Baboon Research Resource Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) Group Caging

描述(由申请者提供)：OUHSC浣熊研究资源(BRR)的使命是提供高质量、健康和行为正常的狒狒，以支持生物医学和行为研究。狒狒长期以来一直被用于生物医学研究，在某些应用方面，它比其他灵长类物种具有相当大的优势。然而，狒狒拥有许多已知感染人类和其他灵长类动物的疱疹病毒和逆转录病毒的类似物。这些病毒构成了研究动物的正常菌群，可以对研究结果的有效性产生相当大的影响。作为这一事实的结果，也因为我们的资源可以提供一种“干净”的替代方案，我们收到了越来越多的调查人员明确希望使用我们特定的无病原体(SPF)群体中生产的狒狒的请求。尽管有这个成功的指标，但我们的担忧来自于意识到我们缺乏足够的笼子来提供更环保的住房，以跟上SPF狒狒数量稳步增长的步伐。目前，SPF群体的狒狒被安置在动物资源附件(ARA)中。在ARA中，传统的和SPF的狒狒被安置在单个和小团体笼子里，这些笼子最初是为了容纳参加研究的狒狒而设计的。为了将SPF狒狒与传统的狒狒分开，并适应不断增长的SPF繁殖群，还需要额外的笼子。SPF殖民地搬迁到CMRR大楼将促进SPF计划的扩展，该计划已因研究人员的需求而加快。需要资金在CMRR大楼建造和安装八个帮派笼子，以满足我们不断扩大的SPF殖民地的住房需求。在提供最佳空间利用的同时，理想的群笼安排将允许狒狒自我分类到反映其既定社会世系的区域，从而极大地减少动物的压力和创伤。易于捕获动物是一个重要的设计元素，它既说明了实际问题，也说明了我们对狒狒丰富和福祉的坚定承诺。拟议的笼养系统提供了一种安全但干扰最小的住房配置，事实证明，这对于安全地对动物进行分类以进行治疗、检查、技术程序或研究项目的转移是必不可少的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The mission of the OUHSC Baboon Research Resource (BRR) is to provide high-quality, healthy and behaviorally normal baboons to support biomedical and behavioral research. The baboon has long been used in biomedical research, and for certain applications has considerable advantage over other primate species. However, baboons harbor analogs of many of the herpesviruses and retroviruses known to infect humans and other primates. These viruses, constituting the normal flora of research animals, can have a considerable effect on the validity of research results. As a consequence of this fact, and because our resource can offer a "clean" alternative, we are receiving increased numbers of requests from investigators expressly wanting to use baboons produced in our Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) colony. In spite of this indicator for success, a concern of ours comes from the realization that we lack sufficient caging to provide environmentally-enhanced housing to keep pace with the steadily growing SPF baboon population. Currently, the SPF colony of baboons is being housed in the Animal Resources Annex (ARA). Conventional and SPF baboons are housed in the ARA in single and small group cages that were originally designed to house baboons enrolled in research studies. In order to separate SPF baboons from conventional baboons and to accommodate the growing SPF breeding groups additional caging is required. The relocation of the SPF colony into the CMRR building will enhance the expansion of the SPF program which has been accelerated due to demand from researchers. Funds are requested to build and install eight gang cages in the CMRR building in order to meet the housing requirements for our expanding SPF colony. While affording optimal space utilization, the desired gang cage arrangement will permit the baboons to self-sort into areas reflecting their established social heirarchies, thereby dramatically reducing animal stress and trauma. Ease of animal capture is a significant design element which speaks to both practical matters and our solid commitment to baboon enrichment and well- being. The proposed caging system offers a secure yet minimally disruptive housing configuration proven essential for safe sorting of animals for treatment, examination, technicial procedures, or removal for research projects.