Abstract
We note with sadness the passing of John Bleby, one of the founding fathers of Laboratory Animal Science.
In the 1960s John succeeded Bill Lane-Petter as Director of the Laboratory Animals Bureau as it became the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory Animals Centre (LAC) in Carshalton, Surrey, and he continued his pioneering work in improving the health and welfare of animals used in medical research. He established the LAC as the international centre for this work and his team of specialists founded the modern concepts of standardization for all aspects of animal husbandry. His team included Michael Festing and Dave Lovell in Genetics, Auriol Hill in Microbiology, Dawn Owen in Parasitology, David Ford in Nutrition, David Blackmore in Pathology, Gordon Townsend and Stephen Sparrow in Veterinary Services, Michael Robinson and Harry Donnelly in Accreditation, Gerald Clough and Malcolm Gamble in Environmental Physiology, and Terry Pendry and John Williamson in the animal houses and laboratories. The advances this team made, especially the establishment and availability of disease free (specified pathogen-free [SPF]) and germ-free stocks of rodents and animal house, cage and experimental design and care formed the basis of current practice in the ethical use of laboratory animals in medical and scientific research.
As Professor at the Royal Veterinary College, he founded and organized the Master’s Degree course for vets in laboratory animal science, and long after many other people would have retired he started his own company assessing health profiles of laboratory animals. He was a former captain in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) Regular Army Reserve and a lieutenant-colonel in the RAVC’s own territorial army (TA) unit. He served on numerous veterinary and medical committees and councils. He was also the Food and Agriculture Organization’s veterinary consultant to developing countries and the World Health Organization’s veterinary consultant to the US National Institutes of Health and China.
He encouraged the establishment of the Institute of Animal Technicians (later Technology) and was one of its vice presidents for over 40 years.
He, together with his little book of appalling jokes, will be sadly missed. We wish Jayne and his family every best wish for the future.