AALAS Represented in New Zealand

A report by Dr. Scott Perkins, AALAS President

The ANZLAA meeting was held in Wellington, NZ from September 1-3 with over 30 speakers and presentations. There were also 17 posters and 23 Exhibitor booths. I spoke on "Cleaning and Disinfection" in the lab animal facility and did a talk/workshop on "Getting the word out: the importance of animals in biomedical research and the research team". The latter was very well received by the attendees, and I have had numerous requests for my slides.

At the end of the day on September 2nd, I also participated in the "ANZLAA Debate", which pitted "The Aussies and Kiwis" against "The World" teams in a practical type exam involving slides and multiple choice questions. I am happy to report that "The World" team won although a "recount" was shown to make it a tie. It was a very entertaining event.

At the Gala Dinner on September 3rd, the 7 international speakers were brought up on stage to "field" a rugby team. John Schofield had us all worried when the ref in a wig came onto stage but it was all part of the gag. We were all presented a Reverse-A-Ball--The Rugby Kiwi, which looks like a rugby football on the outside but when unzipped and reversed it is a kiwi bird wearing the NZ All Blacks rugby uniform. It was a very nice gift and the end of an outstanding conference.