Abstract
This 59th Scientific Conference of the Society for Laboratory Animal Science GV-SOLAS and the 20th Advance Training Course of the IGTP took place virtually on 22–24 September 2021.
The conference had more than 1200 participants and presented many interesting topics, sessions and workshops. The 10 workshops and roundtable discussions could be presented in a live format and, as well, a virtual face-to-face talk was possible. But of course we missed the ceremonial social evening and the nice conversations during the coffee breaks.
On the one hand, the conference focused on animal facility management topics such as dealing personally and emotionally with the issue of animal experimentation, and challenging public relations, as well as hygiene management and staff training. On the other hand, we offered animal experimentation topics such as the performance and impact of behavioural tests, opportunities and problems with imaging techniques, stress assessment in laboratory animals, the topic of 3Rs with special attention to replacement and supplementation methods, transparency in experimentation and the importance of the microbiome of laboratory animals. For the first time, we addressed the very specific challenges researchers have when working with wildlife or planning field trials with livestock.
IGTP addressed current topics such as automation in animal husbandry, refinement in laboratory animal science, rehoming of laboratory animals and news about feeding problems. The virtual industry exhibition provided expanded opportunities to interact with attendees and offered an interesting rally for the participants.
A big advantage of the virtual format was that all participants had the opportunity to see as many presentations as possible, since the recorded presentations were available for two weeks after the end of the conference. So parallel lectures could be viewed, which would not have been possible at a presence conference. Despite these advantages, we are all very much looking forward to the next presence meeting!