FACILITIES, MANAGEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATION OF MINIATURE PIG PROVISION IN TAIWAN

摘要

The indigenous minipigs, Lanyu breed, were introduced from Lanyu Islet to Taitung Animal Propagation Station (TAPS) in 1980 for germplasm conservation and breeding projects for biomedical research. In 2008, TAPS was appointed the provider of minipigsas laboratory animals. For the purpose to meet the demand of both quality and quantity in laboratory minipigs for the biomedical research and the biotechnology industry, TAPS was requested to establish a national provision system of the clean conventional minipigs. Since 2008, ongoing renovations and modifications were carried out. The standard operation procedures were established and implemented by staff education. Health monitoring is carried out per season, the RFID technology is applied to ensure reliable identification with entire records of the individual pig. Animal welfare is also a major concern and enhanced by housing enrichment and humane management. Furthermore, TAPS dedicated themselves to earn the AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International) accreditation and was awarded "Full Accreditation" on the 25th of February 2013.