Animal ethics and welfare

Question 1

Animal rights

Explain and discuss different ethical views on use of animals for experimental research:

Answer 1

Disapprovers (Animal rights): No animal can be used in experiments no matter the benefit – they are sentient beings.

Aim: All animals have rights, and they should not be denied.
Scientific results can no matter what justify the use (abuse) of animals as they are living sentient beings.

Question 2

Contractarism

Explain and discuss different ethical views on use of animals for experimental research

Answer 2

Approvers (contractarism): Animals does not have rights, but it can be taken into consideration if an agent argues for the rights of the animal.

Aim: optimize ones own life conditions and ensure ones own welfare

Question 3

Utilitarianism

Explain and discuss different ethical views on use of animals for experimental research

Answer 3

Approvers with reservations (Utilitarianism): a harm-benefit analysis must be done. Is it okey to sacrifice one animal for the living of 2 others – if it is for the greater good, then yes. This is what The Experimental Animal Board does prior to approving for an experiment.

Aim: The suffering of the animal must be counterbalanced by the benefit of the experiment –> the overall consequence of the experiment must be more welfare than before

Question 4

Describe how the public perception (opfattelse) of Animal experimentation overall relate to the ethical theories of Utilitarianism, Contractarianism and Animal Rights View

Answer 4

Approvers (contractarism): Animals does not have rights, but it can be taken into consideration if an agent argues for the rights of the animal.

Disapprovers (Animal rights): No animal can be used in experiments no matter the benefit – they are sentient beings.

Approvers with reservations
(Utilitarianism) à a harm-benefit analysis must be done. Is it okey to sacrifice one animal for the living of 2 others – if it is for the greater good, then yes. This is what The Experimental Animal Board does prior to approving for an experiment.

Question 5

Describe how 3Rs and a Culture of Care combined can promote animal welfare and support staff job satisfaction

Question 6

Define refinement

Answer 6

Minimising the pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm that research animals might experience.

By advancing research animal welfare by exploiting the latest in vivo technologies and by improving understanding of the impact of welfare on scientific outcomes.

Examples:
- Pain relief
- Improved species specific animal housing
- Gentle handling
- Training of animals

The humane endpoints are also considered a refinement as they are sat up to end the life of the animal before it suffers to much.

Question 7

Define Reduction

Answer 7

Minimising the number of animals used consistent with scientific aims.

Appropriately designed and analysed animal experiments that are robust and reproducible, and truly add to the knowledge base.

Examples:
Maximizing the informtion gathered from one animals in an experiment

Sharing data and resources between research groups.

A specific animal model developed for the experiment is also considered a reduction, as the result from the research is enhanced.

Question 8

Define Replacement

Answer 8

Avoiding or replacing the use of animals in areas where they otherwise would have been used

Accelerating the development and use of predictive and robust models and tools, based on the latest science and technologies, to address important scientific questions without the use of animals.

Examples:
Cells
Isolated organs
Dead vertebras Invertebrates
Plants or microorganisms, synthetic or electronic materials or even human volunteers

Question 9

Culture of care

How does the 3Rs influence on the job satisfaction?

Answer 9

The 3Rs are an important part of the Culture of Care, as the use of fewer animals and better conditions for de animals improve the job satisfaction for specifically the care takers as the majority of the people choosing to work with animals have an interest in giving them the best life possible, by using for example refinement, by stating clear humane endpoints and thereby avoiding the animals to suffer to a point where it is hard observing, “natural environment” housing and enrichment opportunities and also an acknowledgement of the care takes needs when planning and conducting an animal experiment is an important part of creating a good work environment and job satisfaction.

Question 10

Discuss the use of live animals for training and teaching purposes in Laboratory Animal Science in courses such as the one, you are taking right now

3Rs

Answer 10

Reduction: Could some of the rats be used as “pet” animals?

Refinement: gentle handling, avoiding stress (anaesthesia, handling held at a minimum)

Replacement: the use of toy animals will not at all give the students the feeling of working with live animals

As for using live animals for this course I believe in the fact that practical training and insight gives one the best opportunities to plan an experiment. If you do not have any experience with handling the laboratory animals, then you are not able to know what is going on in the animal facility nor are you able to refine the handling of the animals.

Question 11

Explain how the pharmaceutical industry and academia can inform the public on animal experimentation and discuss the benefits of such openness and transparency

Answer 11

The industry is publishing videos showing their animal facilities and thereby making it easy for the public to get information about the use of animals in the specific facility. Being transparent to the public can possibly improve the positivity towards the use of animals in industry. It is easier to hate (not understand) something you know nothing about, especially if a facility isn’t open around the use of animals.
If the industry is open to the public, the general public is more prone to support the industry.

Use the good stories! show the results to the public and be open about the long way for medicine ect to be developed!

Question 12

The purpose of the 3R

Answer 12

It is a framework for performing more humane animal research.

Question 13

Give an example on how the principles of the 3 Rs are not always compatible

Dogs with broken legs –> heeling bone fractures of fibula

Answer 13

You cannot reduce the number of animals used in an experiment when the suffer, pain, distress and lasting harm is increased to the individual animal in the experiment (decrease of refinement).

12 dogs (6 control and 6 with ONE fracture of fibula) – to investigate the effect on heeling the bone fracture

Reduction:
6 dogs (3 control and 6 with two fractures: fibula on both legs) – the harm done to the animals with two fractures must be considered a greater harm than the use of 12 dogs in total.

In this set-up you cannot reduces the number of animals!

Question 14

Viewpoints of animal welfare:
Health and biological function

Answer 14

Definition: the animal is healthy with normal biological functions.

Scientist: +++
Easy to measure: HR, RR, stress hormone, +/- stereotopy, reproductions efficiency.

Philosopher: —
An animal can function with a low degree of welfare! it is not enough to eat and sleep with no social interaction or entertainment!

Question 15

Viewpoints of animal welfare:
Natural living

Answer 15

Definition: the animal have the opportunity to express its natural behavior

Scientist: - (use of ectograms)
You must know how the animal lives in the wild - a semi-natural housing is a must.
you must know what behavior is natural and what behavior is learned.

Philosopher: +++
- Pigs: nest-building Saws, mud baths for termoregulation
- Mice: nest building
- Rat: food hoarding

Question 16

Viewpoints of animal welfare:
Emotions and preferences

Answer 16

Definition: welfare is an overweight of positive emotions and an absence of negative mental states

Scientist: used in behavioral studies - how much effort is the animal willing to offer for a specific food/enrichment.
Level of optimism: is the grey ball explore when the black is empty and the white is full

Philosopher: Accepts that an animal feels.
The animal can choose what it wants and what it does not want.
The animal have the chance to work for a preferred food ect.

Question 17

The 5 freedoms (originally farm animals)

Answer 17

Guide on how to avid unnecessary suffering to farm animals.

1. Freedom from hunger and first
2. Freedom from discomfort
3. Freedom from pain, injury and disease
4. Freedom to express normal behavior
5. Freedom from fear and distress

Question 18

The 5 freedoms applied to laboratory species

Answer 18

1. Hunger and first: All ways having water of food.
2. Discomfort: Appropriate environment (housing)
3. Pain, injury and disease: Daily care and treatment if necessary, Clear humane endpoints, analgesia when needed
4. Natural behavior: Enrichment and appropriate housing. Social housing
5. Fear and distress: Gentle handling, training for a procedure, appropriate environment

Question 19

Describe the importance of good animal welfare including its effect on scientific outcomes as well as for ethical reasons

Answer 19

Scientific outcome:
A minimum of stress, distress and pain gives you more reliable and reproducible research results.
Stress hormones and mechanisms within the body might influence on the parameters included in the study.

Ethical reasons: you owe the animal to treat it with respect and making its life as good as possible!

Question 20

What is meant by “Culture of care”?

Answer 20

The culture of care is a concept where the welfare of both the animal and personnel is in focus, if the welfare of the animals and personnel is high it is thought that the results of the experiments are of better quality.

Question 21

Key Factors of Culture of Care

Answer 21

The management is important

Know of Animal care and use

Signal commitment and supply the funds

Expect high standards with respect to the legal compliance, animal welfare and 3R endorsed at all levels of the animal facility

Promote a shared responsibility

Support a positive attitude and the proactive mindset towards improving standards and enhancing animal welfare

Empower the care staff and veterinarians – the ACTs play a big role and must be listened to and respected

Encourage communication

Allow for voices of concern

Question 22

How can Culture of Care be developed?

Answer 22

Senior staff should lead by being the good example

Hire staff with focus on or a positive mind-set towards Culture of Care

Award programs and high expectations –> NOVO: yearly award for the best 3R achievement in the company.

Encourage communication between all levels of the facility

Sharing of good practice –> could be by inviting guest lectures or arranging exchange visits for the staff

Question 23

Give examples on homepages where information on laboratory Animal Science, Laboratory Animal Care and 3R can be found.

Answer 23

Danish 3R-center

National center of 3Rs (NC3Rs)

Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)

Question 24

Discuss why you think it is important to continuously stay updated on how to optimize animal welfare during housing, handling and procedures

Answer 24

It is our responsibility as humans using the animals for our stated purpose, to treat them with respect and care, doing the best we can for the animal to achieve the best quality of life possible.

We should always aim for the best possible way of testing and not just use the one old method that we are familiar with. use the literature or the

Question 25

The Animal Welfare Body - what responsibilities? (Dyrevelfærdsorgan)

Answer 25

If you have a license for animal experiment at the facility, you must have an Animal Welfare Body (EU-Directive and DK: The Animal experimental order).

1. Advise on animal welfare according to housing and use
2. advise on implementing 3R (refine, reduce and replace)
3. Monitoring of projects - how is the animals affected? Further implementing of 3R
4. Advise in rehousing
5. Record the work of AWB must be keept for 3 years (available for the experiment inspectorate)

Question 26

The national committee for animal experimentation and alternatives

Answer 26

EU-directives states that member states must have a national committee for protection of the experimental animals.

The committee (7 members - all experts in their field) advises The animal experimental council in the 3Rs when they are to approve a license for an experiment and advises the Animal welfare bodies at the animal facilities when needed.

Question 27

Discuss the 3Rs and why it is important to continuously improve the level of Refinement in animal experimentation

Answer 27

By continuing to improve the refinement of animal experiments we will improve the quality of life for the animals used in the experiments and get a higher quality of research making it more robust and increases the possibility of reproduction.

It is our responsibility to take care of the animals we are using and thereby securing that they are able to live the best life possible.

Refinement:
Reduction of the stress, pain, fear and distress the animal is exposed to while used in research.
Statement of Humane endpoints securing that the animal won’t suffer more than reasonable = first clinical sign of achieved results and the animal is euthanized, no need for development of clinical signs

Question 28

Explain the purpose of a Harm/benefit analysis in animal experimentation

Answer 28

Analysis of the Harm;Benefits:
The benefit must be higher than the expected harm done to the animals within an experiment (as in the utilitarian ethics).

A part of the license application and an important factor for the Animal experiment council to consider when approving for the animal experiment.

The experiment must be for the greater good and useful - the assumed results of the hypothesis must be a benefit for the greater good not just for fun!
Do all you can to implement the 3Rs!

A scientific and ethical consideration!

Question 29

Give examples on parameters included in a Harm/benefit analysis

HARMS

Answer 29

Harms:
- Everything compromising the welfare of the animal (Free of the 5 Freedoms: hunger/first, pain/ injury/disease, Natural behavior possible, discomfort and fear/stress
- no waste of animals!
- baring in mind the persons caring for the animals

The study must be of high quality = enough animals to give sufficient data resulting in a robust study

Question 30

Give examples on parameters included in a Harm/benefit analysis

BENEFITS

Answer 30

Benefits:
depends on the aim of the study!

• human health - safety testing
• veterinary medicine improvement
• benefits of the wildlife/nature
• education: surgeons, veterinarians, first aid

Could be benefit first seen years from now!

Question 31

How must be a member of the Animal Welfare Body?

Answer 31

Minimum 2 persons

1. The person having the license for the animal experiment must be a member

Proposal members:
- The person responsible for the welfare of the animal at the facility (often the designated veterinarian)
- ACT
- Teamleder for the ACTs
- The designated veterinarian

Question 32

Discuss the importance of being able to justify on ethical grounds, the decision to use living animals, including the choice of models, their origins, estimated numbers and life stages. Describe the ethical and welfare factors influencing the choice of an appropriate animal or non-animal model

Answer 32

Choice of model:
You are only to use live animals if there is absolutely no alternative! If the dog is the best model, you have to use the dog and not the rat/mice!

Origin: you are to use animals bred for that use – you are not allowed to pick the animals up in the pet-store, if you need wild animals you have to a license for that.

REFINEMENT: Estimated numbers: search the literature for similar research and you should reduce it as much as possible.

Life stages: if you are studying strokes (clotted blood) you should use old animals.

Ethical and welfare factors:

Animal model: you should use the best model possible and choose the model that you can optimize the welfare for and not the animal that is very hard to manage under optimal circumstances. (dog vs. hens)

REPLACEMENT: Non-animal model: always use non-animal if possible!

Question 33

Describe and explain the challenges when performing a Harm/Benefit analysis of a study using live animals
Include the 3Rs for plantning the exprriment

Answer 33

The biggest challenge is that you never know if you get the result you expect from conducting the experiment, why it is very challenging to evaluate if the harm of the animals in the experiment actually results in a better life for other animals/humans in the end.
The animal experiment inspectorate (council) evaluates if the experiment:
Harm the animal and how much the scientist have done to remove stress, harm and pain from the animal (and care takers)  using the 3Rs
Refined: Is planned with the most appropriate sampling technic (least pain/stress full)
Is planned well so the statistics results in strong, valid results
Reduction and refinement: and Uses enough or to many animals for the wished results
Replacement: Have taken all non-animal possibilities into account

The results could be beneficial years from now or not at all…