Sherwin, C. M. 2002. Comfortable quarters for mice in research institutions. In: Comfortable Quarters for Laboratory Animals, Ninth Edition. Reinhardt, V. , Reinhardt, A. (eds.), 6-17. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

Very useful guidelines for the species-adequate housing of mice. In providing comfortable quarters for mice, there are several '-isms' we should avoid. We should avoid speceisism and remember there is no evidence to suggest that mice do NOT have the same capacity to suffer as other vertebrates, although their suffering might occur in different ways. We should also avoid anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism, and try to understand the mouse's world from it's own perspective, rather than our own human concerns. We should also avoid sizeism: simply because laboratory mice are small and can all appear to be the same [at least to us], this does not mean they have any less capacity to suffer as individuals.In promoting appropriate housing for mice, it can be helpful to think in terms of optimising the 2 Q's, i.e., Quantity of space and Quality of space. We should be aiming to provide mice with the appropriate amount of space containing the appropriate diversity of environment that takes into account their species-specific characteristics and needs.