Charles River UK Facility Receives AAALAC Accreditation

July 21, 2010 - Recently, the Charles River facility in Margate, UK, which breeds research models and provides related services, received full accreditation from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International. Charles River Margate is the first and only commercial small animal breeder in the UK to receive AAALAC accreditation.

AAALAC International is a private, non-profit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science. When animals are used in research, AAALAC works with institutions and researchers to serve as a bridge between progress and animal well-being. This coordination is accomplished through the voluntary AAALAC accreditation and assessment process, in which organizations demonstrate that they not only meet the minimum standards required by law, but also go the extra step to achieve excellence in animal care and use. More than 770 companies, universities, hospitals, government agencies and other research institutions in 31 countries have earned AAALAC accreditation, demonstrating their commitment to responsible animal care and use.

Charles River Margate joins the other 15 AAALAC-accredited Charles River sites that span the US, Canada and China. The AAALAC report highlighted the strong commitment of the Margate facility to its animal care and use program, as well as the dedicated and highly trained staff.  Dr. Colin Dunn, Charles River Research Models and Services UK country manager, commented, “This is another first for the Margate site, which in 1991 was also the first laboratory animal breeding site in the UK to receive BS5750 quality management certification (now known as ISO9001:2000).”

For more information, please contact us at askcharlesriver@crl.com.