms with good ventilation, sufficient lighting and a uniform temperature - 20-22 * C. Lab rats do not tolerate cold well. Humidity in the premises should not exceed 40-45%.

Large sawdust, crushed peat or chopped straw or paper, rags are used as bedding for animals. The cages are kept properly clean. They should always be dry, clean and well ventilated. Do not allow the accumulation of urine and feces in them.

In addition to daily cleaning, cages I-2 times a month are thoroughly washed and disinfected. It is best to disinfect cells with boiling water, a hot 5-10% solution of caustic alkali, or antimicrobial agents such as bleach, creolin, sublimate, formalin, etc.

Rats are omnivores, so you should not limit their diet to only plant foods. Rats that do not receive adequate amounts of animal products (milk, meat, meat and bone meal), minerals and vitamins stop growing.

The daily requirement of an adult rat for food is on average 30-32 g, of which 25 g of mixed food and 5-7 g of vegetables.

Rats are usually fed twice a day. Due to the fact that rats are nocturnal animals and eat at night, the main part of the food should be given in the evening, by about 8 pm. Drinking water should be clean and fresh, it is recommended to use boiled water. It is also necessary to replace water with milk gradually, otherwise the animals refuse to eat and get sick.

that mice are more sensitive to temperature disturbances, food changes and infectious diseases (in particular, salmonellosis). In mice, to a much greater extent than in rats, a “social” hierarchy in the group is manifested - a struggle for leadership, as a result of which it is not recommended to change the composition of mice in E cells.

The daily requirement of an adult mouse for feed is E on average 9.5-10 g of mixed feed and 1-2 g of vegetables.

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Hygiene of laboratory animals

Introduction

In laboratory practice, for experimental purposes, mainly small animals are used: rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice, hamsters, etc. Diseases are studied on animals, the quality of vaccines and sera is checked, and new chemical and other drugs are tested. Mass cultivation of laboratory animals is carried out in nurseries - these are specialized livestock farms, in which they place high demands on the quality of the animals raised, primarily on their health. At research and educational veterinary institutes, laboratories of various categories, and in other subdivisions, there are so-called auxiliary vivarium subdivisions. Laboratory animals are also bred here for various experiments.

1. Requirements for the site for the construction of a nursery (vivarium)

For the construction of nurseries and vivariums, it is necessary to choose an elevated place with a slope for atmospheric precipitation, with impermeable soil, low standing groundwater and with free access to air and light. The place should be located away from livestock farms, driveways, residential buildings and be surrounded by a solid fence. It is desirable that the construction sites be protected by greenery from the prevailing cold winds and snow drift. It is forbidden to build a nursery on the territories of former cattle burial grounds, landfills, tanneries, warehouses for raw hides, bones and wool washes.

To exclude the possibility of outbreaks and the spread of diseases among laboratory animals in nurseries and vivariums, the following conditions are provided:

A) mandatory separate keeping of sick and healthy animals;

B) availability of separate premises for quarantine and isolation;

The territory of nursery farms should be divided into two isolated zones - production and economic.

Animals are placed in the production area, a veterinary and sanitary checkpoint with a disinfection unit and amenity rooms, veterinary and disposal points. Allocate one or more isolated premises to accommodate animals selected for sale or for newly acquired animals.

Before introducing animals to a newly built farm (vivarium), the entire territory, production and utility rooms are subjected to thorough mechanical cleaning and preventive disinfection.

The veterinary and sanitary pass should be located at the entrance to the production area of the farm. In the checkpoint of the veterinary and sanitary checkpoint, round-the-clock duty is established. The veterinary and sanitary checkpoint ensures the operation of sanitary blocks in two modes: 1) in a favorable epizootic situation - without mandatory processing of the attendants; 2) in case of an unfavorable epizootic situation - with mandatory sanitary treatment of personnel. Persons not working in the nursery must undergo mandatory sanitization.

For the disinfection of vehicles, a disinfection unit is provided. For this purpose, it is planned to disinfect the wheels of vehicles passing through the territory in a disinfection barrier. It is usually filled with sawdust, which is impregnated with a disinfectant solution.

Nurseries are equipped with a slaughterhouse (sanitary slaughterhouse) for slaughtering culled animals, dissecting and disposing of corpses. It consists of a slaughter hall, a recycling department, a cutting room and a department for collecting and storing animal skins.

In the premises of the nursery (vivarium), the floors and foundations must be impervious to sewage, the walls are even and convenient for wet cleaning and disinfection. The optimal temperature and humidity conditions should be maintained in the premises: temperature 17-18 0 C, relative humidity not higher than 50%. Illuminate rooms with fluorescent lamps.

In the economic zone of the nursery there is a feed workshop and feed storage facilities. A feed shop and a platform for loading and unloading animals are located along the border of the economic and production zones.

Vivariums are built in separate buildings isolated from other premises.

They provide for "clean" rooms, where they contain uninfected animals with separate equipment, and rooms where experiments are carried out. In addition, the vivariums are provided with a sanitary block (a sanitary inspection room with a shower and a toilet), quarantine rooms for newly arrived animals, an isolation room, an operating room, an autopsy room, a section for sampling (analysis), a disinfection and washing department, as well as a diagnostic room, rooms for clean inventory, a cold store for storing animal corpses, a feed kitchen with a room for storing feed and cooking, an office (specialist room), a room for staff, a separate room for a technical unit (ventilation and heating equipment, etc.).

At the entrance to the vivarium and in each of its rooms, disinfection mats must be arranged. Amphibious animals and fish intended for experiments are usually placed in suitably equipped basements.

2. Hygiene of maintenance, feeding, watering and care of laboratory animals

Laboratory animals of different species and ages must be kept in separate rooms. If necessary, animals of different species are placed in the same room in different directions.

Signs are hung on each cage, box, aviary, where data about the animal and the type of experiment are recorded.

Laboratory animals are kept in cages with a solid bottom or with pallets. Bedding: sawdust, shavings, peat, straw - pre-disinfected by autoclaving or in a drying cabinet at a temperature of 160-200 0 C for 10-15 minutes. If necessary, the litter is burned.

Cells are cleaned daily. Waste and garbage from the cages, bedding is placed in a special iron barrel with a tight-fitting metal lid. After filling the tanks are transferred to the disinfection and washing departments for disinfection. Cleaning, washing, disinfection of cells is carried out in special rooms. The corpses for autopsy are stored in the refrigerator for at least 1 day.

The case or forced slaughter of animals is recorded in a special journal.

At the end of the working day, in all rooms (sections) of the vivarium, wet cleaning of the floor is carried out using disinfectants (1% solutions of chloramine, caustic sodium, etc.).

3. Housing systems for laboratory animals

There are three systems for keeping and breeding laboratory animals: open, closed and isolated.

closed system - with it, laboratory animals are kept in well-lit special rooms, where a stable automatically controlled microclimate is maintained and conditions are created that prevent the occurrence of infectious diseases.

isolated system - used for growing linear and sterile (microbial-free) laboratory animals (gnotobionts).

In nurseries and vivariums, animals of different sexes, as a rule, are kept separately. For mating, females are planted with males, and not vice versa, since males, when placed in another room (cage), become timid and their attention is diverted from the female. After mating, the female is returned to her original place again. If necessary, the mating is repeated.

Fertilized females must be carefully looked after, well fed, especially towards the end of fruiting. A few days before the appearance of offspring, a separate cage is prepared for females. The cage must be pre-cleaned and disinfected, have a sufficient amount of dry and soft bedding.

Rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice and other small rodents are housed according to species and age in cages.

If the rabbits are kept outdoors, it is better to build two-tiered sections, several sections in a row, under one common waterproof two-or shed roof. The floor in the cells is equipped with rack or mesh. On one side of the cage, both a feeder and a drinker are arranged. For rabbits, the following cell sizes in cm are accepted: length 120-130, width 60-70, front wall height 80-90, back wall height 50-55. When keeping rabbits indoors, it is better to make metal cages with a double floor, between which a pallet is inserted. The dimensions of such a cage (cm): length 70, width 45, height 50. Doors are made of wire mesh with cells 2-3 cm in size.

Adult rabbits are placed one at a time in a cage, young animals up to 3 months. age of 3-5 goals. Rabbits in paddocks or in cages contain 10-15 heads at the rate of 0.2-0.4 m 2 per rabbit. They must be sorted and kept by gender. The cages are equipped with a mesh floor at a height of 60-70 cm from the floor of the room and at a distance of at least 45-50 cm from the walls.

For guinea pigs, two-tier cages with a closed top, impervious to moisture, are used. Approximate dimensions of one cage (cm): length 65 cm, width 55, height 40.

Cages for mice and rats are usually metal, with retractable metal trays. The skeleton of the cells is made of angular iron, the sides are made of a metal mesh. The dimensions of such a cell in cm: length 50, width 40, height 30. The cells are placed in 2 or 3 tiers on shelving made of corner iron. The first tier should rise from the floor to a height of 50 cm.

Dogs are placed individually in separate boxes (cabins) with a size of approximately 1.5 m 2 .

Cats are placed in enclosures of 5 heads. They also provide for the device of shelves-beds. The area per cat is 0.5 m 2. Before entering the aviary, a mesh vestibule is equipped.

food laboratory animal content

4. Feedingand watering of laboratory animals

Small laboratory animals are distinguished by a high level of metabolism, intensive growth and development, multiple pregnancies, short pregnancy and offspring feeding. Therefore, for the normal growth and development of laboratory animals, feed must contain all the nutrients necessary for life: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, macro- and microelements.

If the rules of feeding hygiene are not observed, laboratory animals often die from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

All feed used for feeding laboratory animals must be tested within 10 days for 10-20 healthy experimental animals, which are placed in separate cages. The quality of the feed is determined based on the health status of the experimental animal. At the slightest violation of the feed, they are rejected, and the sample is sent to the laboratory for research.

Concentrated feed must be sieved before feeding. Legumes: beans, peas, beans are washed in water and soaked for 2-4 hours. Oats, barley, wheat, etc., if they are eaten poorly, are steamed for 1.5-2 hours, the cake is crushed, steamed and mixed with bran.

For rabbits and guinea pigs, grain feeds must be yeasted. To do this, ground or crushed grain is placed in special wooden troughs or tubs.

Yeast is diluted in warm water (about 30 ° C) until yeast milk is formed, then mixed with feed. The resulting mass is left in the room for 5-6 hours at a temperature of 18-20 °C. The mixture is periodically stirred. After nine hours, the food is ready to eat.

Wheat, pearl barley, barley groats are cleaned of impurities before cooking, sifted through a sieve. Root crops are cleaned from the affected areas, washed with boiled water, then cut into circles or slices thick: for guinea pigs 0.7-1 cm, for rabbits 1-3 cm, for rats and mice 0.5-0.7 cm or given in grated form. Hay is inspected before feeding, moldy, musty and rotten is removed. Grass for laboratory animals is mowed in the morning or in the evening, the cut grass is dried in the shade. It is forbidden to feed caked, wet and rotten grass. It is not allowed to prepare boiled feed for several days for feeding. It is better to feed laboratory animals 2 times a day: in the morning and in the evening.

Laboratory animals are fed with fresh clean water (corresponding to GOST), preferably boiled but cooled. Water should be in the drinkers constantly. Rats and mice are best given milk or oatmeal with milk.

Approximate feed rates for laboratory animals should be based on the age and physiological state and physiology of the animals.

The amount of digestible protein in the diet of rats should be 18-20%, and in the diet of mice - at least 16%, in the diet of rabbits and guinea pigs - 16-20%. The optimal ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the diets of rats and mice should be 1: 1: 3, and in the diet of rabbits and guinea pigs - 0.8 - 1: 0.6 - 0.8: 5. The nutritional requirements of rabbits and guinea pigs are compensated by plant based feed. Rats require an increased amount of animal proteins, so in the diet they should make up at least 1/3 of the total amount of proteins.

The nutritional content of diets for pregnant females should be 25-30% higher at the beginning and 40-50% at the end of pregnancy. During lactation of females, the energy requirement of females is increased by 2 times. So, for example, in rabbits, due to the long-term maintenance of rabbits under a female, the need for feed increases 2 times at the beginning of lactation, 3 times in the middle and 4 times at the end of lactation.

It is also necessary to take into account that certain laboratory animals absorb different feed nutrients, not in the same way. So, rabbits and guinea pigs absorb carotene (provitamin A) contained in the diet well, while rats and mice absorb it much worse. Therefore, vitamin A must be introduced into the diet in the form of an oil solution or fish oil. Guinea pigs, unlike rodents, are sensitive to a lack of vitamin C, as they are unable to synthesize it in the body. They should receive it in the diet along with green fodder - cabbage, fresh needles or aqueous solutions of ascorbic acid.

For all laboratory rodents, the main food is the grain of cereals, oilseeds and legumes: oats, wheat, millet, barley, corn, peas, beans, beans, sunflowers and flax grains. These feeds are mixed or fed separately.

During the year, green and succulent feeds must be introduced into the diet of animals: carrots, sugar and fodder beets, rutabaga, cabbage. Guinea pigs need sprouted grains and cabbage in their diet. Root crops are fed raw, for which they are pre-washed and crushed.

In warm periods of the year, legumes and cereal grasses are the best food. To improve digestion, you need to add hay to the diet. As mineral and vitamin supplements, bone meal, tricalcium phosphate, table salt, fish oil, trivit, tetravit and yeast are introduced into the diet. The source of vitamins C, E, K are succulent feed and greens.

It is necessary to feed the animals according to the schedule 2-3 times a day. Meat and offal are given boiled. Minced meat is made from boiled meat. Porridges are boiled in meat broth, the cereals are washed before filling and salt is added. Porridge can be boiled in milk or water. Minced meat, compound feed, fish oil, fishmeal are added to the porridge and everything is thoroughly mixed.

To ensure the full palatability of the feed, it is necessary to alternate individual types of feed in the daily ration. So, for example, when feeding mice, rats and hamsters three times a day, you can give a grain mixture, greens in the morning, milk in the afternoon, and juicy food in the evening.

For rabbits, depending on the period of the year, the following types of diets can be used: in winter - in the morning - 50% grain feed and 40% hay, root crops and a wet mash during the day, in the evening - the remaining 50% grain feed and 60% - hay; in summer - in the morning 30% of grass and half of the concentrated feed, in the afternoon 30% of the green mass, and in the evening the rest of the concentrated feed, a wet mash and 40% of the grass. Guinea pigs are given grain feed, cabbage and hay in the winter in the morning, milk in the afternoon, and the rest of the grass, concentrates and a wet mash in the evening. When feeding rabbits and guinea pigs with briquetted feed, concentrated feed is excluded from the diet.

For rabbits and guinea pigs, you can prepare a wet mix of compound feed, bran, porridge, crushed cake with the addition of boiled potatoes, salt, fish oil, fish or meat - bone meal and yeast.

21.5. Safety and personal hygiene rules when working with laboratory animals.

All persons employed in a vivarium or nursery must undergo a medical examination and be instructed in the rules for the care, feeding and maintenance of laboratory animals. People suffering from tuberculosis, skin and other infectious diseases are not allowed to work in the vivarium (nursery). All service personnel must periodically (at least once a year) undergo a medical examination.

Vivarium workers and other persons conducting experiments with laboratory animals infected with diseases dangerous to humans (anthropozoonoses) should be vaccinated against the relevant diseases (rabies, anthrax, etc.).

The vivarium is equipped with individual lockers for home clothes and separately for overalls. Lockers are periodically disinfected (at least once a month).

A first aid kit, soap, towels, and hand sanitizer solutions should be available in each workroom and animal housing area. All workers in the vivarium, as well as other persons conducting experiments with laboratory animals, are required to use overalls and take a shower to start work and at the end of it. It is forbidden to smoke and eat food in all industrial premises of the vivarium.

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Introduction

The member states of the Council of Europe have decided that their aim is the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes, which is a guarantee that possible pain, suffering, distress or injury with long-term health consequences arising from the procedures , will be kept to a minimum.

The result was the signing and ratification by the majority of member states of the Council of Europe (all EU states, as well as Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Switzerland) of the Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental or other Scientific Purposes ETS N 123 , Strasbourg, March 18, 1986 (hereinafter the Convention).

The Convention applies to all activities related to the use of laboratory animals: placement and care of them, conducting experiments, humane killing (euthanasia), issuing permits for the use of animals in procedures, control over breeders, suppliers and users, education and training personnel, statistics. The Convention has two technical annexes containing guidance on the care and maintenance of laboratory animals (Annex A) and tables for presenting statistical information on the number of animals used for scientific purposes (Annex B).

At least once every five years, the Convention is subject to review in the course of multilateral consultations of the parties, held by a working group, in order to analyze the compliance of its provisions with changing circumstances and new scientific data. As a result, a decision is made to revise certain provisions of the Convention or extend their validity.

In the course of consultations, the parties involve states that are not members of the Council of Europe, as well as interact with non-governmental organizations representing the interests of a number of specialists: researchers, veterinarians, breeders of laboratory animals, associations for the protection of animal rights, specialists in the field of animal sciences, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and others who attend working group meetings as observers.

In 1998, the signatories of the Convention decided to revise Annex A. The Working Group completed the revision of Annex A at its 8th meeting (22-24 September 2004) and submitted it for approval to the Multilateral Consultation of the Parties. On June 15, 2006, the 4th Multilateral Consultation of the Parties on the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used in Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes adopted a revised Annex A to the Convention. This annex sets out the requirements for keeping and caring for animals based on current knowledge and good practice. It clarifies and completes the main provisions of Article No. 5 of the Convention. The purpose of this annex is to assist public authorities, institutions and individuals in their efforts to achieve the objectives of the Council of Europe in this regard.

The chapter "General" is a guide to the housing, maintenance and care of all animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. Additional guidance on the most commonly used types is provided in the relevant sections. In the absence of information in such a section, the requirements given in the general part should be observed.

The species-specific sections are based on recommendations from expert groups for rodents, rabbits, dogs, cats, ferrets, non-human primates, farm animals, mini-pigs, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish. The expert groups provided additional scientific and practical information, on the basis of which recommendations were made.

Appendix A includes advice on the design of animal housing (vivariums), as well as recommendations and guidelines for complying with the requirements of the Convention. However, the recommended room standards are the minimum acceptable. In some cases, it may be necessary to increase them, since individual needs in the microenvironment can differ significantly depending on the type of animals, their age, physical condition, density of keeping, purpose of keeping animals, for example, for breeding or experiments, as well as the duration of their keeping.

The revised Annex A entered into force 12 months after its adoption - June 15, 2007.

This standard has been developed taking into account the regulatory provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used in Experiments and for other Scientific Purposes (ETS N 123), in particular Annex A and Article N 5 of the Convention.

The GOST series "Guidelines for the maintenance and care of laboratory animals" was developed on the basis of and includes all the provisions of Appendix A to the Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used in experiments and for other scientific purposes, and thus these standards are harmonized with European requirements in this areas.

1 area of use

This standard establishes general requirements for the housing, maintenance and care of laboratory rodents and rabbits used for educational, experimental and other scientific purposes.

2 Normative references

This standard uses normative reference to the following standard:

GOST 33215-2014 Guidelines for the maintenance and care of laboratory animals. Rules for equipping premises and organizing procedures

Note - When using this standard, it is advisable to check the validity of reference standards in the public information system - on the official website of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology on the Internet or according to the annual information index "National Standards", which was published as of January 1 of the current year, and on issues of the monthly information index "National Standards" for the current year. If the reference standard is replaced (modified), then when using this standard, you should be guided by the replacing (modified) standard. If the referenced standard is canceled without replacement, the provision in which the reference to it is given applies to the extent that this reference is not affected.

3 Terms and definitions

This standard uses terms with the corresponding definitions - according to GOST 33215-2014.

4 Species-specific requirements for keeping rodents

4.1 Introduction

4.1.1 Mice

The laboratory mouse was bred from the wild house mouse (Mus musculus), a burrowing and climbing animal that is predominantly nocturnal and builds nests to regulate microenvironmental conditions, shelter and reproduction. Mice are very good climbers, but they are reluctant to cross open spaces and prefer to stay close to shelters - walls or other objects. The type of social organization of mouse communities varies and is mainly determined by population density. Reproductively active males exhibit pronounced territorial behavior; pregnant and lactating females may show aggression when protecting nests. Since mice, especially albinos, have poor eyesight, they rely mainly on the sense of smell and leave urine marks on the habitat. Mice also have very acute hearing, they are sensitive to ultrasound. There are significant differences in the behavior of mice of different strains.

4.1.2 Rats

The laboratory rat was bred from the gray rat (Rattus norvegicus). Rats are social animals, they avoid open spaces and use urine marks to mark territory. Their sense of smell and hearing are highly developed, while rats are especially sensitive to ultrasound; daytime vision is poor, but in some pigmented lines, vision is quite sharp in dim light. Albino rats avoid light levels above 25 lux (lx). Rats are more active at night. Young animals are very curious and often have social games.

4.1.3 Gerbils

The Mongolian or Midday gerbil (Meriones sp.) is a social animal that is predominantly nocturnal, but under laboratory conditions remains active in daylight. In the wild, gerbils burrow with tunnel entrances to protect themselves from predators, and therefore often exhibit stereotypic burrowing in laboratory settings unless provided with burrowing facilities.

4.1.4 Hamsters

The wild ancestor of the laboratory hamster is Mesocricetus sp. - an animal that leads a predominantly solitary lifestyle. Female hamsters are larger and more aggressive than males and can severely injure their partner. Hamsters often arrange a separate place in the cage for a toilet and mark the territory with the secrets of the glands located on the sides of the body. Female hamsters often eat the young to reduce the number of offspring.

4.1.5 Guinea pigs

Wild guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) are social, actively moving rodents that never dig holes, but settle in shelters or use other people's holes. Adult males can be aggressive towards each other, but in general aggression is rarely observed. Guinea pigs tend to freeze when they hear an unexpected sound. They can rush away as a group in panic in response to a sudden and unexpected movement. Guinea pigs are particularly sensitive to moving from place to place and may freeze for thirty minutes or more afterward.

4.2 Habitat control

4.2.1 Ventilation - according to GOST 33215-2014, clause 4.1.

4.2.2 Temperature

Rodents should be kept at temperatures between 20°C and 24°C. In group housing, the temperature in cages with a solid bottom is often higher than room temperature, and even with well-functioning ventilation, it can exceed it by 6 ° C. Nest building materials and houses allow animals to control the microclimate on their own. Particular attention should be paid to maintaining the temperature in barrier systems and where bare animals are kept.

4.2.3 Humidity

Relative humidity in rodent housing should be maintained between 45% and 65%. The exception is gerbils, which should be kept at 35-55% relative humidity.

4.2.4 Lighting

Illumination of the cell should be low. Cage racks should have a darkened top shelf to reduce the risk of retinal degeneration in animals, especially albinos, kept in top tier cages. To observe animals in the dark during their active phase, you can use red light invisible to rodents.

4.2.5 Noise

Since rodents are very sensitive to ultrasound and use it to communicate, extraneous audio signals in this range should be kept to a minimum. Ultrasound (above 20 kHz) from laboratory equipment, including dripping faucets, cart wheels, and computer monitors, can cause abnormal behavior and reproductive disorders in animals. It is recommended to periodically measure the noise level in the premises for keeping animals in a wide range of frequencies and for a long time.

4.2.6 Requirements for alarm systems - in accordance with GOST 33215-2014, clause 4.6.

4.3 Conditions and factors affecting animal health are given in GOST 33215-2014, clauses 6.1 and 6.4.

4.4.1 Placement

Social animals should be kept in constant and harmonious groups, although in some cases, for example, when adult male mice, hamsters or gerbils are kept together, group keeping is problematic due to intraspecific aggression.

If there is a risk of aggression or injury, animals can be kept individually. Violation of stable and harmonious groups should be avoided, as this can cause very severe stress in animals.

4.4.2 Habitat enrichment

The cages and materials used to enrich the environment should allow the animals to exhibit normal behavior and reduce the likelihood of conflict situations.

Bedding and nesting materials, as well as shelters, are important components of the habitat used for breeding, colony maintenance, or experimentation. They must be present in the cage at all times, unless this is contrary to veterinary considerations or is detrimental to animal welfare. If it is necessary to remove such materials from cages, this should be coordinated with animal care personnel and a competent person with animal welfare advisory authority.

The nest building material must allow the animals to build a complete enclosed nest. In the absence of such an opportunity, nesting houses should be provided to animals. The bedding material should absorb urine and be used by animals to leave urine marks. Nesting materials are essential for mice, rats, hamsters and gerbils as they allow them to create a suitable microenvironment for resting and breeding. Nest boxes and other hiding places are important for guinea pigs, hamsters and rats.

Guinea pigs should always be provided with materials such as hay to chew on and hide in.

Wooden sticks for nibbling and chewing can be used as habitat enrichment for all laboratory rodents.

Representatives of most rodent species try to divide the cage into several zones - for consumption and storage of food, rest and urination. Such separation may be based on a scent mark rather than a physical barrier, but partial barriers may nevertheless be useful as they allow animals to initiate or avoid contact with their cage mates. To complicate the environment, it is highly recommended to use additional objects. Tubes, boxes, and climbing racks are examples of designs that have been used successfully for rodents. In addition, they allow you to increase the useful area of \u200b\u200bthe cell.

Gerbils need more space than other species of rodents. The area of the cage should allow them to build and/or use appropriately sized burrows. Gerbils need a thick layer of bedding for digging, building nests and burrowing, which should be up to 20 cm long.

Consideration should be given to the use of translucent or slightly colored cages that provide a good view to observe the animals without disturbing them.

The same principles regarding the quality and quantity of space, enrichment materials and other requirements set out in this document should apply to barrier systems, such as individually ventilated cage (IVC) systems, although their design features may require changes in the implementation of the above. principles.

4.4.3 Enclosures: dimensions and floor structure

Cages should be made of materials that are easy to clean and designed to allow observations to be made without disturbing the animals.

Once young animals become active, they require proportionately more space than adults.

4.4.3.1 Dimensions

In this and subsequent tables presenting guidelines for keeping rodents, "cage height" means the distance between the floor and the top of the cage, with more than 50% of the minimum cage area required to have this height before materials are placed there to create stimulus-rich conditions (environment enrichment).

Treatment planning should take into account the growth potential of the animals in order to provide them with sufficient living space (as detailed in Tables 1-5) for the duration of the study.

4.4.3.2 Floor structure

Solid floor with bedding material or perforated floor, preferably slatted or mesh floors. In the case of using cages with slatted or mesh floors of animals, it is necessary, if this does not contradict the conditions of the experiment, to provide solid or bedded floor areas for rest. For guinea pigs, bars may be an alternative. It is allowed not to use bedding material when mating animals.

Mesh floors can cause serious injury, so they should be carefully checked for loose parts and sharp protrusions and removed in a timely manner.

Females in late pregnancy, during childbirth and nursing, should be kept exclusively in cages with a solid bottom and bedding material.

Table 1 - Mice: minimum sizes of cages (fences)


	Min. size, cm	Area/animal, cm	Min. height, cm
In the colony and during experiments



Breeding
	For monogamous couples (outbred or inbred animals) or triads (inbred). For each additional females with litter should be added 180 cm
In the breeder's colony* Cage floor area 950 cm
Cage floor area 1500 cm
* For a short period after weaning, mice can be housed in higher density groups provided they are placed in large cages with a sufficiently enriched environment, as long as there are no signs of deterioration in their welfare, for example: increased aggression, increased morbidity and mortality, and the occurrence of stereotypy and other disturbances in normal behavior, weight loss or other physiological or behavioral responses caused by stress.

Table 2 - Rats: minimum sizes of cages (fences)


	Min. size, cm	Area/animal, cm	Min. height, cm
In the colony and during experiments*




Breeding
	Female with litter; for each additional adult rat should be added 400 cm
In the breeder's colony** Cage - 1500 cm



In the breeder's colony** Cage - 2500 cm


* In long-term studies, animals should be provided with cages of the appropriate size to allow them to be kept in social groups. Since in such studies it is difficult to predict the density of the colony at the end of the experiment, it is acceptable to keep animals in conditions with a smaller area per animal than indicated above. In such a case, priority should be given to the permanence of the group. ** For a short period after weaning, rat pups can be housed in higher density groups provided they are placed in large cages with a sufficiently enriched environment, as long as there are no signs of deterioration in their well-being, such as increased aggression, increased morbidity and mortality, and the occurrence of stereotypy, and other disturbances in normal behavior, weight loss, or other physiological or behavioral reactions caused by stress.

Table 3 - Gerbils: minimum sizes of cages (fences)


	Min. size, cm	Area/animal, cm	Min. height, cm
In the colony (in stock) and during experiments

Breeding
	For monogamous couples or triads with a litter

Table 4 - Hamsters: minimum sizes of cages (fences)


	Min. size, cm	Area/animal, cm	Min. height, cm
In the colony and during experiments


Breeding
	Females or monogamous couples with a litter
In the breeder's colony*
* For a short period after weaning, hamsters may be housed in higher density groups provided they are placed in large cages with a sufficiently enriched environment, as long as there are no signs of deterioration in their welfare, for example: increased aggression, increased morbidity and mortality, and the occurrence of stereotypy and other disturbances in normal behavior, weight loss or other physiological or behavioral responses caused by stress.

Table 5 - Guinea pigs: minimum dimensions of cages (fences)


	Min. size, cm	Area/animal, cm	Min. height, cm
In the colony and during experiments




Breeding
	Couples with litter; for each additional females should be added 1000 cm

4.4.4 Feeding - according to GOST 33215-2014, clause 6.6.

4.4.5 Watering - in accordance with GOST 33215-2014, clause 6.7.

4.4.6 Bedding, nesting and absorbent material - according to GOST 33215-2014, clause 6.8.

4.4.7 Cell cleaning

Despite the need to maintain high hygiene standards, it may be appropriate to leave some scent marks on the animals. Too frequent cleaning of the cages should be avoided, especially when keeping pregnant females and females with offspring, as the disturbance caused can cause the female to eat the offspring or disturb her maternal behavior.

The decision on the frequency of cage cleaning should be made taking into account the type of cage used, animal species, colony density, and the ability of ventilation systems to maintain adequate indoor air quality.

4.4.8 Animal handling

You should strive to cause minimal disturbance to animals and not violate the conditions of their maintenance, which is especially important for hamsters.

4.4.9 Euthanasia - according to GOST 33215-2014, clause 6.11.

4.4.10 Maintaining records - in accordance with GOST 33215-2014, clause 6.12.

4.4.11 Identification - according to GOST 33215-2014, clause 6.13.

5 Species-specific requirements for keeping rabbits

5.1 Introduction

Under natural conditions, rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculi) live in colonies. When kept in captivity, they must be provided with sufficient space with an enriched environment, the lack of which can lead to the loss of normal motor activity and the occurrence of skeletal anomalies.

5.2 Habitat control

5.2.1 Ventilation - according to GOST 33215-2014, clause 4.1.

5.2.2 Temperature

Rabbits should be kept between 15°C and 21°C. The temperature in solid-bottom enclosures where a group of rabbits is kept is most often above room temperature and, even with a well-functioning ventilation system, can exceed it by 6 ° C.

Nest material and/or huts allow animals to control their own microclimate. Particular attention should be paid to temperature readings in barrier systems.

5.2.3 Humidity

The relative humidity of the air in the premises for keeping rabbits should not be lower than 45%.

5.4.1 Placement

Young rabbits and females should be kept in harmonious groups. Solitary confinement is acceptable if it is for animal welfare or veterinary reasons. The decision to allow animals to be kept in solitary confinement for experimental purposes should be made in consultation with animal care personnel and a responsible person with advisory authority on the physical and mental condition of the animals. Adult uncastrated males may show territorial aggression and should not be kept together with other uncastrated males. For group keeping of young and adult female rabbits, outdoor pens with a rich habitat have proven themselves to be excellent. However, you should keep a close eye on the group to prevent possible aggression. Littermates are ideal for group keeping, living together from the moment they are weaned from their mother. In cases where group keeping is not possible, animals should be as close as possible to each other, within sight.

5.4.2 Habitat enrichment

Suitable materials for enriching the habitat of rabbits are roughage, blocks of hay or chewing sticks, and shelter structures.

Floor pens for group housing should provide for the placement of separating barriers and shelter structures that allow animals to observe from there. When breeding rabbits, nesting material and maternity boxes should be provided.

5.4.3 Enclosures: dimensions and floor structure

Preference should be given to rectangular cages, which should have a raised area not exceeding 40% of the total floor area. The shelf should allow the animals to sit and lie down, as well as to move freely under it. Although the height of the cage should allow the rabbit to sit without the tips of its raised ears touching the ceiling, the same requirement does not apply to a raised area. If there is sufficient scientific or veterinary reason not to place such a shelf in the cage, then the area of the cage should be 33% larger for one rabbit and 60% for two rabbits. Where possible, rabbits should be kept in pens.

5.4.3.1 Dimensions

Table 6 - Rabbits over 10 weeks of age: minimum enclosure dimensions


	Min. area for 1-2 socially suitable animals, cm	Min. height, cm

The data in Table 6 apply to both cages and aviaries. The cages must have an elevated platform (see Table 9). Enclosures should be equipped with separation barriers to allow animals to initiate or avoid social contact. For each from the 3rd to the 6th rabbit placed in the aviary, 3000 cm2 should be added to the area of the aviary, and for each subsequent - 2500 cm3.

Table 7 - Female rabbit with cubs: minimum dimensions of fences


Female weight, kg	Min. size, cm	Additional space for nests, cm	Min. height, cm

At least 3-4 days before giving birth, the female should be provided with a separate box or birthing box in which she can build a nest. It is better if the maternity box is placed outside the place where the female is permanently kept. Straw or other nesting material should also be provided. Fencing for breeding rabbits should be organized in such a way that the female can get away from her grown-up rabbits, who are able to leave the nest, to a separate compartment, shelter or to an elevated area. After weaning, rabbits from the same litter should be kept together for as long as possible in the same enclosure where they were born.

Up to eight littermates are allowed in the breeding enclosure until they are seven weeks old. Five littermates 8-10 weeks of age can be kept in the minimum allowed area of the fence.

Table 8 - Rabbits under 10 weeks of age: minimum enclosure dimensions


Age, weeks	Min. cell size, cm	Min. area/animal, cm	Min. height, cm

The data in Table 8 apply to both cages and aviaries. Enclosures should be equipped with separation barriers to allow animals to initiate or avoid social contact. After weaning, littermates should be kept together for as long as possible in the same enclosure where they were born.

Table 9 - Rabbits over 10 weeks of age: Optimal raised area dimensions in enclosures having the dimensions shown in Table 6.


Age, weeks	Optimal site size, sms	The optimal height of the platform from the floor of the cage, cm

To ensure the correct use of the raised platform and the fence in general, table 9 shows the optimal dimensions and height at which the platform is located. A deviation of up to 10% is allowed in the direction of decreasing or increasing the specified dimensions. If there are good scientific or veterinary reasons for not placing such a shelf in the enclosure, then the area of the enclosure should be 33% larger for one rabbit and 60% for two rabbits in order to provide them with space for normal locomotor activity and the ability to avoid contact with the dominant individual.

For rabbits not older than 10 weeks of age, the optimal dimensions of the raised platform are 55 cm25 cm, and its height above floor level should allow the animals to use both the platform and the space below it.

5.4.3.2 Cage bottom

Barriers with slatted floors should not be used unless sufficient space is provided for all animals to rest at one time. Solid floors with bedding or perforated floors are better than slatted or mesh floors.
MKS 13.020.01

Keywords: laboratory animals, rodents, rabbits

Electronic text of the document
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M.: Standartinform, 2016


Short country name MK (ISO 3166) 004-97		Abbreviated name of the national standards body
Azerbaijan		Azstandard
Belarus		State Standard of the Republic of Belarus
Kazakhstan		State Standard of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan		Kyrgyzstandart
Moldova		Moldova-Standard
Russia		Rosstandart