Ownership Submission
FORM 3
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  MCEWAN ALASTAIR STUART
2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
10/20/2004
3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNATIONAL INC [CRL]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
251 BALLARDVALE STREET
4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
Corporate Vice President
5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

WILMINGTON, MA 01887
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)
2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)
3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)
4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock (1) 0
D
 

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)
2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)
4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)
6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
MCEWAN ALASTAIR STUART
251 BALLARDVALE STREET
WILMINGTON, MA 01887
      Corporate Vice President  

Signatures

/s/ Rushna Heneghan as attorney-in-fact for Alastair Stuart McEwan 10/22/2004
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Shares and options to purchase shares of Issuer common stock were acquired pursuant to the transactions contemplated by the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of June 30, 2004, by and among the Issuer, Inveresk Research Group, Inc. Indigo Merger I Corp. and Indigo Merger II LLC (successor to Indigo Merger II Corp.). These acquisitions will be reported on Form 4 on October 22, 2004.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, See Instruction 6 for procedure.

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