Is it really necessary to provide animals in research institutions with comfortable quarters? Yes, species-adequate housing and handling conditions are not only a safeguard for the well-being of the animals but also a prerequisite for sound scientific methodology. Inadequacy of animal care can skew scientific findings and render the particular research useless (Donnelley and Nolan, 1990). It would, indeed, be naïve to rely on data collected from an animal
These experiences are reflected in an animal's physiological, psychological and behavioral responses to an experimental situation. The responses, however, differ from animal to animal because the experience itself is subjective. It is impossible to do truly "scientific" research under such methodological conditions because the data collected are influenced by unaccounted-for extraneous variables such as distress, fear, anxiety, discomfort, depression and boredom. "To demonstrate any experimental response against such a variable background generates a requirement for greater animal usage if the result is to be statistically valid" (Home Office, 1989, p. 8). "Good husbandry minimizes variations that can modify an animal's response to experimentation" (National Research Council, 1985, p. 11), thereby allowing the use of fewer animals giving equally valid results (Russell, & Burch, 1959; Brockway et al., 1993; Chance and Russell, 1997). It is a fundamental scientific principle that all variables that have not proven to be insignificant be controlled in order to assure a sufficiently high degree of accuracy and reproducibility of the research findings. "If a researcher, through carelessness or ignorance, should use more animals for a project than is necessary, it must be considered unethical" (Öbrink and Rehbinder, 1999, p. 122).
Comfortable Quarters for Laboratory Animals offers suggestions and recommendations how extraneous, husbandry-related variables can be minimized or avoided thereby maximizing the research animals' well-being and reducing the number of subjects required to obtain reliable research data. The basic conditions for the provision of comfortable quarters are outlined in regulations and professional guides:
Primary enclosure
"Proper care, use, and humane treatment of animals used in research, testing, and education .. require scientific and professional judgment based on knowledge of the needs of the animals. ... A good management program provides the environment, housing, and care that ... minimizes variations that can affect research. ... The environment in which animals are maintained should be appropriate to the species. ... Animals should be housed with the goal of maximizing species-specific behaviors and minimizing stress-induced behaviors. For social species, this normally requires housing in compatible pairs or groups. ... At a minimum, an animal must have enough space to turn around and to express normal postural adjustments ... and must have enough clean-bedded or unobstructed area to move and rest in. ... Space allocations should be re-evaluated to provide for enrichment" (National Research Council, 1996, pp. 8, 22, 25 & 27).
Handling procedures
"Handling of all animals shall be done as expeditiously and carefully as possible in a manner that does not cause ... behavioral stress, physical harm, or unnecessary discomfort" (United States Department of Agriculture, 1995b, p. 21-22). "Restraint procedures should only be invoked after all other less stressful procedures have been rejected as alternatives. ... Physiological, biochemical and hormonal changes occur in any restraint animal ... and investigators should consider how these effects will influence their proposed experiments" (Canadian Council on Animal Care et al., 1993, p. 95). "To reduce the stress and pain of laboratory animals, nontraumatic restraining techniques must be taught. ... We believe that teaching of procedural skills is crucial for maintaining high research standards within the laboratory" (Schwindaman, 1991, p. 30). "Many dogs, nonhuman primates ... and other animals can be trained, through use of positive reinforcement, to present limbs or remain immobile for brief procedures" (National Research Council, 1996, p. 11).
Animal care personnel
"The behaviour of an animal during a procedure depends on the confidence it has in its handler. This confidence is developed through regular human contact and, once established, should be preserved. ... All staff, both scientific and technical, should be sympathetic, gentle and firm when dealing with the animals" (Home Office, 1989, p. 16-17).
Providing animals in research institutions comfortable, i.e., humane quarters is not only a scientific but also an ethical obligation. After all, the caged animal is completely at the mercy of the investigator. To merely "use" animals for personal gain [e.g., promoting one's academic career] or for perceived benefits for people [e.g., developing treatments of diseases] without paying proper attention for their safety and well-being is ethically not acceptable. To show concern for the well-being of research animals, however, may stigmatise an investigator as being "scientifically soft" even though "awareness of actual and potential stress and distress among animals in whatever situation should not be regarded as subjective but as a sound scientific base for the study of animals. Whether an observer maintains a high personal respect for the well-being of the individual animal or holds classic concepts of animals as being experimental "models," it should be more widely recognized that there is typically a scientific necessity to have animals at ease with their environments if studies are to remain objective" (Warwick, 1990, p. 363).
The chapters of the new edition have been written by animal care personnel, scientists and veterinarians who have demonstrated an active commitment to the humane and scientifically acceptable housing and handling of laboratory animals. In our invitation letter we have asked each author to:
In the United States more than 14 million animals are used annually in research institutions. Only approximately 10% of these animals are regulated under the Animal Welfare Act (United States Department of Agriculture, 2000). The remaining 90% are either not considered at all [cold-blooded animals] or explicitly excluded [rats, mice, birds] in the legal definition of the term “animal” (United States Department of Agriculture, 1995a, p. 1) and they are, therefore, exempt from legal protection to “insure that animals intended for use in research facilities ... are provided humane care and treatment” (Animal Welfare Act, 1985, p. 1). We see no scientific, ethical or logical justification for this seemingly arbitrary discrimination. Since rats and mice far outnumber all so-called “true animals” taken together, their inhumane care and treatment causes much more suffering and affects scientific findings in a much more pervasive manner. We feel that rats and mice, but also birds and cold-blooded animals, such as reptiles and amphibians, deserve the same consideration as other animals legally do, and we have therefore included chapters specifically addressing their needs for well-being in the research institution.
This is the ninth edition of Comfortable Quarters for Laboratory Animals, which was first published in 1955 for free distribution by the Animal Welfare Institute. May the recommendations set forth in this book serve as an inspiration to all those who are committed to safeguard the well-being of research animals and the integrity of sound scientific methodology.
Animal Welfare Act as Amended
(7 USC 2131-2156 1985.
Full Text: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/awa.htm
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