ABSTRACT
It is not unreasonable to pose the question “Why should you write an emergency/disaster response plan for your research animals?” On the most altruistic level, animals deserve protection because they enhance the quality of human life. Every society derives valuable benefits from its associations with animals, whether animals are used solely as sources of food and work, or whether they fulfill the desire of humans for companionship as pets. Research animals fulfill a very important role in society. They determine, in large part, the pace of progress in medical research that directly benefits human health. If a disaster causes the loss of unique animal models, the costs to society of the resulting delays in acquisition of knowledge and disruptions in research resulting from their demise cannot be calculated.
