1. Introduction and Acknowledgements

2. Basic Issues
2,1. How to Refer to an Animal Using the Proper Pronoun
2,2. Higher- versus Lower-Order Species
2,3. Human-Animal Relationship

2,3.1. Affection for Animals
2,3,2. Giving Animal Names
2,3,3. Touching Animals
2,3,3,1. Rodents
2,3,3,2. Monkeys
2,3,3,3. Cats
2,3,3,4. Farm Animals
2,3,3,5. Cold-Blooded Animals
2,3,4. Alleviating Fear of Humans
2,3,5. Summary and Conclusions

2,4. Emotionality Is it Unprofessional to Cry?
2,5. Humane What Does this Term Mean?
2,6. Euphemism Do We Really "Sacrifice" Animals?
2,7. Self-Awareness Do Animals Recognize Themselves?
2,8. Pound Dogs How to Work with Them in the Research Laboratory
2,9. Adoption of Animals After Research Completion

2,9,1. Adoption by Private Homes
2,9,2. Adoption by Schools
2,9,3. Conclusions

2,10. Individual Housing Justifications
2,11. Legal Space Requirement Stipulations
2,12. Impaired Well-Being, Pain and Suffering

2,12,1. Signs of Impaired Well-Being and Pain
2,12,2. Pain and Suffering
2,12,3. Conclusions

2,13. Stress and Distress

 

3. Maladaptive Behaviors
3,1. Stereotypical Behavior
3,2. Hair Pulling-and-Eating and Alopecia (Hair Loss)

3,2,1. Primates
3,2,2. Mice
3,2,3. Rabbits and Guinea Pigs
3,2,4. Conclusions

3,3. Self-Injurious Biting

 

4. Environmental Enrichment
4,1. Definition
4,2. Criteria of Effectiveness
4,3. Feeding Enrichment

4,3,1. Primates
4,3,2. Mice and Rats
4,3,3. Guinea Pigs and Rabbits
4.3.4. Cats
4,3,5. Sheep
4,3,6. Objections by Investigators
4,3,7. Conclusions

4,4. Coconuts
4,5. Mirrors
4,6. Music
4,7. Windows
4,8. Toys
4,9. Paper-Based Items
4,10. Wooden Objects
4,11. Running Wheels
4,12. Burrows
4,13. Gerbil Idiosyncrasies
4,14. Shelter and Nesting Material

4,14,1. Mice
4,14,1,1. Indestructible Material
4,14,1,2. Destructible Material
4,14,2. Rats
4,14,3. Hamsters
4,14,4. Guinea Pigs
4,14,5. Rabbits
4,14,6. Conclusions

4,15. Bedding for Rodents
4,16. Beds for Dogs
4,17. Vertical Space Enhancement

4,17,1. Rodents
4,17,2. Dogs
4,17,3. Primates
4,17,4. Conclusions

4,18. Environmental Enrichment for Ferrets
4,19. Environmental Enrichment for Guinea Pigs
4,20. Environmental Enrichment for Rabbits
4,21. Environmental Enrichment for Pigs
4,22. Environmental Enrichment for Fishes and Frogs

 

5. Social Housing
5,1. Pair Formation and Pair-Housing of Monkeys

5,1,1. Adult Cynos (Cynomulgus/Long-Tailed Macaques)
5,1,2. Adult Rhesus (Rhesus Macaques/Monkeys)
5,1,3. Adult Baboons
5,1,4. Adult Vervets (Vervet Monkeys)
5,1,5. Young Monkeys
5,1,6. Paired Monkeys Competing Over Food
5,1,7. Conclusions

5,2. Sex Difference in Partner Compatibility
5,3. Making Use of the Stress Buffering Influence of a Companion

5,3,1. Post-Operative Care
5,3,2. Chair-Restraint
5,3,3. Chronic Diarrhea
5,3,4. Conclusions

5,4. Capture of Group-Housed Animals

5,4,1. Rodents and Rabbits
5,4,2. Cats
5,4,3. Conclusions

5,5. Social-Housing of Cats
5,6. Social-Housing of Dogs
5,7. Exercise for Dogs
5,8. Social-Housing of Pigeons
5,9. The Lone Pig Addressing His/Her Social Needs
5,10. Mixing Different Species
5,11. Why are Male Mice Housed in Trios?

6. Stories
6.1. The Bucket Monkey
6.2. The Rope Mice
6.3. The Escapees
6,4. The Monkey in the Box
6,5. A Near Accident in the Swimming Pool
6,6. The Friday Bath

7. Working With Animals
7,1. Training Monkeys and Dealing with Monkeys Practical Tips
7,2. Injection and Blood Collection How to Minimize Stress Reactions

7,2,1. Primates
7,2,2. Other Species
7,2,3. Conclusions

7,3. Oral Drug Administration How to Minimize Stress Reactions

7,3,1. Rabbits
7,3,2. Rats, Mice and Hamsters
7,3,3. Primates
7,3,4. Pigs
7,3,5. Conclusions

7,4. Pole-and-Collar Training of Macaques
7,5. Catching Animals Who Have Escaped

7,5,1. Monkeys
7,5,2. Rats and Mice
7,5,3. "Popcorn" Mice
7,5,4. Conclusions

7,6. How to Make Sheep Move

 

8. Safety Issues
8,1. Aggression Among Males

8,1,1. Mice
8,1,2. Guinea Pigs
8,1,3. Rabbits
8,1,4. Conclusions

8,2. How to Deal with Hamsters
8,3. Handling of Mice
8,4. Water Leakage
8,5. Wire-Bottom Cages
8,6. Wood in Cages
8,7. Swimming Pool for Macaques
8,8. Pairing Sedated Animals
8,9. Pair-Housed Monkeys with Head Cap Implants
8,10. Re-Pairing Macaques After Separation
8,11. When a Monkey is Lying Down
8,12. Retro-Orbital Blood Collection
8,13. Barking of Dogs

9. Extraneous Variables
9,1. Exposure to Distressed Conspecifics
9,2. Construction Noise
9,3. Researcher
9,4. Workdays versus Weekends/Holidays
9,5. Multi-Tier Caging
9,6. Individually Ventilated Caging (IVC)
9,7. Restraint Tubes for Rodents

10. Miscellaneous
10,1. Marking Mice for Video Recording
10,2. Mice Who Do not Reproduce

11. References

1. Introduction and Acknowledgements

This book is a collection of electronic discussions that took place on the Animal Welfare Institute's Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF) between October 2002 and May 2007. The forum serves the international animal care and animal research community to promote animal welfare and improve scientific methodology by avoiding or minimizing stress and distress resulting from husbandry and handling practices.

Of more than 5,000 comments posted, approximately 3,000 were selected for this book because they have practical animal welfare relevance and are based on first-hand experiences about ways to improve the conditions under which animals are housed and handled in research facilities.

I am grateful to the 62 animal technicians, 38 researchers, 13 veterinarians, two cage designers, two editors, and two librarians who contributed these comments:
Lisa Abbuhl, Dawn Abney, Talia Acosta, Jason Allen, Alexandra Bakarich, Kate Baker, Sonja Banjanin, Jas Barley, Vera Baumans, Paula Bazille, Lorraine Bell, Allyson Bennett, Alan Bonner, Cindy Buckmaster, Moshe Bushmitz, Larry Carbone, Katie Chace, Kate Cherry, Wendy Clarence, Kathy Clark, Sylvie Cloutier, Casey Coke, Kathleen Conlee, Anita Conte, Michele Cunneen, Ernest Davis, Hank Davis, Rosemary Dewey, Natasha Down, Richard Duff, Katie Eckert, Joanne Edgar, Rosemarie Einstein, Joe Erwin, Bill Felts, Anna-Linnea Fernstrom, Mary Feurtado, Alyssa Foulkes, Renée Gainer, Jo Garner, Tamara Godbey, Erica Godwin, Jennifer Green, Faisal Guhad, Dawn Haida, Marisa Hall, Heather Harris, Lynette Hart, Deborah Hartley, Jann Hau, Gail Heidbrink, Becky Hoots, Sue Howell, Robert Hubrecht, Terri Hunnicutt, Kay Izard, Mary Lu James, Hazel Johnston, Jo Keeley, Monica Keith-Luzzi, Lesley King, Heather Kirby, Ann Lablans, Tara Lang, James Love, Shelley Lower, Arianna Manciocco, Inger Marie, Elva Mathiesen, Theresa Mathiesen, Kendra McCafferty, Jessica Mikels, Lars Friis Mikkelsen, Robin Minkel, Kim Moore, David Morton, Sarah Murphy, Heath Nevill, Anna Olsson, Janice Parker, Emily Patterson-Kane, Jennifer Penny, Stacey Perry, Roland Plesker, Octavio Presgrave, Iliana Quintero, Jillann Rawlins, Viktor Reinhardt, Sheila Roberts, Sue Rubino, Sarah Rzewski, Judith Schrier, Polly Schultz, Jacqueline Schwartz, Jennifer Scott, Shirley Seaman, David Seelig, Jürgen Seier, Chris Sherwin, Evelyn Skoumbourdis, Marion Smith, Autumn Sorrells, Kay Stewart, Melissa Timm, Masaki Tomonaga, Lydia Troc, Melissa Truelove, Yoshi Yoshikazu Ueno, Heleen Van de Weerd, Pascalle van Loo, Eva Waiblinger, Janette Wallis, Michelle Walsh, Carolyn Waugh, Richard Weilenmann, Karolina Westlund, Larry Williams and Corri Witt.
Each comment was edited without changing its content. Different comments with equivalent content were summarized in one comment. References from the published literature were added during the editing process to further contribute to particular discussion topics. The questions and a summarizing conclusion of each discussion are printed in bold.

It is my wish that this book will help to make life easier for animals in research laboratories, thereby improving the scientific quality of research data collected from them. May these discussions inspire and encourage all those who are responsible for the care and well-being of animals in research labs to express their compassion in action. The way we treat animals predetermines our own emotional well-being.

Mt. Shasta May, 2007

Viktor Reinhardt Moderator of LAREF