About Us - Training & Research Benefits
The use of animals in training labs has helped thousands of physicians, nurses, veterinarians, and veterinary technicians perfect their skills and learn new procedures. For example, the laparoscopic techniques that have been perfected using animal models have reduced the amount of time that patients spend in the hospital, and decreased the amount of time until patients can return to work.
In addition, animal research has been responsible for the development of most of the new drugs, new devices, and new techniques that have enabled us to have longer and healthier lives. The use of insulin to control diabetes, vaccines for polio, the latest clot-busting drugs: all have been developed through the use of research animals.
The benefits are not restricted to people. Animals have also benefited from animal research. Nutrition research has allowed us to provide optimal feeds for a variety of animal species, from leghorn chicks to rainbow trout. Parasite research has improved treatment for heartworm, while a vaccine for Feline Leukemia Virus has led to control for and prevention of this deadly disease.
The work continues today, with researchers trying to unlock the secrets of the AIDS virus, striving to improve the cure rate and quality of life for cancer patients, and working with treatments for Alzheimer's Disease. For these and other health challenges, animal research remains an important tool for the scientific investigator. For that matter, the use of animals in training continues to offer a way for members of the health professions to learn new techniques, both now and in the future.