On day 5, we headed back to the IZSAM Headquarters in Teramo. The morning lectures covered topics on Animal Welfare during transport, while the afternoon lectures spanned Lab Animal Science.
Animal Welfare during transport lectures included:
- Animal Welfare during transport
- Protocols of evaluation of Animal Welfare at Transport and in Control Post
- Animal Transport Guides: following the experience of the projects “Control Post 1 and 2”
Upon completion of these lectures, we watched videos of animals being unloaded from trucks to access the animal welfare while animals are exiting via ramps noting number of slips and falls. An interesting takeaway from the Animal Welfare during transportation lectures is that animals that receive breaks during transport have been seen to acquire more detriment than those that remain on the truck until the final destination.
Lab Animal Science lectures included:
- EU legislative framework on Laboratory Animals and the Italian legislation
- National databank on animal testing- management of research projects
- The role of the veterinarian for the protection of laboratory animal welfare
- The 3Rs principles and alternative methods
The Ministry of health commissioned IZS to develop an information system for the animal facilities census in 2013 in order to streamline research. In the past the system of proposing a project and getting it approved was inefficient and slow. This new system will allow for people at each level of the research project to see where their project stands in the approval timeline.
Some of the strictest animal welfare laws in Italy apply to lab animals, which can make working in research facility quite a challenge.
Friday night we met up with a few of the UNITE Student ambassadors for apertifs and experienced the student bar scene. Aperitifs are a fun way to enjoy a cocktail with complimentary snacks before dinner time.
Saturday we took the train from Teramo to visit Pescara for an afternoon at the beach. The train takes about an hour and provides a scenic view of the east coast oceanside of italy from Giulianova down to Pescara.
The Pescara futbol team had just won a tournament and thus the city was very festive. There was also an Ironman competition taking place the next day, so the city was active
When we returned to Teramo, we met up with more of the UNITE Students for dinner followed by a local tradition the students partake in, enjoying beers on the steps of Duomo di Teramo.
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