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Institute of Animal Technology Bulletin G G G 172nd Council Report West Middlesex Symposium Report AS ET G G G Branch News Situations Vacant Diary Dates Vol 51 No 4 April 2015

Bulletin Vol 51 No 4 April 2015 EDITOR Sarah Lane bulletineditor iat org uk CONTENTS ASSISTANT EDITOR Elaine Kirkum bulletinassistant iat org uk 172nd Council Report ADVERTISEMENT MANAGERS PRC Associates Ltd mail prcassoc co uk West Middlesex Branch 4th Technicians Trade Day and Young Presenters Symposium Report Published monthly by the Institute of Animal Technology Registered Office 5 South Parade Summertown Oxford OX2 7JL ISSN 0263 2861 For enquiries other than Bulletin related contact IAT ADMINISTRATOR admin iat org uk or 0800 085 4380 Final copy date for June Bulletin 1st May The opinions expressed in the Bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or the Institute AS ET Society of Biology Joining Instructions Suppliers Register RSPCA Lay Members and Ethical Review Guidance latest edition 5 7 9 12 14 15 16 i xliv 17 Branch News 19 25 Situations Vacant 28 30 Diary Dates 31

Bulletin April 2015 5 Report on 172nd Meeting of IAT Council held on 4th March 2015 Annual Report Council approved the Annual Report for 2014 The Annual Report will be uploaded to the Members section of the website ahead of the AGM Finance The Treasurer proposed some changes to the IAT pricing structure for 2015 16 All the suggested changes will be announced at the AGM for members approval and subsequently in the AGM minutes The accounts for 2014 would also be placed on the Members section of the website NACWO Exchange The NACWO Exchange is progressing well with several institutions already signed up and interest expressed by others One issue raised was the allocation of CPD points for NACWO visits Council are content for NACWOs to claim CPD points on their CPD cards but certificates will not be issued Communications The Communications Group reported that the Youth initiative is still working well Youth Reps to meet up at an annual meeting and are contributing to the future direction of IAT policy The App has been developed following a Youth Rep suggestion and will be launched at Congress The Communications Group have also developed a starters pack for new Council Members As there will be 6 new members of Council in May the packs will be distributed and feedback sought Five Benefits of IAT Membership posters have been designed and will be rolled out during 2015 The first poster will be launched at Congress and sent out to various establishments to display Congress 2015 Plans for Congress are on going with registrations still being received Delegate numbers at this stage are on a par with previous years Education The 6th Educational Stakeholders meeting will be held on the Tuesday preceding Congress Details were released for this meeting very late and many delegates had already arranged travel to Congress It was therefore felt that a further update meeting may be required later in the year

6 April 2015 Bulletin Ofqual Annual Report The annual Ofqual report has been compiled by the Chair of the Board of Moderators and approved by Council and will now be submitted to Ofqual Website Recent issues with the IAT website have highlighted the fact that the Website Co ordinator is the only one who can administer the website Council feel that there should be some additional backup available and this will be discussed at the May Council meeting Named Persons Workshop NPW The NPW was fully subscribed and a report had been submitted for the March Bulletin Results from the online survey from the event were very positive with the general consensus that further meetings should be held NC3Rs IAT Animal Technologist Symposium The NC3Rs had approached the IAT with a request for assistance in promoting this symposium and awarding CPD points for attendance The symposium will be held in September 2015 in London Council were delighted to agree to this request NACWO Guidelines 3rd Edition The NACWO Guidelines have been updated in line with the new EU Directive Council approved the Guidelines pending comments from the Home Office Once comments have been received the Guidelines will be published on the IAT website and widely circulated Canadian Association of Laboratory Animal Science The IAT have submitted a poster on the IAT qualifications to the CALAS meeting in May 2015 The poster has been accepted It is hoped that one of the American IAT Vice Presidents will be able to display the poster on behalf of the IAT Chinese Association of Laboratory Animal Science Glyn Fisher will join a Home Office delegation visiting Beijing in March to give a presentation on animal technologists and their role in maintaining good scientific standardisation AWERB UK Concept note In the USA a group has been set up to support AWERBs The RSPCA are looking to set up a similar group in the UK and have approached the IAT to see if they wished to become involved Council agreed to be part of the initial discussions

Bulletin Farewell Council were very sad to say goodbye to a long serving member of Council John Gregory is standing down after serving 35 years on Council During that time John has held many posts including Secretary Chairman of Council and Chair of the Registration and Accreditation Board Council wished John well in his retirement and invited him to join them in a celebratory glass of wine and a piece of cake The next meeting of the IAT Council will be in May 2015 April 2015 7

Bulletin April 2015 9 WEST MIDDLESEX BRANCH 4th TECHNICIANS AND YOUNG PRESENTERS SYMPOSIUM 17th February 2015 It was a beautifully sunny morning when the West Middlesex Branch WMB committee gathered once again at UCL in Central London to prepare for our 4th Technicians Symposium and Trade Day Our venue was slightly different this year due to building works on the main site of UCL but we were lucky to be able to make use of the temporary marquee in the front quad providing most suitable accommodation for our trade participants We were especially glad of the clement weather enabling us to comfortably move between the marquee and the North Cloisters where we were to set up the registration desk and signage to the Gustave Tuck Theatre where the presentations would take place

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Bulletin April 2015 11 This year s symposium was extra special as we had joined forces with AS ET Animals in Science Education Trust which is celebrating its 5th Anniversary in 2015 AS ET is a charitable organisation set up to advance education and promote excellence in the care and welfare of animals used in science AS ET provides bursaries to technicians and others involved in our industry to further their education and training Steve Barnett is the fund raiser for AS ET and it was his idea to have a young presenters symposium with presentations and chairing of sessions being provided by younger or less experienced technicians We thought this a perfect match with our now regular yearly event which is precisely for those younger or less experienced technicians who may not have the opportunity to attend WMB Committee organisers Wendy Steel and larger meetings or Wayne Russell with Steve Barnett from AS ET conferences The WMB symposium is free of charge to all delegates and provides an ideal opportunity in a central location for networking and getting up to date with the latest technology and news from our many trade representatives Steve had done a sterling job with organising the platform sessions and we were very pleased to have a variety of very interesting presentations from various parts of the UK Our thanks go to Amy Wathen Haley Forest Ali Robinson Helen Cooper Clare Sims Emma Filby Natalie Edwards and Sharon Jones for their contributions Chairing a platform session is no mean feat when you have not done it before and it was great to see how a person who starts the day with nerves and trepidation ends up visibly buoyed and triumphant with their achievement Our thanks go to Lewis Young Anthony Iglesias and Amy Wathen Thanks are also due to Fraser Darling who did a great job of running the lecture theatre for the day and soothing all those nerves

12 April 2015 Bulletin The day was another resounding success with around 240 attendees The WMB committee would like to thank all of our trade representatives who embrace this meeting and help make it such an enjoyable event It is always a delight to meet so many younger delegates and of course the meeting would not be what it is without them and we thank their employers for allowing them the time to attend We did have a number turn up without prior registration we would not turn anybody away but for security and badge production purposes we really do need people to register Apologies to the very few who did but who did not appear on our list We hope to see you all next year West Middlesex Branch Committee

Bulletin I A T LONDON BRANCH April 2015 2 01 5 Socia lD ates 13

14 April 2015 Bulletin AS ET 5th Anniversary Year AS ET Third Special Travel Bursary Competition The third special travel bursary competition was launched at the IAT Congress 2015 Entrants must submit a 1 500 word essay on the following topic Discuss the implications of openness towards the general public regarding the use of animals in research and how openness impacts on you professionally and privately The winner of the competition will go to the AALAS National Meeting in Phoenix Arizona 1st 5th November 2015 Entries must be received by 30th June 2015 Full details and application forms are posted on the AS ET website www as et org uk AS ET First Presenters Symposium The first of our anniversary events the AS ET young presenters symposium took place on February 17th It was a great success thanks to six excellent presentations given by our speakers AS ET trustees are grateful to them see photo below and to the three first time session chairs Anthony Iglesias Lewis Young and Amy Wathen It was very generous of the IAT West Middlesex Branch to allow AS ET to collaborate with them to run the symposium at their Technician Trade Show Symposium Speakers from left Clare Sims Helen Cooper Haley Forrest Ali Robertson Amy Wathen Natalie Edwards and Emma Filby with AS ET Trustee Steve Barnett

Bulletin April 2015 15 AS ET is a charity to advance education and promote excellence in the care and welfare of animals used in science Sponsors of AS ET are listed below and to find out more please visit the website www as et org uk

Bulletin April 2015 17 A resource book for lay members of ethical review and similar bodies worldwide We are very pleased to announce that the latest edition of our popular guidance for lay members of ethical review bodies is now available The third edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to take account of the amended UK law on the use of animals in research and testing in force since 1st January 2013 and to make it more applicable to an international audience Although aimed at institutional ethical review bodies many sections are also relevant to ethical review in other contexts The aim is to facilitate the work of ethical review and similar bodies and to help those involved in particular lay or independent members better understand their role and enable them to contribute most effectively Chapters in the resource cover topics such as G G G G G G The lay member s role Finding out about the ethical review body The 3Rs Reviewing project licence applications Retrospective review of projects Beyond project review wider functions of institutional ethical review bodies contributing to the culture of care and oversight of issues such as animal housing and care and training of personnel G Visiting animal facilities G Doing ethics As well as providing useful background information explanation points to consider and practical advice the resource also contains inbuilt weblinks and helpful direction towards further reading guidance and references The publication sometimes referred to simply as the Lay Members Handbook can be accessed for free either as a pdf or as an online page turner version from www rspca org uk laymembers A small print run of hard copies will also be produced and can be requested at the production cost price of 5 00 per copy plus postage by emailing us at research animals rspca org uk Hard copies can be purchased directly at the production cost price of 5 00 per copy plus postage via the RSPCA Online Shop at http shop rspca org uk lay members handbook html

Bulletin April 2015 19 LONDON BRANCH ZOO LATES EXCURSION When the much anticipated day finally arrived our luck was in it was a beautiful sunny summer s evening and the members of the IAT London Branch gathered at the World s End Pub in Camden for a refreshing drink before heading over to the zoo London Zoo is the world s oldest scientific zoo and upon opening in April 1828 was originally intended to be a collection site for scientific research In 1847 the zoo opened up to the public and today is arguably one of the top tourist attractions in London holding one of the largest collections of animal species in the United Kingdom The Zoo Lates attraction has been running at London Zoo for several years now and provides adult visitors the unique afterhours experience of marvelling at the many fascinating animals housed there while also enjoying drinks food and a lively party atmosphere It affords an opportunity to observe the animals at a time when the zoo would normally be closed and there are always a huge variety of talks demonstrations and activities on offer to the visiting public Naturally the myriad of animal species was of great interest to our group and the gorillas were particularly fascinating to observe The colony of gorillas at London Zoo is led by a large male Silverback known as Kumbuka who since our visit has proudly fathered his first offspring with his mate Mjukuu The enclosure is designed to be as natural and engaging for the animals as possible and includes an indoor gymnasium as well as an island for the great apes The Tiger Territory exhibit was also enormously rewarding and the elevated rostrum afforded a magnificent view of the cute but possibly not so cuddly Sumatran tiger cubs This enclosure which currently houses five Sumatran tigers was officially opened in March 2013 spans an impressive 27 000 square feet in size and also features authentic Indonesian plant life Next it was on to the Into Africa exhibit an Africa themed area that was opened in April 2006 There were many beautiful and sometimes bizarre animals to see here including warthogs African wild dogs and the rather peculiar looking okapi a large

22 April 2015 Bulletin mammal most closely related to the giraffe The Rothschild s giraffes themselves were fascinating to watch from the special high level viewing platform although the enjoyment of these elegant creatures was somewhat marred by a drunken reveller who seemed intent on disturbing the animals during their feeding time This sparked an interesting debate amongst some members of the London Branch regarding whether the Zoo Lates events are really appropriate in terms of animal welfare given that they must inevitably disturb the animals to some degree There have been some unpleasant reports in the press including an incident where a man reportedly poured beer over a tiger in its enclosure However the Zoo Lates events do bring in a substantial amount of vital funding for the zoo and so perhaps the challenge facing the operators of these events is how to properly safeguard the welfare of the animals on show during the events while still maintaining a fun and unique social atmosphere Not to be put off by this minor incident our group continued to enjoy themselves immensely Abdul and Simon showed off their athletic prowess by taking part in and winning a sack race while Ross happily got his face painted to resemble a tiger and then promptly forgot about it much to the delight of his fellow commuters on the train home later who took to calling him Tony the Tiger After a surprise torrential summer downpour of rain the day wrapped up with a last few drinks at the Spread Eagle pub where the group all agreed it was a very rewarding and thought provoking excursion Special thanks to Tecniplast who very kindly sponsored this fantastic outing

Bulletin April 2015 23 OXFORD BRANCH AGM AND QUIZ On the evening of Friday February 20th we all gathered at the Oxford University social club for the annual Oxford branch AGM and quiz night There was an excellent turn out with over 100 people attending The AGM highlighted another successful year with a very interesting Scientific Symposium and a number of social events Following the AGM agenda which included both the secretary s and treasurer s reports we concluded with the election of officers Adrian Woodhouse stood down from his position as branch representative April Shipton was elected in his place and will join the committee The Chair Treasurer and Secretary all stood again and were unanimously voted on for another year Chairman Carol Williams Secretary Adrian Woodhouse Treasurer Ross Millard A couple of long standing committee members stood down and the Chair thanked them for their help over the years These were replaced by new recruits who were persuaded to join on the night Yet again our quiz master on this occasion was our versatile Treasurer Ross Millard who had prepared a variety of categories and questions The questions which required identification of two groups and songs mixed together are his signature piece We appreciate the time he had spent preparing the quiz Ross was assisted in correlating all the scores by Adrian Woodhouse and Carol Williams After a first round of true and false questions a short break was taken to enjoy a buffet and at the halfway stage a further break was taken for the raffle to occur The prizes had been kindly provided by each competing team There were some excellent prizes though much to my dismay on having a winning ticket the coat stand was in fact part of the University furniture After the final round of questions the anticipation increased as we waited for the winners to be announced and in reverse order the results were read out In third place were the winners from last year The Grim Squeakers In joint first place came Bore Off and Always the Bridesmaids After a tense tie break the Always the Bridesmaids team from the Mary Lyon Centre Harwell emerged as winners I won t mention that I was in this team

Bulletin April 2015 25 Congratulations went to winning team and well done and commiserations to all of the other teams The winners were then presented with the trophy by a representative from one of our sponsors of the evening S3 Science Thank you to all who participated in the quiz We would like to thank our sponsors for the evening S3 Science and SDS who without their generous donations these events would struggle to happen the committee members involved in organising the quiz and to all who attended John Bowler Branch Reporter

Bulletin April 2015 DIARY Dates 13 May Cambridge Branch Ten Pin Bowling Cambridge Details from OrvisR Medimmune com See page 27 20 May IAT Branch Reps Meeting London Details from www iat org uk 3 5 June AFSTAL Annual Scientific Meeting Lille France Details from www colloque afstal com 2015 4 June London Branch Catch Up The Marlborough Arms London Details from j holby ucl ac uk See page 13 9 12 June Scand LAS Annual Scientific Meeting Turku Finland Details from www scandlas org 16 June Genetics Breeding and Welfare of Laboratory Mice Cambridge Details from www nc3rs org uk 19 June LASA Care and Welfare Section LSHTM Creature Comforts Contributions to care monitoring and animal welfare in Laboratory Animal Science London Details from info lasa co uk 5 September Charity Ball London Details from elaine lbs biotech com 23 September LASA 3Rs Meeting Birth to Study 3Rs Animal Development and Transport South of England Details from info lasa co uk 25 27 November LASA Winter Meeting South of England Details from info lasa co uk Cover photo Spider monkey and baby Linda Horan 31