Caring HandsDiscussions by the Laboratory Animal

Refinement & Enrichment Forum

Edited by Viktor ReinhardtAnimal Welfare Institute

InstituteAnimal Welfare

www.awionline.org

Caring Hands Animal W

elfare InstituteEdited by Viktor Reinh

ardt

Volume II

{Chapter 1}

Basic Issues

Legal minimum cage space requirements are usually based on

body weight. How appropriate, from the caged subject’s point of

view, are such stipulations?

•Legalminimumspacerequirementsshouldbetailoredinsuchawaythatspecies-specificandspecies-adequatefurniturecanbeplacedintheenclosurewithoutblockingpartofthespacethattheoccupant(s)needforfreemovementandfreeposturaladjustments.Iseenodifficultythatwouldhinderexpertsfromcomingupwithprescriptionsofbasicfurnitureforeachspecies,forexamplesheltersforrodentsandamphibiansandelevatedrestingsurfacesforbirds,cats,dogs,rabbits,andnonhumanprimates.

•Onefactorthatisimportantbutisconsistentlyoverlookedisage.Veryyounganimalsneedfarmorespacethanheavyorobeseones!

•Yes,juvenilesneedtohavemorespacethanadults,letaloneadultswhoareoverweight.Younganimalsaremuchmoreactiveandtypicallywanttoplay;todothat,theyneedextraspace.Mostcountries,includingtheU.S.[UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture,2002a],donottakethisintoaccountintheirlegalminimumspacestipulationsforcagedanimals.

• IntherevisedAppendixAoftheCouncilofEurope,minimumfloorareaisnownotonlybasedonbodyweight,butitalsotakesintoaccounttheneedforyounganimalstoplay[CouncilofEurope,2006].Forexample,formice,theminimumfloorareais330cm2permouse,independentoftheanimal’sbodyweight;thismeansthatyoungandsmall,butrelativelyactivemicegrow moreorlessintotheircage.Furthermore,thecagemustbestructuredandprovidedwithenrichment;examplesaregivenforeachspecies.

• Itmaynotbeenoughtostipulatethatenrichmentmustbeprovidedandthenlistsomeoptions.WehavethissituationhereintheU.S.withtheAnimalWelfareRegulations.Totakeanexample:youdocomplywiththeseregulationsifyougiveasingle-cagedmonkeyamirror,butotherwisedonotstructurethespace,forexample,withahighperch.Boththeperchandthemirrorare

listedaspossibilitiesofenvironmentalenrichment[UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture,2002a],leavingituptoyoutopickandchoose.

Itdoesnotseemappropriatetolumpeverythingtogetherunderthetermenvironmentalenrichment.Therearethingsthatarebiologicalnecessities,suchaselevatedareasforprimates,sotheyshouldbelegallymandated,whileotherthingssuchasmirrorsmaybeenriching,hencecanbeoptional.

•Thatistrue;whenonlythenecessities,suchasnestingmaterialformice,shelterforrats,socialcontactforsocialanimals,highperchesfornonhumanprimates,etc.arelistedasexamplesofenvironmentalenrichment,thereisnooptiontogetawaywithenrichmentforwhichtheanimalhasnorealneed,forexampletoysormirrors.Isawlittleplayballsformice,asifmicewouldneedthosetoexpressmouse-typicalbehaviorpatterns.

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Basic Issues

rats

amazing social creaturesIs it true that rats are reliably

tolerant of each other?• ThatratsgetalongwithoneanothersowellisoneofthereasonsIlikeworkingwiththem.Ihavenevernoticedanysignsofaggressionamongrats.

Ihaveworkedwithratsinneuropathicresearch.Theanimalswerealwaysveryfriendlytoeachother,evenwhentheywereexperiencingpain.Iwitnessedratheraffectionateinteractions—suchasgroomingandbringingfoodpelletsnearby—inratswhohadundergonesurgicalprocedures.

• Wealwayskeepindividualratsduringthepost-operativephasewithabuddytospeeduptherecovery.

• Ihaveworkedwithratsforseveralyearsbutneverwitnessedthattheywereaggressivewitheachother.Yes,theycanbeaggressivewithhumans;Ihavebeenbittenonseveraloccasions.

• TheonlytimeI’veeverseenaggressionamongratswaswhensomeoneinadvertentlyputex-breedermalestogether;predictably,thisresultedinamajorscrap.Unfortunately,thismeansthatonceastudmalehasbeenusedforbreeding,hehastobehousedsinglyfromthereonunlesshelivesinapermanentpairorharem.

Weoccasionallygetafemalewhobecomesaggressiveduringthetimeshehasalitter,butthat’stowardhumans,nototherrats.

Diabeticratscanbeaggressivetowardeachotheriftheirinsulinisoutofcontrol,butthatisonlytemporaryand,onceinsulinisbackundercontrol,theybecometheir

usualsunnyselves.IbelievethatobeseZuckerratscanbebad-temperedbutsuspectthisisalsoduetoerraticbloodsugarlevels.

• Duringmyundergradtraining,Iworkedinapetstoreforseveralyears.Wewouldroutinelyputtogetherratsofvariousagesandgenders.Idon’trecallthatweencounteredanyaggression-relatedproblemswhentheanimalsmeteachotherforthefirsttime.Tomakeitevenmoreinteresting,wewouldoftenusenursingratmomstofosterpupsfromotherrodents,suchashamstersandgerbils;wesimplyputthenewpupsinthepile,andtheratmomwouldtakecareofthem.

• Apartfromthejumpystrains,ratsareremarkablydocile.Theycanmakegreatchildren’spets.

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Refinement and Enrichment for Rodents and Rabbits

privacy panel and grooming-contact bars

What is the privacy panel good for?

•Aprivacypanelisaregularcagedividerwithapassageholeclosetothebackwall.Twoanimalscanaccessthetwofeedersinthefrontofeachcagesectionseparatelywithouthavingvisualcontactwitheachother.Thismakesfoodmonopolizationimpossible,orIshouldsayalmostimpossible.Irememberonedominantguywho,duringthefirstfewdaysafterpairing,triedtoeatfrombothfeederskindofsimultaneously,untilhefinallygaveupthisrushingaroundandallowedthesubordinatepartnertoeatquietly.Fortunately,thesubordinatedidn’tgetdepressedduringthefirstdays.Hemayhaveanticipatedthattheotherguywould,oneday,getsoexhaustedastostophis

sillyracingbackandforth.Hewasright;thispairalsoturnedoutcompatible.

Privacypanelshaveproventobesousefulinfacilitatinglong-termpaircompatibilitythattheywereinstalledinallcagesofthemorethan300pairsofmacaquesatourfacility.

•Wehavetwoadultcynoswhomatchedupveryeasilyasapair,butwhentheywerefedforthefirsttimeintheirnewdoublecage,theytoreeachotherupprettybadly;wehavenotbeenabletopair-housethemsince.Ourcagesdon’thaveprivacypanels.Iwishtheydid,sincethefeedersareinthefrontofthecagesandpartnerscanwatcheachothereatingandbecomecompetitive.

•Wetriedthegrooming-contactbarswithduosofjuvenileandadultcynomolgusmacaquesofbothsexesandfoundthattheycausedmoreproblemsthanbenefits.

• Itismyexperiencethatpairedrhesusmacaquesinteractatlowerlevelsandshowfewerbehavioralimprovementswhentheyareseparatedbygroomingcontactbarscomparedtowhentheyhavefreeaccesstoeachother[Bakeretal.,2008].However,itisclearthatthewelfareoftheanimalsisimprovedinthegrooming-contactbarhousingarrangementrelativetosinglehousing.

Who can share experiences with the grooming-contact bars housing arrangement for monkeys?

• InthejournalAnimal WelfarethereisagreatarticlebyBasileetal.(2007).Basedontheirobservationsof25pairs,theauthorsconcludethat theincreaseinproximityassociatedwiththepresenceoftheprivacydividersreflectsanincreaseinsocialtoleranceand/orattraction,andthataprivacydividermayprovideasafehavenandgivemonkeystheabilitytodiffusehostilesituationsbeforetheyescalate.

Encouragedbytheseresults,wearenowtryingsuchprivacydividersforouradultmacaquepairstomitigatepossiblesocialtension.

•Crockettetal.(2001,2006)testedadultsame-sexpairsofseveralspeciesbyhousingthemindoublecagesinwhichpartnerswereseparatedbywidelyspacedverticalbarsthatpermittedgroomingbutnotaggressivepursuit.Thefollowingpaircompatibilitywasfound:(a)femalecynomolgusmacaques,89percent,(b)malecynomolgusmacaques,67percent,(c) femaleyellowbaboons,57percent,(d)maleyellowbaboons,64percent,(e)femalepig-tailedmacaques,53percent,(f) malepig-tailedmacaques,57percent,and(g)malerhesusmacaques,16percent.

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Refinement and Enrichment for Primates

There is published evidence that the blunting of canines of male vervets reduces the incident of serious trauma related to aggression (Knezevich & Fairbanks, 2004). Based on your own experience, would you recommend the blunting of canines of adult male macaques as a preventive procedure against serious laceration resulting from overt aggression?

•Wedon’tbluntthecaninesofourmalesbecausewehadsomebadexperiencewithmalesthatwereceivedfromotherfacilities.Theircanineswerebluntedandsobadlyinfectedthatwehadtoremovethemaltogether.Wewanttoavoidthiswithourownanimals.

•Therewasatimewhenwebluntedcaninesofsubadultandadultmalerhesus,hopingthatthiswouldreducetheincidentofbitelacerations.Westoppedthisprogramafteraboutayearbecausequiteanumber

ofmalesdevelopedabscesses,whichmadeitnecessarytoextracttherootsoftheamputatedcanines.Ontopofthat,maleswithbluntedcanineswillcontinuedeliveringbitelacerationsthatalsorequiresurgicaltreatment.Bitewoundsinflictedwithbluntedteethtendtobemoretissuedamagingthanbitewoundsinflictedwithpointed,intactcanines.

•Thepracticeofbluntingcanineswasstoppedmanyyearsbackatmyfacility.Someofthemacaqueswhohadtheproceduredonedevelopedabscessesaswell.

Ihavealsoseenonecaseofamacaquewhoneededsuturesaftergettinginafightwithanothermalewithbluntedcanines.

•Wehaveneverbluntedtheteethofourmacaques.Ibelievethemalescouldstilldoagreatdealofdamageevenwithbluntedcanines.I’vealsobeentaughtthattheremovalorbluntingofcaninescanaffectspecies-typicalbehavior,asthemaleswouldnormallyusetheircaninestodisplaydominance.

• Iwouldrecommendbluntingthecaninesofrhesusinagroup-housingsituation.Withbluntedteeththerecanstillbeseriousinjuries,andIhaveseensome.However,Ithinkithelpstoavoidlife-threateninginjury.

Havingsaidthis,wepayforaveterinarydentalspecialisttobluntthecanines.Thiswayweminimizethechanceofcomplications.Dentalradiographsaretaken,andcanberetakenatalaterdate,toensuretheintegrityoftheteeth.Ithinkthisisoneofthemainpoints:ifcaninebluntingisdone,ithastobedonecorrectly!

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Refinement and Enrichment for Primates

toys

• Inmyexperience,itverymuchdependsonthedog.Somedogswillreadilyplaywiththetoyswhetherahumanisinvolvedornotwhileothersaren’ttheleastbitinterestedevenifahumanisthere.Thisholdstrueforplaytoysaswellaschewtoys.

• Thishasbeenmyexperienceaswell:theattractivenessofatoydependsgreatlyontheindividualdog.However,thedogsingeneralmakeitoverwhelminglyclearbythebehaviortheyshowwhenpeopleentertheirroomthattheymuchpreferthehumancontactandinteractiontoanyotherenvironmentalenrichment.Often,thismakesthempayattentiontothetoysevenless,astheyarefartoobusytryingtogetattentionfromthehuman.I’vesecretlywatchedthesamedogs,whoseemedtohavenointerestatallinatoy,pickupthetoyandplaywithitwhentheythoughtnohumanswerenearorwatching.

• Wetrieddifferentcommercialtoysatourfacilities.Somedogslikecertaintoyswhileothershavenointerestinthem.It

Do commercial toys provide long-term enrichment for single-

or group-housed dogs when no person is around to entice them to

play with the toys?

seemstobetheindividualdog,notthebreed,whoenjoyscertaintoys.Werotatethetoysweeklyormorefrequently.Ihavetheimpressionthatthemoreoftenweexchangeacertaintoy,themoreattractiveitbecomesforthedogs.

Manyofthedogsenjoyatennisball,butwedon’tleaveitinthepenovernightsincenothingwouldbeleftoftheballthe

nextmorning.Thisautomaticallyenhancestheattractivenessofthetennisball:it’salwaysnewagainthenextday.

Wehaveanelderlybeaglewholoveshisbluehardplasticball.Henosesthataroundandflipsitintheairallthewhilebarkingupastorm.Itisreallyfuntowatch.Hedoesitonhisown,nooneisrollingtheballtohim.Mostoftheotherdogsshownointerestinthistypeofball,butthisparticulardogjustlovesit.

• Themajorityofourdogslikethedumbbells.Theyshowmorewearthananyotherhardplasticorhardrubbertoystheyhaveintheirkennels.Unfortunately,wecannotgiveanyrubberitemssofterthanaKong™toybecauseofprotocolissues;thisisashamebecausethedogsalllovedthem.Wehadabigdogwhoactuallysnuggledwithhissqueeze-and-tossfootball;itbrokemyheartwhenIhadtotakeitawayfromhim.

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Refinement and Enrichment for Other Animals

Ihiding?”Afterall,IcareforanimalsanddowhatIpossiblycantomakelifeeasierforthem.Nowadays,Ihavenoproblemtalkingwithinterestedpeopleandcriticsalikeaboutmyworkintheresearchlab.

Ialwaysstartbymakingitclearthat,asfarbackasIcanremember,Ialwayswantedtoworkwithanimalsandtomakeapositivedifferenceintheirlives.WhenIfirstcameintotheanimalresearchenvironment,Ididn’tknowhowlongIwouldstay,butitdidn’ttakemelongtorealizethatherewastheplacewhereIcouldmakeabigdifference;thatwas23yearsago.Iexplaintopeoplethat,whileIdofindresearchinteresting,itistheanimalsthatbroughtmehereandkeepmehere.Ihavebeenfortunateenoughtohavebeenabletobringaboutpositivechangesinthewaytheyarekeptandtreated.Thishasbeen,andstillis,veryrewarding!

Ioncewasaskedhowananimallover,suchasmyself,couldeverdowhatIdo.Myreplywas,“wouldyouratherhavesomeonewhodoesn’tloveandrespectanimalsworkwiththem?”Thiswasnotrude,butitendedtheconversationaboutmyjob.

• IhavehadpeopleleavepartieswhentheyfoundoutwhatIdo.Fortunately,thatisrare;mostpeoplelisten,andIwillexplaintothemthatmyjobasananimaltechnicianistoloveanimals,makesuretheygetthebestcare,usethemwelland,unfortunately,killthemwell.

• Idon’tsayalotaboutmyjobunlessIcantrusttheotherperson,andeventhenIdonotgointodetails.ThefewpeoplewithwhomIhavediscussedmyworkwereatfirstrathercritical,evenjudgmental,butafterlisteningtomechangedtheirviewandtoldmethattheydounderstandthatresearchlaboratoriesneedcaringtechnicianswhodothedailyworkwithandfortheanimals.

• ItisnoproblemformetotalkaboutmyjobwithoutfeareverywhereIgohereintheU.S.ItellpeopletruthfullywhatIdo,andhowmyjobispreciselywhereIshouldbebecauseofthelevelofconcernIhaveforthewelfareofanimalsingeneralandthoseinlaboratoriesinparticular.

• Itismypersonalexperiencethatmostpeople—notall!—quicklystoptheiraccusationswhenyoutellthemhonestlywhatyouareactuallydoing,andhowyourpresencealleviatesratherthancausessufferingtoanimalsinresearchlabs.

Many people think that working as a caretaker, technician or veterinarian in a research laboratory implies that you condone the research that is done, even if it may cause suffering and death to animals. How do you respond to this assumption?

• WhenIamdrawnintoadiscussiononbiomedicalresearchandtesting,Idomyparttosteerawayfromthequestionofproorconanimalexperimentation.Yes,Idohaveapersonalopiniononthatissuebutitisofnorelevance,simplybecauseIdonotperforminvasiveexperimentswithanimalsmyself.Mymissionistocareforanimalsassignedtosuchexperiments,soIdomybesttomakesurethattheanimalsare,atleast,properlyhousedandhandled.

• Ifyoucomeacrossasnotagreeingthattheresearchbeingconductedontheanimalsinyourcareisbeneficial,youaregoingtosendanegativemessagetothepublicaboutresearchingeneral.Icanhearcommentslike,“sheisactuallyworkinginthelabanddoesnotevenbelievethattheresearchisnecessary.”Thatcanhurtallofusinthefield.IcannotimaginebeingabletojustifytomyselftheuseofanimalsforprojectsthatIdon’tbelievein.

• Exactly!That’sthereasonwhyIcategoricallyrefusetobeactivelyinvolvedinaprojectinwhichIdon’tbelieve,either:(a)becauseofitsadverseimplicationsfor

animals,or(b)becauseofitsscientificweakness.

• Forme,theanswertothequestionifIbelievethatresearchisnecessaryisneitherayesnorano.BasedonmyownexperienceandbasedontheliteraturethatIhaveread,myanswerwouldbethatitalldependsontheparticularresearchprotocol:(a)yes,therearecertaininvasiveresearch

projectsthathavesignificantscientificmeritand,hence,arejustifiablebecausenoalternativesareavailable;

(b)yes,theremaybecertaininvasiveresearch/testingprojectsthatarenecessaryorlegallymandated,butIamnotinthepositiontoargueforthembecauseIamnotanexpertinthatparticularareaofscientificresearch;

(c)no,therearecertaininvasiveresearchprojectsthathaveinsufficientscientificmeritand,hence,arenotjustifiable;

(d)no,therearecertaininvasiveresearchprojectsthatarerepetitive,hencearenotjustifiablebecausetheyarelikelytocauseunnecessaryanimalsuffering;and

(e)no,therearecertaininvasiveresearchprojectsforwhichalternativesareavailable;theyarenotjustifiablebecausetheyarelikelytocauseavoidableanimalsuffering.

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Miscellaneous

How Can You Join the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum?

Thepurposeofthiselectronicdiscussionforumisthefactualexchangeofexperiencesaboutwaystorefinetheconditionsunderwhichanimalsarehousedandhandledinresearchinstitutions.Thegroupisintendedtoservetheinternationalanimalcarecommunityinitsattempttopromoteanimalwelfareandimprovescientificmethodologybyavoidingoreliminatinghusbandry-relatedstresssituations.Theforumisopentoanimalcarepersonnel,animaltechnicians,students,attendingveterinariansandresearcherswhohaveorhadfirst-handexperienceinthecareofanimalskeptinresearchandeducationfacilities.

LAREFismanagedandmoderatedbyViktorReinhardt,whoreservestherighttoacceptorrejectsubscribers.IfyouwanttojoinLAREF,pleasesendamessagetoviktorawi@yahoo.comindicatingbrieflyyourpracticalexperiencewithanimalskeptinresearchlaboratories,yourcurrentprofessionalaffiliation,andyourinterestsastheypertaintothediscussiongroup.