One of the pillars of research at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (KIZ, CAS) is the availability of diverse, and high-quality animal models used by the Institute’s research teams. Though the use of these experimental animals in biomedical research has become more common—and valuable—over the last decade, in many locations the quality of laboratory housing and care of these animals has not been maintained in line with international guidelines.

In line with international standards for laboratory animal care, such as those laid out by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International, KIZ has recently renovated the living facilities for the various monkeys, tree shrews, and lab rats used at KIZ.

Led by the KIZ leadership in conjunction with staff at the Laboratory Animal Centre (LAC) and the branch offices, engineers and construction teams have been working throughout 2014 to complete the new facilities, which passed inspection in early 2015. These updated animal living facilities set a strong precedent for upgrading animal care facilities throughout the region. Moreover, the establishment of these facilities at KIZ marks an important step for the usage of laboratory models in developing countries like China, where application of high-caliber international standards for the treatment of animal models is a relatively new.

(By Andrew Willden)