2022 Culture of Care Prize awarded
2 years agoDuring Laboratory Animal Technician Week (1-4 February 2022), we awarded the first-ever Culture of Care Prize. It was a double award ceremony, since two animal technicians were tied for first place. Both are earning praise from researchers for their proactive involvement with laboratory animal welfare and research quality.
The winners each received a trophy and a basket of animal-testing-free toiletries. One of the winners, Anne-Marie Baars, responded: ‘I actually think the way I work is pretty normal. So it’s really great to see that my work is so highly appreciated. One possible reason I was nominated is an ongoing project where several of us are looking for better ways to house the rats. We want to take a step beyond the legal minimum. This can improve the animals’ welfare enormously. We’re still exploring what’s possible, and how we can achieve that, but we’ve made a start.’
All the animal caretakers and technicians who regularly work with laboratory animals also received a dairy-free chocolate bar as a token of appreciation.