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  • Protocol Review
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Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Wire Mesh Reasoning

Lab Animal volume 32, pages 18–19 (2003)Cite this article

Rod Messing's justification for wire mesh for his rodent study has as many holes as the flooring he prefers. Wire mesh caging has been the predominant method for housing rodents in laboratory settings for many years. Even though it has garnered praise as the most sanitary and cost-effective option, animals housed on wire mesh have been noted to develop pedal nerve damage, microscopic evidence of which has been seen in as brief a period as a few weeks1. That pressure sufficient to cause nerve damage is probably uncomfortable is an assumption supported by a study that shows that rats overwhelmingly prefer to rest in solid-bottom cages2. Although the extent of the deleterious effects of wire mesh flooring on rodent health and welfare is not fully understood, the occurrence of neurological lesions is enough to warrant its judicious use. The Great Eastern IACUC has already made the decision that the well-being of research subjects at their institution is better served by solid-bottom caging; their task now is to decide if Messing has provided them with valid scientific reasons for housing his rats on wire mesh.

Messing asserts that because rodents in similar studies have in the past been housed on wire mesh, then the rodents in his study should also be housed on wire. This reasoning is both archaic and illogical. Laboratory animal science is a dynamic field. As more is learned about pain and distress in research animals, the impetus for changes in their care is likely to be from IACUCs, whose responsibility it is to remain cognizant of new developments. Investigators wishing to circumvent IACUC-mandated changes must have valid scientific reasons for doing so.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Herring is Attending Veterinarian and Head, LAM,

    Jeanne M. Herring VMD, DACLAM

  2. Lyons is Animal Program Veterinarian,

    Heather A. Lyons VMD

  3. Ahalt is ACUC Administrator,

    Michelle M. Ahalt

  4. Bullock is Veterinary Associate, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD.,

    Julie A. Bullock BS, RLATG

Authors
  1. Jeanne M. Herring VMD, DACLAM
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  2. Heather A. Lyons VMD
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  3. Michelle M. Ahalt
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  4. Julie A. Bullock BS, RLATG
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Herring, J., Lyons, H., Ahalt, M. et al. Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Wire Mesh Reasoning. Lab Anim 32, 18–19 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0803-18b

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