December 2020 : simplebooklet.com

EDITOR*Carole Wilsonbulletineditor@iat.org.ukASSISTANT EDITOR*Paul Barwoodbulletinassistant@iat.org.ukADVERTISEMENTMANAGERSPRCAssociates Ltdmail@prcassoc.co.ukPublished monthly by theInstitute of AnimalTechnology*Registered Office:5South ParadeSummertownOxfordOX2 7JLISSN 0263-2861For enquiries other thanBulletin related contact:IATADMINISTRATOR*admin@iat.org.ukor 0800 085 4380BulletinFinal copy date forAugust Bulletin23rdJuneThe opinions expressed in theBulletin do not necessarily reflectthose of the Editor or theInstitute.CONTENTSDear Readers 5___________________________________CLAST information 6-7___________________________________Welcome to MySociety –8-11The IATMembershipDatabase___________________________________BING and Branch Reps –14-15first joint meeting___________________________________AS-ET News 16-18___________________________________Diary Dates 19___________________________________Vol56No12 December 2020CONTENTSFinalcopydateforFebruary Bulletin23rdDecemberIt’sOK... NOT TO BE OKAY4Happy HolidaysDear Readers 5Council Meeting Report 7-9Animal Technology and 10-14how Igot thereCongress 2021 15Christmas Emoji Quiz 16Dispatches 17AS-ET logos 18IATWest Middlesex Branch 19Norman Mortell 21-29Dispatches 30Diary Dates 31IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 3 19/11/2020 11:25

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4It’sOK…NOT TO BE OKAY…But let’shave abit of hope and celebrate our individual differences!The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact on personal lives and work environments and duringthis unprecedented time we need unprecedented coping strategies and solutions. Media coverage isoften negative and anxiety around the futurecan often be overwhelming. Resilience and adaptabilityseem to be the new normal in overcoming every day challenges.As Animal Technicians we strive to ensure the care and welfare of animals under our care is to thehighest standards possible, even when the external environment provides its challenges. The animalsare our primary responsibility and that is why we are so committed to the role we carry out day inand day out. Our achievement is to ensure we can contribute to the development of science in theUK by individually doing our bit.As the crisp autumnal days have been and gone, and the sky turns darker there is alight at the endof the tunnel and that light comes from each one of us.It takes acertain type of individual to be extremely committed and conduct the role of animaltechnician and our individuality is what makes us all unique. The way we view,experience and copein the world are unique attributes belonging to each person. Uniqueness should be acelebration andis what enriches and bonds teams in animal facilities together.The holiday season is fast approaching and whatever our demographic, geographic, individual beliefsand individual differences are, we all are cheered by bright lights, good food, virtual family andfriends, and hope in the darkness.As the end of 2020 looms and 2021 begins, we can say goodbye to ayear that will go down in historywhich you, as key workers, have been an immeasurable part of. We can celebrate anew year ofhope, abrighter future and look forward to fresh starts and whatever 2021 may bring, safe in theknowledge that we are doing our utmost for the animals in our care, the advancement of science andthe ultimate ﬁght to make the world abetter place.Happy Holidays!Equality and Diversity GroupIt’s OK …NOT TO BE OKAY …But let’s have abit of hope and celebrate our individual differences!Mental HealthAwarenessInstitute ofAnimal TechnologyCOUNCILIAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 4IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 4 19/11/2020 11:2519/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 5Keep Reading!Keeeeeeeeeeeeeee pepepepeepeepepp Reaeaeaaeaeaeae dadadadaadadaddididididiididinnngngnggngngngng!aeaeaadadaddadadiidididid ngggIcannot believe aannootthheerr yyeeaarr hhass paassedand what astranggee oonnee iithas been. 2020 startedd oofffso promisinggllyy.. IInn February Paul, the deputy editorand Iwenntt ooff to aconference in the USA and barelyyythree wwweeeeks after we returned the world startedto sshhhuuutdown. Iwas lookinnngforward to going toEEdddiiinburgh for the joint ASSSTmeeting, especially as aﬁﬁﬁsh sessionhad beenarranged, but we all know thatit became untenable and bbbythe time it was due wewere in lockdown and havvving to change our workingpatterns. Ihad not heard ooofZoom or TEAMs this time laaast year andnow Irely on them for eveeery meeting Ihave, including the IAT Councilmeetings, see pages 7–9tosee what we have been dissscussing the lasssttime we met.OOOnnneeeooofffttthhheeettthhhiiinnngggssswwwaaasssttthhheee 777000thAAAnnnnnniiivvveeerrrsssaaarrryyyccceeellleeebbbrrraaatttiiiooonnnsss,,, those which wwwereto be held in person have had to be postponed but hopppefully we canstill celebrate atalater daaate. Another thing the Bulletinnnhas been doingis running recollections of earlier times and this month is no different.PatrickHayes (pages 10 –14)and NormanMortell(pages21–29)recaaalltheirmemories of days goooneby, with Norman providingggsome veryentertaining pictures of hiiislife in Animal Technology!If you are not thinking of aaatrip down memory lane, or yyyour memoriesssdonotreach that farback, then the BING team brings us riggght up to date wwwithan Emoji competition (page 16). Something noton theagggenda in the 7000s!IIIssstttaaarrrttteeedddbbbyyysssaaayyyiiinnngggttthhhiiisss hhhaaaddddbbbeeeeeennnaaa ssstttrrraaannngggeeeyyyeeeaaarrraaannndddiiittt hhhhaaasssbbbeeeeeennn, pppeeerrrhhhaaaapsnext year will be equally as odd but hopefullybyChristmas 2021, wewwwill be able to meet again in person –but even though things are veryyyddiiffffffeeerrreeennntttttthhhiiisssyyyeeeaaarrr, wwweeessstttiiillllllnnneeeeeedddtttooouuussseeettthhheeessseeehhhooollliiidddaaayyyssstttooossspppeeennndddsssooommmeeetimee rreelaxing and contemplating. Take care of yourselves, you fammiillyandfriends, eeaach other and your animals. Until 2021…Dear ReadersCaroleIAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 5 19/11/2020 11:25

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6Developed to look like natural nesting materials suchas thin grass stems, Nesting Cups are made from highquality, food approved ne kraft paper in preformedportions, available in 4g, 6g, 8g, 10g & 12g sizes.•Low dust product.•Ready for use straight out of the box, withoutadditional actions.•Easy to dose per cage.•You know the xed costs per cage with each use.•Helps mice with their thermoregulation andreduces stress.•Analysis available.•Autoclavable.Tel: +44 (0)1293827940Email: sales@lbs-biotech.comContact LBS -your trusted supplier, servingthe needs of the Biotechnology Industrywww.lbs-biotech.comNesting CupsDose controlled nesting material enabling miceto full their natural instincts. Suppliedexclusively in the UK by LBS.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 6 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 7203rdMeeting of the Council of the IATHeld by Zoom on 23rdSeptember 2020 at 13.00 hoursE-newslettersHave proved to be avery successful way to keep members informed during thepandemic. Council agreed that these should be produced on amonthly basis, tocomplement the Bulletin.The Home Ofﬁce asked that the IATre-share the Feeding and Wateringguidance document. This will be linked in the next e-newsletter as well as theNovember Bulletin. It is also available on the website – www.iat.org.uk.Pleasedo have alook at this guidance if you haven’talready seen it.Anniversary BallVery sadly the Anniversary Ball can no longer go ahead. 2020 is the 70thAnniversary of the IATand the 10thAnniversary of AS-ET and celebrations werescheduled to take place throughout the year, culminating in the AnniversaryBall in November.Itishoped that these celebrations can take place at alaterdate.IATMembership databaseThe membership side of the new database is now fully up and running. Newmembers can register and existing members can make renewal payments andamend their details directly through the database. Members can also selecttheir preference on receiving hard copies of the Bulletin.If you haven’talready checked out your proﬁle, it is easy to do. Simply go tohttps://my.iat.org.uk and request anew password. This will be sent through tothe e-mail address we have registered for you. If you are an existing memberbut don’treceive anew password, please contact the IATAdministrator(admin@iat.org.uk)who will be able to check the password we have on recordfor you. Once in your record, you can change the password to something morememorable. Youcan then check your contact details and see your proﬁle.The education side of the database is nearing completion. Once fullyoperational, students will be able to register via the database and will be ableto check their progress. IATmembers will also be able to upload CPD to theirrecord.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 7 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin8 • December 2020MIATand FIATapplicationsApplications for MIATstatus were approved for:Jocelyn GrantAmy FerreiraSinead RolloMatthew LawsonIwona LozaAgata StramekMark HarringtonJasmin ChapmanHayley Matthews Jay O’BrienApplications for FIATstatus were also approved for:Matthew Bilton Ian Bagley Emma Tozer Jolene HammondsCongratulations to all the successful applicants.Andrew Blake Tribute Award(ABTA)Council were delighted to hear that the ABPI have conﬁrmed their continuingsponsorship of the ABTAfor 2021. The closing date for entries was 13thNovember2020.Council ElectionsFollowing the successful advertising run, there are several new candidateswishing to stand for election to Council. If the number exceeds two newapplications an election will be held and the results announced at the AGM tobe held in March 2021.Veterinary Invertebrate SocietyAMemorandum of Understanding has been drawn up between the IATand theVeterinary Invertebrate Society (VIS). The overarching aim of the partnershipis to increase the knowledge and visibility around invertebrate health andveterinary needs in the laboratory.Speciﬁc objectives are:– Understand the scope of invertebrate use in the laboratory setting.– Identify unmet needs of invertebrate health and veterinary care forinvertebrates in the laboratory.– Identify and promote best practice for invertebrate use in science.– Provide expert advice to the members of both societies.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 8 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 9Activities to be delivered by the partnership are:– Frequent short articles about invertebrates for the IATBulletin. Target –monthly.– Jointly produce “Good Practice Guidelines” for the care of invertebratesin laboratories.– Establish apanel for VIS member veterinarians willing to adviselaboratories on invertebrate health issues.IATPublicationsThere have been issues during the pandemic with typesetting. This is nowhopefully rectiﬁed. The Bulletin is also back on schedule, being published anddispatched at the beginning of the relevant month. In order to keep to theprinting schedule, the deadlines for article submissions must be strictly adheredto. All material must be received by the editor before the 23rdof the monthtwo months ahead of the intended issue. For example, an article received on22ndSeptember will appear in the November issue.Tech MonthCouncil agreed that it is more important than ever that Tech Month iscelebrated in 2021. The Communications Group will prepare details for avirtual Tech Month and how everyone can take part. Look out for details in theBulletin, on the website, in e-newsletters and on social media.BINGCouncil congratulate BING for the “On our doorstep” photograph montageswhich have been published in the Bulletin. These were aselection of photostaken during lockdown by IATmembers of their local areas.Registration &Accreditation BoardThe Registration &Accreditation Board were delighted to report that RAnTechinterviews are once again able to take place. It had been agreed that duringthe pandemic, interviews could be held via Zoom. This had worked well in theinterviews held so far and the Board would consider whether this would remainan option going forward. Zoom interviews do reduce travel and the associatedcosts. Panels can convene more easily and waiting times for interviews can bereduced.The next meeting of the Council of the Institute will be held in December 2020.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 9 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin10 • December 2020Animal Technology and How IGot ThereItwas spring 1962 when Iwas taken out of school(private) by my father the term before Iwas dueto sit my ‘O’ levels. Being aNaval Commander,he was determined that at least one of hissons would follow him into the Navy.Myolder brother had point-blank refused. Somy father, inhis wisdom, had decided hecould save further school fees by gettingme enlisted and completing my educationat their expense. Agrand plan, except thatIwas rejected at the medical due to short-sightedness, so offwewent to the RAF recruitingofﬁce and again Iwas rejected, this time for amurmur on my heart.My father then turned to me and said ‘Well, you’re not joining the Army sowhat do you want to do?’. Iexpressed an interest in Agriculture and the nextthing Iwas signed up for a16-week introductory course run by the YMCA. Atthe end of this Iwas ‘posted’ to amixed dairy/arable farm in Dorset. OfﬁciallyIwas assistant to the Dairyman but in reality was involved in all aspects of aworking farm. My days started at 5.00am with getting the dairy herd in formilking, initially all by hand until about 6months later when anew milkingparlour was installed. Modernisation had found its way to our corner of Dorset!After milking was breakfast, followed by whatever other jobs were on-goingdepending on the time of year until the afternoon milking at about 4.00pm.The day ﬁnished at about 6.30pm with an evening meal, abit of telly and bedby 9.00pm. For this Iwas paid aprincely sum of £5.00/week but included fullboard living in the main farmhouse. The nearest town was 6miles away soopportunities for any social life or spending any money were pretty limited!Twoyears on the farm, followed by ayear at Agriculture College to gainmy 1st formal qualiﬁcation and Ifound myself standing outside the CentralVeterinary Laboratory, Weybridge (as it was then and actually in New Haw!).Ihad applied for and been accepted as an Experimental Worker –Iwasn’tsureif this was ajob title or Iwas going to be part of astudy! Iwas provided withapair of wellies and abrown coat (this was my PPE!) and sent offtocare foravariety of farm animals depending on what was on site at the time. Afterabout 9months Iwas posted to an outlying farm to manage aminimal diseasepig herd. This was my ﬁrst experience of apart barrier unit. Apart frommyself, there were 3other members of staffand avet overseeing the unit.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 10 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 11The vet had an ofﬁce outside the barrier and only came into the unit asnecessary.Visitors were strictly limited –not even the farm manager hadright of access! All staffhad complete changes of clothing (includingunderwear!) that was laundered on site, bags of diet and bedding (shavings)were delivered into aloft from outside the barrier and the outer wrappingremoved before being taken into the pig units. Straw was also delivered thisway and was supplied from land that had no contact with livestock, althoughthere was some risk that contamination could occur from vermin or birdsbefore delivery.It was during this time that Ilearned about the IAT. Afriend of mine wasmanaging the small animal unit on the main site and he had made contact withpeople at the Laboratory Animal Centre, Carshalton. He persuaded me to gowith him to meet the people at Carshalton and, long story short, Ijoined theIATand we eventually helped form the Surrey Branch. At this point Irealisedworking with small animals offered better career prospects and so Iembarkedupon the courses offered by the IATeven though Ihad very limited experienceof small animals. Ipassed the Intermediate followed by the Associateship andeventually gained my Fellowship.Armed with this new-found knowledge Iapplied for atransfer to manage thesmall animal unit at the Royal Army Medical College in Central London. Thiswas primarily adiagnostic unit with labs staffed by both civilian and militarypersonnel and receiving samples from all over the world wherever armypersonnel were based. At one point, Iwas involved in obtaining samples frommembers of acertain elite unit based in Hereford! The work required that Ihold aHome Ofﬁce licence and, at that time, applications required sponsorshipby 2senior members of the medical profession –not aproblem in an ArmyMedical College! So very quickly Iwas in possession of an ELA licence thatpretty much gave me free rein over awide range of species including ones Iwasn’tworking with! The Home Ofﬁce Inspector then was an ex Army doctorand coincided his visits with functions in the Ofﬁcers Mess!The unit was situated in the basement of the college and consisted of 2stockholding/breeding rooms –one for rats and mice and the other for rabbits andguinea pigs, and aroom for housing guinea pigs being used for TB diagnosis.There were also 4small isolation rooms leading offfrom the rat and mouseroom. The TB room and isolation rooms were supposedly under negativepressure to the other rooms but there were no indicators to conﬁrm this andthere were no other barriers. The 2holding rooms and the TB room led offfrom acentral area which was used to store diet and bedding and clean cagesat one end with alarge double sink for cage washing (there was no cagewasher!) and alarge autoclave like an oversized pressure cooker at the other.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 11 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin12 • December 2020The door to the autoclave was secured by anumber of locking wheels similarto water-tight doors in old warships. These had to be tightened in sequenceto ensure the door was completely secure against the seal so there was noleakage of steam once under pressure. At the end of this central area therewas aset of steps with awindow that opened out at ground level throughwhich all deliveries were made. In another part of the basement there was anincinerator where all soiled bedding and carcasses were disposed. There wereno environmental controls and so heating and ventilation were as supplied tothe rest of the College.There was no operating budget for the unit. Being Ministry of Defence, diet(RM1 maintenance and RM3 breeding for rodents and RG3 for the rabbits andguinea pigs), any caging equipment and the guinea pigs were all suppliedfrom Porton Down. Bedding (sawdust) was obtained from alocal saw mill andhay for the rabbits and guinea pigs from afarmer willing to drive into centralLondon with acouple of bales. The bedding and hay was paid for through theCollege’scash account. Apart from the guinea pigs, all other species were bredon site. Shredded paper for nesting material for the breeding rodents camefrom the College admin staffand fresh greens for the rabbits and guinea pigscame from the College kitchens. Guinea pigs were also given ascorbic acid intheir water bottles freshly made up every day.Stock guinea pigs and rabbits were housed in galvanised cages with grid ﬂoors,mice in polypropylene M2 or MB1 depending on group size and the rats inRB3s. The guinea pigs in the TB room were housed individually in RB3 cages.The occasional sore hocks occurred in the rabbits and were treated by dailywashing with saline and extra hay in the cage. There was no veterinary cover.Eventually with the advent of aluminium caging with plastic perforated ﬂoors,Iwas able to persuade the College to replace all the galvanised caging.Apart from myself there was one other technician. Iwas responsible for mostof the procedures e.g. injections, blood sampling, etc. Where any anaesthesiawas required the choice was between ether for short term or pentobarbitonefor long term. Ether was deployed in asafety cabinet with adomed jar,awadof cotton wool soaked in ether and agrid to prevent contact between theanimal and the ether.With pentobarbitone there was aﬁne line betweenachieving anaesthesia and the animal not recovering so exact calculations wereimperative!From the RAMC Itook up aposition as one of two senior technicians atthe MRC Research Facility at Northwick Park and eventually became ChiefTechnician. Compared with the College this was aspace-age facility! There weretwo ﬂoors, the upper ﬂoor housing an SPF unit and rooms with SPF qualityIAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 12 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 13animals and also aseparate isolation suite for infection work. Labs for researchstaff, changing rooms, atea room and ofﬁces were also on this ﬂoor.The lowerﬂoor housed conventional animals: rodents, farm animals, aprimate facility, aseparate diet and bedding store and acage wash area with (oh joy!) atunnelcage washer and adedicated post-mortem room. There was also asuite of smallprocedure rooms and an operating theatre. The isolation suite was ﬁtted withadouble-ended autoclave that could also be used as asingle end machine fromthe clean side. There was also adouble-ended autoclave for supplies into theSPF unit. Adunk tank was available for heat labile materials. Technical staffwere provided with T-shirts and trousers and appropriate footwear for thearea they were working in. SPF staffwere required to shower into the unit andadditional colour coded PPE was provided for those in the infection suite andprimate facility.During this time diet and bedding supplies had been transformed. Dietformulas had become more species speciﬁc and geared to whether animalswere stock or breeding. Expanded diet for rodents had been developed thatwas micro-biologically cleaner and less wasteful than the standard pelletedvariety.Irradiated diet was available for SPF animals and bales of irradiatedhay for guinea pigs and rabbits. Bedding was now graded and dust free andenrichment items were available for all species. Although rabbits were singlyhoused they were provided with enrichment items and had reduced noiseplastic perforated ﬂoors. Guinea pigs were group housed in solid ﬂoored cagesand rodents had polypropylene cage bases with stainless steel lids either ﬂator raised as appropriate. The large primates went from being singly housed togroup housing in double height caging in banks of four.They also had theirown television in the room! The colony of marmosets were housed in familygroups in tall stainless-steel units ﬁtted with avariety of enrichment items.This was the era of animal rights activists targeting animal units and suppliersand even IATCongresses so security of the unit was an issue. Access to the unitwas by individual card holders via alink corridor with the main building with acard reader at both ends of the corridor acting as asecurity air-lock. All externaldoors to the facility were alarmed and the alarm was linked to the adjacenthospital security ofﬁce.It was while working here that Iﬁrst met akeen young vet whose mission wasto develop and improve methods of anaesthesia and analgesia in small animals.We started running courses for technicians and research staffboth internallyand externally teaching both injectable and gaseous applications. Ether hadbeen banned and pentobarbitone was only used for euthanasia! The facilitywas also one of only two in the UK licensed to teach micro-surgery in rodentswith recovery.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 13 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin14 • December 2020This young vet then left to take up aposition as Director of abrand-new animalfacility at the Medical School of Newcastle University.Acouple of years later Ireceived acall inviting me to apply to be facility manager of this unit. Iworkedin Newcastle for 23 years and retired in 2010.The rest as they say is history!Over the past 30 –40years the landscape of Animal Technology has changeddramatically.Wehave seen the development of equipment such as ﬂexibleﬁlm isolators, IVCs and robotics. Animal supply and quality of animals is morerigorously controlled with SPF animals common-place and the developmentof germ free and GA animals. Legislation introduced personal and projectlicences with mandatory training for applicants, Named persons required forall establishments using animals with legal responsibility for ensuring highstandards of care and welfare and users undergoing appropriate training forthe work they wish to do and AWERBS with responsibility to challenge andmonitor the projects within their establishments.In respect of security the threat from animal rights activists has receded.Establishments and scientists are now far more open and transparent about thework they do and the continuing need to use animals. Although facilities stillhave security systems in place, the emphasis is now on bio-security rather thanthe physical security of the premises and the people working there.Amongst all this the Animal Technicians, whose passion for the animals intheir charge and continual improvement of their environment with theirinventiveness and imagination, have helped to drive forward the high standardsof care and welfare we see today ultimately leading to better science.Backing all this up is the IATwho give a‘voice’ to technicians through theirpublications, meetings and Congresses. Disseminating best practice in care andwelfare and being involved in discussions with legislators and other scientiﬁcorganisations. Additionally, providing an educational structure to degreelevel that is accepted and recognised by employers in the UK and many othercountries around the world.It has been quite ajourney but one in which Iamproud to have played asmallpart.Patrick HayesIAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 14 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 17Dispatches...UFAW invites nominations for two prestigiousanimal welfareawardsAspart of its commitment to science in the service of animal welfareand encouraging the next generation of animal welfare scientists,the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW)isseekingnominations for two of its prestigious awards to be made in 2021.Animal welfare science plays afundamental and important role in theadvancement of our knowledge and understanding of animals’ needs and howbest to meet them. The UFAW Medal for Outstanding Contributions to AnimalWelfare Science recognises the exceptional achievements of an individualscientist who has made amajor contribution to the advancement of animalwelfare. It is open to individuals whose research, teaching, service or advocacyhas signiﬁcantly beneﬁted the welfare of animals. Nominated candidatesmay be based anywhere in the world. The winner of the award will receive acheque for £1,000, acommemorativemedal and framed award certiﬁcate.Previous winners of the UFAW Medal include Professors Dan Weary of theUniversity of British Columbia, Canada; Sandra Edwards, School of Agriculture,Food and Rural Development, at Newcastle University, UK; Paul Hemsworth ofthe University of Melbourne, Australia; Georgia Mason of the Department ofAnimal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Canada and Paul Flecknell,Professor of Laboratory Animal Science &Director of Comparative BiologyCentre at Newcastle University, UK.The Early Career Researcher of the Year (formerly known as the Young AnimalWelfare Scientist of the Year) is aprize that recognises the achievements ofayoung scientist who has made signiﬁcant contributions to improving thewelfare of animals. This award is open to students anywhere in the worldcurrently studying for adoctoral degree and to post-doctoral scientists whoare within six years of completing their PhD work. The winner of this awardwill receive acheque for £1,000 and aframed award certiﬁcate.Nominations for either award may be made on behalf of an individual or acandidate may nominate themselves. Nominees must be aware that they arebeing nominated for an award. Further information and nomination forms foreither award can be found on the websitewww.ufaw.org.uk/grants-and-awardsor by emailing goodwin@ufaw.org.uk.The closing date for completednominations is Friday 4thDecember 2020.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 17 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 19IATWest Middlesex BranchAnnual Technician SymposiumWe are sorry to announce that, due to the current climateand other factors, the 2021 symposium will not go ahead.The committee would like to thank all of our friends andcolleagues who have supported this event during past yearsand would like to assure you that we are looking ahead to2022, when we hope things will be back on track. We wishall fellow Animal Technologists and our trade colleagues wellduring these unprecedented times, and hope to see you allagain soon.West Middlesex Branch committeeIAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 19 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin20 • December 2020INHALATION ANAESTHESIA EQUIPMENT AND SERVICESOMNI Scientific is centered on the animal welfareandresearch community with afocus on clinical accuracy,clinician/technician safety, economic performanceandintuitivefunctionality.SOMNIPROVIDES UNPARALLELED CUSTOMERSERVICE, CLINICAL ANDTECHNICAL SUPPORT.(T) 0800 0129101 (D) 01872248890(M) 07798 969805enquiries@somniscientific.comwww.somniscientific.co.ukSCHEDULE SERVICETODAY0800 0129101Inspection of the carrier gassystem(O2,Air,N2O,etc.) including flowmeters, flowcontrol, seals, regulators,quick disconnects,and hosesInspection of fresh gasdeliverysystem(rebreathing system, non-rebreathingsystem, induction chamber,etc.)Cleaning and lubrication whereappropriate:•Inspection of all tubing, conduit, stopcocks,valves, O2 flush, etc.•Inspection of the wasteanaesthetic gasmanagement system(s)•Provide adetailed report foreach systemSpecialising in anaesthesia systems specific toAnimal Health and Welfare.•ISO 13485:2003 standards.•Clinical and technical support.Vaporisersare lifecritical, precision instrumentsWhen manufactured and serviced properly,theywilldeliver accurate concentrations of anaesthetic agent.VeterinaryServiceandVaporiser CalibrationYour Healthis ImportantMachine ServiceMachine Serviceenquiries@somniscientific.com www.somniscientific.co.ukIAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 20 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 21Norman Mortell, 40 YearsinAnimalTechnology,asthe IATreaches its 70th year!Ileft school in 1976 when glam rock was on the waneand punk rock was on the rise, apint of beer was about20p in today’smoney.Atschool Istudied the historyof architecture, technical drawing and constructiontechnology and wanted to be an architect. Iwent tocollege and did further qualiﬁcations in surveying andconstruction but when Ileft there was ahuge recessionand there were no jobs to be had in the constructionsector.So, Iwent with amate to join the Royal Navy.Hewas rejected but joinedthe Merchant Navy and Iwas accepted subject to amedical. Unfortunately Icontracted Shingles and was told they could not re-do my medical for 6monthsdespite the fact that otherwise Iwas as ﬁt as abutcher’sdog. Disappointed,Ireviewed my qualiﬁcations which also included Maths, English and Biologyand without an Internet in those days Iscoured the Manchester Evening Newsjob section for opportunities. Luckily,Isaw an advert for an Animal HusbandryTechnician at the University of Manchester Medical School.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 21 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin22 • December 2020Being aworking class Salford lad my ﬁrst question was “what is husbandry?”.Ihad no idea, but Ihad always had akeen interest in animals and at schoolthere was an animal club where you had to let asnake lick your nose to beallowed to join! So, Iapplied and despite my Mam dropping me offatUMIST,lost, Iran afew miles across the University campus to be greeted by Terry Priestat the Medical School entrance –lucky Iwas ﬁt otherwise Iwould never havemade it. Ihad no idea about animal research but was very interested, despiteone of the senior technicians who shall remain nameless testing me on the tourby dropping alarge rat into my hands to see my reaction! Imust have passedthe test and began 4.5 happy years.Besides meeting great people, many of whom Iamstill in contact with, Ilearnedalot. Ispent 6months or so in each area working with rats, mice, rabbits, dogs,pigs, ferrets, snails and even green backed baboons. Ilearned what husbandryreally meant for each species and attended Macclesﬁeld College (taught byBob Kemp and Mrs Parker) and passed my Intermediate, Associate and beganmy Fellowship course in consecutive years. The Uni was agreat advocate offurther education and supporter of the Institute of Animal Technology (IAT).We attended many local IATevents that were both educational and social.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 22 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 23Iwas always abit opinionated and something of ajoker, nicknaming GrahamMorrissey (now the director at the Uni) George, as his locker sticker said GMorrissey and Itold everybody his name was George –heisstill called Georgeby many people today.Many of us played football together,5aside and11 aside and always looked forward to our annual game against LiverpoolUniversity animal unit –agame we usually won! Technicians got achance to goto the IATCongress on arolling and reward basis and Ithoroughly enjoyed myﬁrst, excellent talks and posters inspired me to do some myself in later life.Ienjoyed meeting so many like-minded career animal carers –the social sidewas excellent too. My time at the Uni was excellent and when Idecided tofurther my career at AstraZeneca (then ICI), Terry’slast words to me weresomething like “Shame, you could have been agreat technician if could havelearned to keep your mouth shut” –hewas right at the time.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 23 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin24 • December 2020AstraZeneca (AZ) meant an increaase from myusual 5mile cycle eachway to woork to a15milecycle and atrain ride. Idid later gget amotorcyclewhich made the journey easier appart from inwinter and any time itrained ofccourse. Ilearnedalot about experimental techniquuesand study design for drug discoveery,attending numerous courses incluudingmany run by the IAT. AZ also ran ccoursesand hosted local IAT branch eventtsandoffered me the opportunity to atttendCongress again too. AZ introducedddcontinental shifts which offerednot only an opportunity to earnabit more money butalso extraovertime covering colleaguesexpertly timed holidays.Unfortunately, the rest of thesite were not on the shifts and soit failed. The AZ site was wonderfful,with amere in the middle andnumerous clubs and onsite facilitiesincluding the Stanley Arms pub–- who could want more? Luckily, Imanaged to get another position onthe same site moving from AZ’sSaafetyof Medicines to the Central ToxicoologyLaboratory where Iteamed up aggainwith Dave Barker after working wwithhim at the Uni. We were instrumeental indeveloping new welfare based huusbandrysystems as well as learning moreaaboutdrug development, I also learned how tobreakdance wearing amotorbike hhheeelllmmmeeettt!!!In 1984 the aforementioned Dave Barker got ajob with the Roma ToxicologyCentre (RTC) near Rome in Italy working for Dave Spillane (another hugeadvocate of the IAT). Afew months later Ihad the opportunity to apply forateam leader role at RTC. The week long interview included working in thefacility and making my own way on foot from my lodgings to the facility asDave Swas “ahem” under the weather following aboozy interview meal thenight before –luckily my sense of direction and ﬁtness at the time meant Ipassed the test.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 24 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 25Supervising an Italian team without speaking Italian had its challenges, but wewent to language classes and our Italian workmates also tried to speak abitof English. It is the only time Iwill ever be amillionaire (in Italian Lira, therewere about 2,300 Lira to the pound), pay day was funny, you got achequethat you took to the bank, there was amass of people who had also just beenpaid and armed guards at the entrance. It was one in and one out via an air-lock, then another mass bun ﬁght to get to the counter, passport copied, thenyour cheque added to apile that was then passed to the cashiers ofﬁce (if youwere last on the pile you would get served ﬁrst and vice versa). Then, anothermass throng in the cashiers room to wait until your name was called out tothen get paid –phew! What Idid like was that the salary was calculated in 14instalments so that in June and December you received double pay! We workedhard and played hard, Rome wasn’tfar away and we lived ashort walk toTorvaianica beach with bars and restaurants. Interestingly after 7pm there wereonly men out and about locally and so we often went to Rome for the nightlifeand concerts.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 25 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin26 • December 2020From Italy Imoved to Hazleton (now Covannnce), startingoffasateam leader and ending up managgging all ofthe rodent facilities and around 70 staff. Icccontinuedmy supervisory and management training and formalcourses over the next 15 years up to degreelevel.Ididn’tknow anybody so joined the local fffootball teamand helped to organise Covance social events.Ialso got actively involved at the IATatbraaanchlevel, chairing the York and North East brancheswhilst also being voted onto the main IATCouncil. Iwanted to make adifference andddworkwith the Council to modernise communicatttionwith the membership and to develop amoooredynamic IAT. Besides management responsssibilitiesIbecame actively involved in training others andundertook courses to develop these skills. TTThroughIAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 26 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 27the IATand at Congress Ipublished several posters, papers and presentationson performance related training, welfare and enrichment and the designingof animal facilities. My role grew at Covance as the rodent capacity andcapabilities developed and we implemented Quality Management Systemsbefore Ileft in 2001 to join Agenda Resource Management (Agenda).So, Ihad worked in Academia, the Pharmaceutical sector and Contract researchand now continued my career with Agenda who are acommercial organisationproviding contract staff, facility management services and selling advertisingin Lab Animal Europe magazine. It was avery different job but over the yearswe developed the business winning several awards for initiatives such as theWelfare First Programme, openness and public outreach, research facilitysecurity threats and latterly pre-employment screening principles.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 27 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin28 • December 2020The company grew tremendously and provided me with even moreopportunities to work with the IATlocally and at national level, with frequenttrips abroad to train others, present posters and presentations and to liaisewith our international colleagues. Ihad anumber of articles and paperspublished by the IAT, LASA and in other publications such as aco-authoredchapter on research security risks in the Management of Animal Care and UsePrograms guidebook. Icontinued my development with numerous trainingcourses, sat on the local Institute of Directors and National Pre-employmentBackground Screeners boards and helped to set up the Humber BusinessResilience Forum with the police and University of Hull to raise awareness ofcyber crime. Prior to retiring at the end of 2018 after 17 years Iwas delightedto receive the Honorary Member award by the IAT.28 • December 2020BulletinDecember 2020IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 28 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 29Over those 40 years Ilearned that you are never too old to learn, to treatpeople at every level with respect, to actively participate within yourorganisation and with key groups such as the IAT(no point sitting on yourbackside moaning). Never lose sight of your key reason for being, the care andwelfare of the animals and try to stay healthy (physically and mentally).My regrets are few,Icertainly learned from my mistakes but as Iprogressedmy career Ifound that besides gaining weight in amore sedentary role Ialsomoved further away from the animals that got me interested in the ﬁrst place.Iamnot complaining though, Ihave enjoyed my career and believe that if youwork hard, maintain your sense of humour, use common sense, continuallydevelop yourself and have the long term stamina to succeed –you will!Finally, thank you to all of the organisations that Ihave worked for,Ihavelearned alot at each one and made some great friends. Ialso want to thankthe IATfor the role it has played in my development and that of countlessothers, Iwish you the very best of luck going forward. Congratulations on your70th year,Ihope that there will be many more to come.Charity work with Agenda.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 29 19/11/2020 11:25

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Bulletin30 • December 2020Dispatches...UFAW announces exciting programme ofvirtual meetingsThe Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW)has justannounced an exciting programme of virtual meetings andconferences following the success of its popular Recent advances inanimal welfare science VII meeting earlier this year.On 3-4 November 2020, in ajoint venture with both The Swiss Federal FoodSafety and Veterinary Ofﬁce (FSVO) and the Humane Slaughter Association(HSA), UFAW is hosting afree online symposium entitled Humanely Endingthe Life of Animals.The conference continues agrowing initiative toidentify, reﬁne and implement alternative methods to CO2for humanelyending the life of mice, rats, poultry and pigs to improve animal welfare inthe laboratory, the slaughterhouse and during emergency depopulation.The symposium will comprise keynote lectures from an international panelof experts, including an introduction to the basic sciences underlying killingand stunning and, for the ﬁrst time, presentations selected from submittedabstracts. Details of the meeting can be found at www.ufaw.org.uk/fsvo.On 29-30 June 2021, Recent Advances in animal welfare science VIII will takeplace as afree virtual event, with talk and poster abstracts submissions aswell as registration for the meeting opening soon (submission deadline 11thJanuary 2021). Other virtual meetings and conferences are currently beingformulated and will be announced in due course.These conferences and meetings are part of UFAW’s ongoing commitmentto improving animal welfare through increased scientiﬁc understandingof animals’ needs and how best these can be met. They are invaluable inreaching audiences around the world and bringing together on avirtualstage, scientists, veterinarians, policy makers and others to share knowledge,the latest advances and to exchange views and ideas.It is also still possible to view the recordings from the Recent Advances inAnimal Welfare Science VII conference, which was held 30 June-1 July thisyear and featured revered speakers from across the globe and covered awide variety of topics. To ﬁnd out more about the meetings programme,please see the UFAW website www.ufaw.org.uk/events.IAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 30 19/11/2020 11:25

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BulletinDecember 2020 • 31Front cover: Christmas Photo: Ian Treves Enhancement: Karen DunfordDIARY DatesEvents/Dates subject to change due to the current quarantinesituation and possible ongoing restrictions.1-3 December2020 AFSTAL CongressMarseilleDetails:https://www.colloque-afstal.com/2020/2DecemberIntroduction for NTCOsOnlineDetails:training@redkitevets.co.uk4DecemberLASA online coffee morningOnlineDetails:info@lasa.co.uk8 DecemberRSPCA Lay Members WorkshopSouth WestDetails:research.animals@rspca.org.uk10-11 DecemberNACWO Introduction courseDetails:InsourcingSolutionsUK@crl.com17 DecemberPIL AB Pig &old world primateOnlineDetails:info@LearnCurveDevelopment24 FebruaryHitchhikers guide to yourestablishmentOnlineDetails:info@lasa.co.ukIAT DEC BULLETIN20.indd 31 19/11/2020 11:25

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