The use of animals in biomedical research saved, prolonged and improved the quality of life of billions of people and animals. Without the use of animals in research, we could not enjoy the benefit of most of the medical treatments and devices that our health care provider offers. Among these are orthopedic surgeries, organ implants, neonatal care, assisted reproduction, oncology treatments, vaccines, diabetes care, dialysis and many more.

The scientists of Ben Gurion University (BGU) strive to replace animal models with tissue cultures, computer simulations and human studies. In some instances, the use of animal models is the only possible way to answer scientific questions and to find cure or relief for severe and complex medical problems. In those instances, we use the minimal number of animals needed for the study and refine the experimental methods to minimize the pain and suffering of the animals. Refinement methods include prevention of infectious diseases, environmental enrichment, the use of anesthesia and analgesia and defining clear humane endpoint criteria for the experiments.

Animal welfare assurance

BGU operates the animal care and use program according to Israel's Animal Welfare Act (animal experimentation) 1994 and follows the NIH Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NRC 2011). The Israeli Council for Animal Experimentation of the Ministry of Health oversees the BGU's animal care and use program. In addition, the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) fully accredits BGU's program since 2014. Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) Assurance until 31/03/2028.

BGU has state of the art, modern animal facilities for rodents and large animal species. The facilities allow keeping the animals in controlled environment (illumination, temperature and humidity) and free of specific pathogens (SPF) as described below. The enclosure size meets the physiological, behavioral and social needs for each species. The facilities are equipped with advanced medical equipment for anesthesia, surgeries, metabolic assessment, irradiation, and imaging.

Housing of rodents:

In two main facilities, we house SPF rodents (1200sqm). The facilities have four mouse rooms, two rat rooms, and a biohazard suite. Additionally, there are five procedure rooms and eight behavioral assessment rooms. In the facilities, we have research supporting equipment such as imaging, irradiation, anesthesia, centrifuge, biosafety cabinets and metabolic cages. Separate logistics wards serve for washing and decontamination of all supplies.

Rodent care practices are under sterile conditions, with sterile supplies. Rodents Hosing conditions are: 12:12 light: dark cycles at 20-24°C and 30–70% relative humidity. Animals are free fed irradiated rodent chow and have free access to reverse osmosis-filtered water. Housing of rodents is in individually ventilated cages.

Housing of large animals:

Large animal facility is of 700m² for rabbits, guinea pigs, poultry, fish and other animals. In the facility are separate procedure rooms and operating suite. The operating suite is equipped with anesthesia machine (including a respirator), vital signs monitor, two heated operation stations with appropriate lighting and autoclave.

Veterinary Care

Veterinary care and monitoring is available seven days a week, from the attending veterinarian (Diplomate, ACLAM, ECLAM and Israeli Laboratory Animal Specialist), resident veterinarians and animal care staff. We train all our husbandry personnel to report any signs of ill health to the veterinarians.

Quality assurance program at BGU

We test periodically the rodent, frog and fish colonies for known pathogens, according to the list of Federation European Laboratory Animal Science Association (FELASA).