RD-APK 3.10.07.02-09

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Moscow 2009

Developed by: Ph.D. agricultural Sciences, Art. scientific co-workers P.N. Vinogradov, Ph.D. tech. Sciences S.S. Shevchenko, O.L. Sedov, E.S. Garafutdinova, M.F. Malygin (NPC "Giproniselkhoz"); Dr. vet. sciences, prof. V.G. Tyurin (GNU VNIIVSGE)

INTRODUCED: SPC "Giproniselkhoz".

APPROVED AND ENTERED INTO EFFECT: Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation A.I. Belyaev December 1, 2009

DEVELOPED FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Date of introduction: 12/15/2009

1. General Provisions

1.1. These guidelines apply to all research organizations and educational institutions of the Russian agro-industrial complex, regardless of their organizational and legal form, that use laboratory (experimental, experimental) animals in their work.

In accordance with the Federal Law “On Technical Regulation” (adopted by the State Duma on December 15, 2002 and approved by the Federation Council on December 18, 2002), before the adoption of the relevant regulations, technical regulation in the field of veterinary and sanitary measures is carried out in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation “ On veterinary medicine" (approved on May 14, 1993, No. 4979-1).

1.2. The methodological recommendations apply both to newly designed facilities for keeping and working with laboratory animals - experimental biological clinics, vivariums, etc., as well as to existing and reconstructed ones.

1.3. Facilities for keeping and working with laboratory animals are scientific and auxiliary units of research organizations, educational institutions and are created for the maintenance and, if necessary, for breeding laboratory animals used in experimental work and research. Independent development of individual scientific questions can also be carried out at these facilities.

1.4. The standards and requirements for the design, construction and operation of facilities for keeping laboratory animals set out in these guidelines are aimed at ensuring the safety of personnel working with animals and the population as a whole from the occurrence of anthroposaunoses and other diseases.

1.5. Development, coordination, approval and composition of design documentation for the construction of facilities for keeping laboratory animals are carried out in accordance with the requirements of SNiP 11.01-2003.

1.6. A facility for keeping laboratory animals (hereinafter referred to as a vivarium) is located in a separate building (building complex) or on the upper floors of laboratory buildings of veterinary state scientific institutions, as well as on the territory of educational institutions.

1.7. Vivariums must be provided with potable water, including hot water, electricity, equipped with sewerage (pipes with a diameter of at least 100 mm), supply and exhaust ventilation, heating, security and fire alarms, and have convenient access roads.

1.8. The distance between a separate vivarium building and the structures of research institutions that include a real vivarium must be no less than the distance of fire breaks established by the current fire safety rules in the Russian Federation.

1.9. Separate vivarium buildings must be fenced with a solid fence and separated from the residential area by a sanitary protection zone. The area should be landscaped.

The dimensions of the sanitary protection zone are determined by the requirements of SaNPiN 2.2.1/2.1.1.1200-03.

1.10. The dimensions of the sanitary protection zone for vivariums located in separate administrative and industrial buildings and having an isolated exit are agreed on a case-by-case basis with the state sanitary and veterinary supervision authorities.

2. Composition, relative position and area standards for vivarium premises

2.1. Each vivarium must include premises designed in accordance with current building codes and regulations in compliance with current veterinary and sanitary requirements and zoohygienic standards, including:

staff room with individual lockers for work clothes;

premises for receiving and quarantining animals newly arriving at the vivarium;

insulator;

premises for keeping experimental animals (separate for each species) or (in agreement with the state veterinary and sanitary supervision authorities) divided into sections by animal species;

a sterilization room or box for researchers to work with uninfected animals, with a room for autopsy of animals and a refrigerator for temporary storage of corpses;

isolated premises for keeping experimental animals infected with cultures of pathogens of especially dangerous infections or radioactive substances (separately) with an operating room in each isolated room, which has a refrigerator and the necessary equipment for infecting and dissecting animals;

feed kitchen for preparing feed (must be equipped with a stove and refrigerator);

disinfection and washing department for washing with hot water, disinfecting and drying cages and other equipment;

warehouse of clean (disinfected) spare equipment: cages, drinking bowls, etc.;

sanitary block (shower and toilet);

a room equipped with a furnace for burning animal corpses;

general refrigeration chamber for storing animal corpses;

feed warehouse;

litter storage;

in a separate room or in a separate building - a technical unit for air conditioning, ventilation, electrical and other special installations.

2.2. Each vivarium must have a room for receiving incoming animals. In vivariums where small rodents are kept, an insulated vestibule is installed in front of the receiving department, into which a vehicle with arriving animals enters and is unloaded.

When the vivarium is located on the upper floors of laboratory buildings, the receiving department and insulated vestibule are located on the first floor of the laboratory building and are connected to the vivarium by an elevator used only for lifting laboratory animals.

2.3. The reception room is a room with an area of ​​12.5 - 18 m2 with natural and artificial lighting in accordance with the requirements.

The height of all vivarium rooms is 3 - 3.5 m.

2.4. The quarantine room consists of several isolated rooms with an area of ​​12.5 - 18 m2 and is isolated from the premises where animals that have undergone quarantine and are admitted for experiments are kept.

2.5. Adjacent to the quarantine premises is an isolation room for sick animals and animals with suspected diseases. The areas of the isolation room rooms are similar to the areas of the quarantine rooms.

2.6. Premises intended for keeping experimental animals may open onto one common corridor or be located between two corridors and have exits to each of them. In a single-corridor layout, “dirty” and “clean” services are located at different ends of the corridor.

With a two-corridor system, food and quarantined animals are supplied through one corridor (“clean”), and employees wearing clean overalls and replacement shoes enter before starting to work with the animals. Along another (“dirty”) corridor, uneaten food and manure are removed, animal corpses are taken out, and employees exit after working with animals.

If it is impossible to isolate “dirty” and “clean” flows, it is allowed to use the same room for one purpose or another, provided that it is disinfected each time a “dirty” flow passes through it.

2.7. The area of ​​premises for keeping certain types of experimental animals is 12.5 - 18 m2; The area of ​​the room for keeping experimental animals, divided into sections, is determined by calculation.

2.8. The area of ​​the sterilization room or box for researchers to work with uninfected animals is determined by calculation based on the specifics of the proposed work.

2.9. The areas of isolated premises for working with experimental animals infected with pathogens of especially dangerous infections, and for working with experimental animals contaminated with radioactive substances, as well as the area of ​​operating rooms for each isolated room are determined by calculation based on the conditions of the technological and special equipment used to carry out the necessary manipulations.

2.10. The total area of ​​the premises occupied by the feed kitchen, disinfection and washing department and the warehouse for clean spare equipment should be approximately 50% of the total area of ​​​​the premises occupied by animals (in large vivariums this percentage may be slightly reduced).

The feed kitchen consists of two adjacent rooms designed for processing and preparing feed. Each room must have access to the corridor.

The disinfection and washing department (one or more) consists of two rooms connected by a walk-through autoclave or a walk-through dry-heat chamber.

The design of the disinfection and washing department must provide for a different sequence of its operation:

in the presence of infected material - preliminary sterilization of equipment and bedding with further mechanical cleaning of the latter in another room;

sterilization after mechanical cleaning of cells and equipment, when there is no danger of the presence of contaminated material.

Regardless of the location of the vivarium (in a separate building or on the top floor of a laboratory building), a garbage chute should be provided in the disinfection and washing department to remove dirty litter and mechanized lifting of materials and equipment.

The warehouse for clean inventory and equipment is located next to the disinfection and washing department.

2.11. For storing bedding (shavings, sawdust, peat, etc.), two rooms are allocated: one for sterilized and packaged in the container used by this vivarium, the other for storing newly purchased bedding.

2.12. When designing vivarium premises, it is necessary to ensure maximum insulation:

all its premises from other divisions that are part of the research institution;

isolation and quarantine rooms from the rest of the vivarium premises;

between the feed kitchen, animal premises and the disinfection and washing department.

2.13. In each specific case, the area occupied by a feed kitchen, a disinfection and washing department and a warehouse for clean spare equipment is established depending on the equipment used, the degree of mechanization of production processes and the types of food for experimental animals.

The dimensions of the areas of the above premises are indicated in the design assignment.

3. Veterinary, sanitary and technological requirements for construction solutions for vivarium premises and engineering equipment

Lamps and lighting fixtures of a closed type must be accessible for wet cleaning.

3.5. The vivarium premises in which laboratory animals are kept are equipped with a forced supply and exhaust ventilation system that ensures air exchange rates and temperature and humidity conditions in accordance with the data given in Table. .

3.6. The temperature and humidity conditions in other rooms of the vivarium must be provided in accordance with the data given in table. .

SNiP 11.01-2003. Instructions on the procedure for the development, coordination, approval and composition of design documentation for the construction of enterprises, buildings and structures.

. SaNPiN 2.2.1/2.1.1.1200-03. Sanitary protection zones and sanitary classification of enterprises, structures and other objects (New edition. Approved by Decree of the Chief Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation No. 74 dated 09.25.07, registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No. 10995 dated 01.25.08).

Drinking water. Hygienic requirements for water quality of centralized drinking water supply systems. Quality control.

Rabbits, rats, dogs, and cats have been used in experiments by research institutes and other organizations for decades. They live in vivariums - special premises for keeping laboratory animals. There are special requirements for these premises and the care of the animals themselves - after all, the cleanliness of the experiment often depends on maintaining the ideal health of the animals.

The rules for keeping laboratory animals depend on the characteristics of the species and subspecies of the animal, in some cases its breed, size, and physiological characteristics (if we are talking about dogs). They are provided with everything they need: space, sunlight, fresh air, food and water. Special (common to all animals) requirements are imposed on the room where they will be located - the vivarium.

The vivarium should be located in a dry place, on a hill. Lowlands, basements and other premises that are initially unsuitable for keeping animals cannot be used.

Next to the vivarium there should be a plot of land protected from the wind. To do this, a blind fence is built around the perimeter. Enclosures or cages are built at the entrance to the building. If necessary, a canopy is installed over them.

The vivarium itself is divided into two parts. The first one houses the animals themselves. The second contains utility rooms.

How are animals housed?

Rabbits and dogs can be kept outside the building. The former are placed in cages, the latter in enclosures in the local area.

The main part of the building is divided into rooms, each of which can only contain one type of animal. For example, one room is set up for dogs, a second for monkeys, and a third for cats. Rodents (great white rats, hamsters, guinea pigs) of different types can be kept in the same room due to their size.

Why are utility rooms needed?

• Kitchen and pantry. They keep food in the pantry, and cook in the kitchen nearby.
• Staff room. This is where the vivarium staff change clothes, leave their everyday items, and store special clothing and safety shoes. The room must have an adjoining shower.
• Quarantine. This is the first room where the animal is placed when it is first brought to the vivarium. Here he is tested for infectious diseases. After quarantine, he is sent to the main part of the building.
• Insulator. Sick animals from the main part of the vivarium are placed in the isolation ward.
• Clinic. This is the room where animals are taken after surgery and experiments. They are kept here until they return to normal.
• Sectional. This is a room for storing corpses; dead animals are transferred here. An autopsy is performed here.
• Facilities for washing equipment, cages and work clothes. Everything needed to disinfect equipment should be here.
• Crematorium Special room for disposal of corpses. Equipped with a stove and appropriate equipment.
• Animal washing room. Keeping animals clean is one of the essential conditions for working with laboratory animals.

All rooms where experimental subjects are temporarily or permanently located must have enclosures or cages. All conditions for the normal maintenance of laboratory animals are created here.

Technical requirements for a vivarium

Keeping laboratory animals in vivariums is potentially dangerous for the surrounding area and the people who are in it. Dead or sick rabbits, dogs, and cats can become a source of infection. And if vaccines or other drugs against infectious diseases are tested in a laboratory, then double concern should be given to safety.

In particular, the vivarium must have waterproof floors. When making them, they make a slight slope so that moisture flows into the sewer system. Floors can be made using concrete, asphalt, plastic, and tiles. The walls are also finished with material that is resistant to moisture and other liquids: oil paint, plastic panels, tiles.

Engineering systems:

• The vivarium sewage system must be separated from the general one. Wastewater is disinfected before entering the general system. The system should also have wide drains.
• Ventilation, according to the rules for keeping laboratory animals, must be represented by two systems - natural and supply and exhaust.
• The building has central heating, which provides temperatures from +12 to +18 degrees Celsius.

Special premises for keeping laboratory animals

In addition to the premises listed above, the vivarium may have additional rooms where animals with dangerous infectious diseases and radioactive contamination are kept. They must be isolated from other rooms and have a refrigerator. They are usually adjacent to operating rooms.

Dogs, cats, rodents and their maintenance

As we have already clarified, different types of animals require their own approach to maintenance and diet. Let's talk about the basic requirements for keeping cats, dogs and rodents.

Dogs

The minimum size of the cage is 1.5 by 1.2 meters; the floor in it is insulated and made with a slight slope. It is regularly washed and disinfected, and the animals themselves are bathed.

In some cases, dogs are “silenced”: surgery is performed on the vocal cords under local anesthesia and morphine. This reduces the noise level in a vivarium with a large number of dogs, but makes them unsuitable for complex experiments: after surgery, the animals may develop respiratory failure.

Cats

Cats do not tolerate being kept in cages well, so they are placed in entire rooms. Animals can walk freely on them. The room should be warm and light, not stuffy. Shelves are installed on the walls for cats to sit on. A box with litter is placed on the floor - cat litter. The toilet is cleaned regularly and the smell is removed using chemicals.

Keeping cats and female cats together is permissible after castration. Before experiments are carried out, animals are kept in the laboratory for some time until they get used to it.

Rodents and rabbits

Small animals - from rabbits and great white rats to mice - can be kept in the same room, even if they are different species. They are placed in cages, the cages are installed on racks - 30-50 cm from the walls and 50-70 cm from the floor. They provide a passage between the racks – a width of 1 meter.

Cages are selected according to the size and number of animals. They are made from steel, tin, and plastic. It is important that the material is strong enough. A drinking bowl and a feeding trough are placed here, and a sign with information about the animals is placed on the wall.

Rabbits and guinea pigs can be kept indoors or outdoors. Stronger and healthier animals grow in fresh air and sun.

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

4.4. For animals not received 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 of pregnant pigs, newborns and young animals in experiments, as well as in short-term experiments, the quarantine period can be reduced provided that these animals are placed in isolated rooms and are appropriately monitored.

4.5. During the quarantine period, animals are subject to daily clinical observation, thermometry and registration of the general condition of animals in a special journal in the form according to 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 personnel assigned to these premises.

4.8. It is prohibited to remove food, clothing and equipment from quarantine premises to other rooms and sections for experimental animals.

4.9. During the quarantine period, cages (baths) are periodically changed. At the end of quarantine, the vacated cells and equipment are transferred to the disinfection and washing department.

Cleaning and washing of cages 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, disinsection, and autoclaving mode are established in each specific case, depending on the specifics of the institution.

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

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

4.12. In the event of mass diseases occurring among quarantined animals, or if individual cases of infectious diseases that are especially dangerous for laboratory animals and humans are detected during experiments, the necessary set of preventive measures is carried out in the vivarium. In this case, testing on animals is temporarily stopped.

4.13. After the quarantine period expires, the animals are transferred to experimental sections.

V. Operating hours and basic maintenance rules

laboratory animals

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

5.2. Each cage (box, enclosure, etc.) must have a label indicating data about the animal and the duration of the experiment (a sample label is given in Appendix No. 6).

5.3. Laboratory animals and birds are kept in cages with a solid bottom on bedding or in cages with a mesh bottom - floor. Sawdust, shavings or bedding peat are used as bedding. The litter is pre-autoclaved or kept in a dry-heat oven (at T 150 - 180 degrees C for 15 - 20 minutes). The thickness of the bedding 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 carried out in accordance with the daily routine and work regulations approved by the head of the institution. The daily routine provides time for sanitizing the premises and equipment, distributing feed and carrying out experimental work and manipulations.

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

5.6. Feed and semi-finished products are stored in a room specially designated for this purpose (warehouse). Feed is distributed in accordance with the established procedure.

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

5.7. To store a supply of feed, special chests (metal or lined with tin) are equipped in the feed kitchen and in the vivarium pantry. Perishable foods are stored in the refrigerator. Delivery of feed from warehouses is carried out by specially designated personnel (workers not directly involved in caring for animals).

5.8. The distribution of feed among section rooms is carried out by workers or kitchen staff specially allocated for these purposes in disinfected containers assigned to each section. Write-off of feed is carried out in the prescribed manner according to the actual availability of animals for each day with the submission to the accounting department of the institution of reports from laboratories on animals that have left the experiment or were forced to kill.

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

5.10. Laboratory animals are supplied with drinking water from the water supply; the quality of the water must comply with GOST "Drinking water".

5.11. The germination of grain into green mass for feeding laboratory animals is carried out in premises specially designated for this purpose. It is allowed to feed animals the root mass of plants if there is no mold in it.

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

5.13. Cages are cleaned and rooms are cleaned using equipment strictly assigned to each room.

5.14. When changing cages periodically, 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 treatment.

5.15. Cells are cleaned daily. In this case, 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 the 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 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. The premises where dogs and cats are kept are processed last.

5.18. It is prohibited to wash and disinfect cages, feeders, and drinking bowls directly in the sections.

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

5.20. Disinfection, cleaning and washing of cages, feeders, drinking bowls and other equipment is carried out by workers specially assigned to the disinfection and washing department. Monitoring the effectiveness of cleaning and disinfection of equipment is the responsibility of 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 sanitary-epidemiological service institutions. When working with infected material, it is necessary to neutralize the waste using 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 in premises 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 in accordance with the annual application from laboratories approved by the head of the institution. Working with animals is permitted only during the hours specified in the daily routine of the vivarium.

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

5.25. Before post-mortem examination, animal corpses are stored in a special refrigerator in the diagnostic room for no more than one day, after which they are subject to disposal. Storing animal corpses in cages and on the floor in experimental sections is strictly prohibited.

5.26. The pathoanatomical autopsy of the 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 according to Appendix No. 7.

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

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

B) conduct systematic monitoring of your experimental animals;

C) maintain primary documentation, promptly filling out 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 proper order;

E) monitor the timely disposal of experimental animals that have left the experiment or were forcibly killed;

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

5.29. Employees of the institution performing work in the vivarium with experimental animals are prohibited from giving any instructions to the workers to change the regime of keeping and feeding the 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) during 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 anesthesia. 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 No. 8).

VI. Personal hygiene rules

6.1. All vivarium personnel must be provided with protective clothing, safety shoes, soap and towels in accordance with current rules and regulations.

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

6.3. Vivarium staff must:

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

B) upon completion of work (preferably before starting work), undergo treatment in the sanitary block (take a shower or bath);

C) be sure to hang home clothes and work clothes in different compartments of an individual closet;

D) periodically (but at least once a month) disinfect your 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 your hands.

6.4. Eating and smoking are strictly prohibited in all production areas of the clinic (vivarium).

6.5. All persons hired to work with laboratory animals must undergo a medical examination, including testing for bacilli carriage of tuberculosis pathogens and the entire group of intestinal infections. Subsequent examinations are carried out at least once a year. Patients with tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, skin and other infectious diseases are not allowed to work in the vivarium.

6.6. When conducting experiments on animals with infectious pathogens that are dangerous to humans, vivarium staff are subject to preventive immunization.

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

GOST 33216-2014

Group T58

INTERSTATE STANDARD

GUIDE TO THE KEEPING AND CARE OF LABORATORY ANIMALS

Guidelines for accommodation and care of animals. Species-specific provisions for laboratory rodents and rabbits

ISS 13.020.01

Date of introduction 2016-07-01

Preface

The goals, basic principles and basic procedure for carrying out work on interstate standardization are established in GOST 1.0-92 "Interstate standardization system. Basic provisions" and GOST 1.2-2009 "Interstate standardization system. Interstate standards, rules, recommendations for interstate standardization. Rules for development, adoption , applications, updates and cancellations"

Standard information

1 DEVELOPED by the Non-Profit Partnership "Association of Specialists in Working with Laboratory Animals" (Rus-LASA)

2 INTRODUCED by the Technical Committee for Standardization TC 339 “Safety of raw materials, materials and substances”

3 ADOPTED by the Interstate Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (protocol dated December 22, 2014 N 73-P)

4 By Order of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology dated November 9, 2015 N 1733-st, the interstate standard GOST 33216-2014 was put into effect as a national standard of the Russian Federation on July 1, 2016.

5 This standard complies with the international document European Convention for the protection of Vertebrate animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes (ETS N 123)* (ETS N 123).
________________
* Access to international and foreign documents mentioned here and further in the text can be obtained by following the link to the website http://shop.cntd.ru. - Database manufacturer's note.


Translation from English (en).

Level of conformity - nonequivalent (NEQ)

6 INTRODUCED FOR THE FIRST TIME


Information about changes to this standard is published in the annual information index "National Standards", and the text of changes and amendments is published in the monthly information index "National Standards". In case of revision (replacement) or cancellation of this standard, the corresponding notice will be published in the monthly information index "National Standards". Relevant information, notifications and texts are also posted in the public information system - on the official website of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology on the Internet

Introduction

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 ensures that possible pain, suffering, distress or damage with lasting health consequences resulting 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 Conservation of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental or Other Scientific Purposes ETS N 123 , Strasbourg, 18 March 1986 (hereinafter referred to as the Convention).

The Convention covers all activities related to the use of laboratory animals: housing and care of animals, conducting experiments, humane killing (euthanasia), issuing permits for the use of animals in procedures, control of breeders, suppliers and users, education and training personnel, statistical accounting. 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 revision during multilateral consultations of the parties, conducted 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.

During the consultations, the parties involve states that are not members of the Council of Europe, and also interact with non-governmental organizations representing the interests of a number of specialists: researchers, veterinarians, laboratory animal breeders, animal rights associations, 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 to the Convention decided to revise Annex A. The Working Group completed the revision of Annex A at its 8th meeting (September 22-24, 2004) and submitted it to the Multilateral Consultation of the Parties for approval. On 15 June 2006, the 4th Multilateral Consultation of the Parties to the European Convention for the Conservation of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes adopted revised Annex A to the Convention. This annex sets out requirements for the housing and care of animals based on current knowledge and good practice. It explains and supplements 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 "General Part" chapter is a guide to the placement, maintenance and care of all animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. Additional recommendations for the most commonly used types are provided in the relevant sections. If information is missing in such a section, the requirements given in the general part must be followed.

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

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

Revised Annex A came into force 12 months after its adoption on 15 June 2007.

This standard has been developed taking into account the regulations of the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes (ETS No. 123), in particular Annex A and Article No. 5 of the Convention.

The GOST series "Guidelines for the care and maintenance of laboratory animals" was developed on the basis of and includes all the provisions of Annex A to the Convention for the Conservation of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes, and, thus, these standards are harmonized with European requirements in this regard 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 equipment of premises and organization of procedures

Note - When using this standard, it is advisable to check the validity of the reference standards in the public information system - on the official website of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology on the Internet or using 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 (changed), then when using this standard you should be guided by the replacing (changed) standard. If the reference standard is canceled without replacement, then the provision in which a reference is made to it is applied in the part that does not affect this reference.

3 Terms and definitions

This standard uses terms with 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 shelter - walls or other objects. The type of social organization of mouse communities varies and is determined mainly by population density. Reproductively active males exhibit pronounced territorial behavior, and pregnant and lactating females may become aggressive when defending nests. Since mice, especially albino mice, have poor eyesight, they rely heavily on their sense of smell and leave urine marks in their habitat. Mice also have very acute hearing and 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, and rats are especially sensitive to ultrasound; Daytime vision is weak, but in some pigmented lines the vision is quite sharp in dim light. Albino rats avoid light levels above 25 lux (lx). The activity of rats increases at night. Young animals are very curious and often engage in social play.

4.1.3 Gerbils

The Mongolian or Midday gerbil (Meriones sp.) is a social animal that is predominantly nocturnal, but in laboratory conditions remains active in daylight. In the wild, gerbils dig burrows with tunnel entrances for protection from predators and therefore often exhibit stereotypical digging behavior in laboratory settings if they are not provided with burrowing conditions.

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 seriously injure their partner. Hamsters often create a separate toilet area in their cage and mark the territory with the secretions of glands located on the sides of the body. Female hamsters often eat their babies to reduce the number of offspring they have.

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 rare. Guinea pigs tend to freeze if they hear an unexpected sound. They can panic as a whole group and rush away in response to a sudden and unexpected movement. Guinea pigs are especially sensitive to being moved from place to place and may then freeze for thirty minutes or more.

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 a temperature between 20°C and 24°C. When kept in groups, the temperature in cages with a solid bottom is often higher than room temperature, and even with good ventilation it can exceed it by 6°C. Material for building nests and houses allow animals to independently control the microclimate. Particular attention should be paid to maintaining temperature in barrier systems and where hairless 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

The illumination of the cage should be low. Cage racks should have a darkened top shelf to reduce the risk of retinal degeneration in animals, especially albinos, kept in the upper tier of 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 for communication, it is necessary to minimize extraneous sound signals in this range. Ultrasound (above 20 kHz) emitted by laboratory equipment, including dripping faucets, trolley wheels, and computer monitors, can cause abnormal behavior and reproductive problems in animals. It is recommended to periodically measure the noise level in animal housing over a wide frequency range and over a long period of time.

4.2.6 Requirements for alarm systems - according to 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 permanent and harmonious groups, although in some cases, for example, when adult male mice, hamsters or gerbils are kept together, group housing is problematic due to intraspecific aggression.

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

4.4.2 Habitat enrichment

Cages and materials used for environmental enrichment should allow animals to exhibit normal behavior and reduce the likelihood of conflict situations.

Bedding and nesting materials, as well as shelter, are important components of the habitat of rodents used for breeding, colony maintenance or experimental purposes. They must be present in the cage at all times, unless this is contrary to veterinary considerations or compromises the welfare of the animals. If it is necessary to remove such materials from cages, this should be done in consultation with animal care personnel and a competent person with animal welfare advisory responsibilities.

Nest building material must allow animals to create a complete, enclosed nest. If this is not possible, animals should be provided with nesting houses. 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. Nesting houses and other shelters are important for guinea pigs, hamsters and rats.

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

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

Representatives of most species of rodents try to divide the cage into several zones - for consumption and storage of food, rest and urination. This separation may be based on a scent mark rather than a physical barrier, but partial barriers may nevertheless be useful because they allow animals to initiate contact with or avoid cagemates. To add complexity to your environment, it is highly recommended to use additional objects. Tubes, boxes, and climbing racks are examples of structures used successfully for rodents. In addition, they allow you to increase the usable area of ​​the cell.

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

Translucent or lightly colored cages should be used to provide a clear view of the animals without disturbing them.

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

4.4.3 Fencing: 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 rodent housing guidelines, “cage height” refers to the distance between the floor and the top of the cage, with more than 50% of the minimum cage area required to be at this height before materials are added to create a stimulus-rich environment (environmental enrichment).

When planning procedures, it is necessary to take into account the growth of animals in order to provide them with sufficient living space (as detailed in Tables 1-5) for the entire period of the study.

4.4.3.2 Floor structure

A solid floor with underlayment or a perforated floor is preferable to slatted or mesh floors. In the case of using cages with slatted or mesh floors, animals must, if this does not contradict the experimental conditions, be provided with solid or bedding-covered areas of the floor for resting. For guinea pigs, crossbars may be an alternative. It is allowed not to use bedding material when mating animals.

Mesh floors can cause serious injury and should be carefully inspected for loose parts and sharp edges and removed promptly.

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

Table 1 - Mice: minimum cage (enclosure) sizes

Table 2 - Rats: minimum cage (fence) sizes

Table 3 - Gerbils: minimum cage sizes (fences)

Table 4 - Hamsters: minimum cage sizes (fences)

Table 5 - Guinea pigs: minimum cage (fence) sizes

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

4.4.5 Watering - according to 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 Cleaning the cages

Although high standards of hygiene must be maintained, it may be advisable to leave some scent marks on the animals. Cleaning cages too frequently should be avoided, especially when keeping pregnant females or females with offspring, as the disturbance may cause the female to eat the offspring or disrupt her maternal behavior.

The frequency of cage cleaning should be decided based on the type of cage used, the species of animal, 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 the animals and not disturb the conditions of their detention, 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 loss of normal motor activity and the occurrence of skeletal abnormalities.

5.2 Habitat control

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

5.2.2 Temperature

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

Material for building nests and/or houses give animals the opportunity to independently control the microclimate. Particular attention should be paid to temperature readings in barrier systems.

5.2.3 Humidity

The relative air humidity in 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 the reasons are animal welfare or veterinary considerations. The decision to house animals alone for experimental purposes should be made in consultation with animal care staff and a responsible person with advisory powers regarding the physical and mental condition of the animals. Adult, unspayed males can be territorially aggressive and should not be kept with other unspayed males. For group keeping of young and adult female rabbits, floor pens with a rich habitat have proven themselves to be excellent. However, the group should be closely monitored to prevent possible aggression. Littermates who live together from the moment they are weaned from their mother are ideal for group housing. In cases where group keeping is not possible, animals should be kept as close to each other as possible, within sight.

5.4.2 Habitat enrichment

Suitable materials for rabbit habitat enrichment include roughage, blocks of hay or chew sticks, and structures to provide shelter.

In floor pens for group housing, provision should be made for the placement of separation barriers and shelter structures that allow animals to be observed from there. When breeding, rabbits should be provided with nesting material and birthing boxes.

5.4.3 Fencing: 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 animals to sit and lie down, as well as 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 platform. If there are sufficient scientific or veterinary reasons not to place such a shelf in the cage, then the cage area should be 33% larger for one rabbit and 60% larger for two rabbits. Where possible, rabbits should be kept in pens.

5.4.3.1 Dimensions

Table 6 - Rabbits over 10 weeks: minimum fence sizes

The data in Table 6 applies to both cages and enclosures. The cages must have a raised platform (see Table 9). Enclosures should be equipped with separation barriers that allow animals to initiate or avoid social contact. For each 3rd to 6th rabbit placed in the enclosure, 3000 cm should be added to the area of ​​the enclosure, and for each subsequent one - 2500 cm.

Table 7 - Female rabbit with cubs: minimum fence sizes

At least 3-4 days before giving birth, the female should be given a separate compartment or maternity box in which she can build a nest. It is better if the maternity box is placed outside the place where the female is constantly kept. You should also provide straw or other material to make a nest. The fence for breeding rabbits should be organized in such a way that the female can move away from her grown-up rabbits capable of leaving the nest into a separate compartment, shelter or 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 can be kept in the breeding enclosure until they are seven weeks old. Five 8-10 week old littermates can be kept in the minimum permissible enclosure area.


Table 8 - Rabbits under 10 weeks of age: minimum fence sizes

The data in Table 8 applies to both cages and enclosures. Enclosures should be equipped with separation barriers that 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 dimensions of a raised platform in enclosures having the dimensions indicated in Table 6.

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% in the direction of decreasing or increasing the specified dimensions is allowed. If there are sufficient scientific or veterinary reasons not to place such a shelf in the enclosure, then the area of ​​the enclosure should be 33% larger for one rabbit and 60% larger for two rabbits in order to provide them with space for normal physical activity and the ability to avoid contact with a dominant individual.

For rabbits no older than 10 weeks of age, the optimal dimensions of a raised platform are 55 cm25 cm, and its height above the floor should allow the animals to use both the platform and the space below it.

5.4.3.2 Cell bottom

Fencing with slatted floors should not be used without providing an area sufficient for all animals to rest at one time. Solid floors with underlayment or perforated floors are better than slatted or mesh floors.
ISS 13.020.01