Lab Animal Medicine Flashcards
What is ethics?
the way people behave based on their beliefs about what is right and wrong
What is the difference between regulations, guidelines, and aggrements/codes/concords/conventions?
legislation to ensure humane care
policies or guidance based on outside organizations with subject matter expertise or internal experience with certain types of animal research
agreements among nations concerning ethical or moral issues (UN, non-binding)
When were the first animals used in experiments?
William Harvey studied animals to discover how blood circulated in the body
What was the first animal cruelty law passed?
Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act (UK, 1822) - accusation of beating donkey in public
- AKA Matin’s Act
What caused the passing of the Nuremberg Code in 1948? What does it require?
German physicians conducted medical experiments on 1000s of concentration camp prisoners without their onsent
experiments should be designed based on the results of animal experimentation –> technically no means of enforcement
How is it determined where and how to draw the line of experimentation on animals?
- harm/benefit analysis
- conservation concerns
- ability to accomodate basic needs of animals in the research setting
- speciesism
What is the difference between contractarianism, utilitarianism, and relationalism? Animal rights?
morality is based on agreement, indirect ethical obligations to animals based on human belief
morality is about maximizing human and animal wellbeing
morality grows out of our relationship with animals and one another
good results cannot justify evil means
What animals are covered under the Animal Welfare Act of 1966? Which are not?
dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, guinea pis, hamsters, rabbits; updated to include all warm blooded animals used for research, testing, experimentation, or exhibition
mice or rats used for research
What 2 things are required under the Animal Welfare Act of 1966?
- proper engineering standards - cage sizes, temperature, humidity, transportation
- licensure - Class A animals bred for use in research vs Class B animals from random sources requiring a holding period to allow time for the animal to be claimed (no longer exist for dogs anymore)
What was added to the Animal Welfare Act under the amendment of 1985?
- investigators have an ethical obligation to minimize ain and distress, including adequate veterinary care and appropriate use of anesthetics, analgesics, and tranquilizers
- alternative to pain or distressful procedures must be considered
- if procedures cause pain or distress, a veterinarian must be consulted (paralytics without anesthesia or withholding of analgesics must be justified and minimized) + no more than one surgery unless justified
- proper exercise must be provided for dogs
- physiological well-being must be provided for non-human primates highlighted by the 5 categories of concern
What 6 organizations regulate animal use in research?
- USDA - enforces Animal Welfare Act and Regulations
- OLAW - enforces Public Health Service Policies and oversees research at all institutions receiving NIH funding
- IACUC - internal oversight
- AAALAC - voluntary accreditation, gold standard for research facilities
- NYS DOH - site inspection
- DEA
What guides are most commonly used for international and federal treatment of lab animals?
- Guide for the Care and Use of Agriculture Animals in Agriculture Research and Teaching
- Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
- AVMA Guidelines for Euthanasia
- Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species
What is the AAALAC?
private, nonprofit organization that promotes humane treatment of animals in sciency through a voluntary accreditation program where formal site visits are conducted at 3 year intervals
- institutional/IACUC policies
- animal husbandry
- veterinary care
- physical plant
What does AALAC use as the guide for their site visits?
Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
- represents gold standard in terms of animal care programs
- comprehensive site visits every 3 years
What is IACUC responsible for?
review and oversight of institution’s program for human care and use of animals –> upholds standards set forth by federal statutes and regulations concerning animal activities
- group of at least 5 consists of veterinarians (certified in lab animal med), scientists, non-scientists, and unaffiliated members
How does IACUC ensure places are performing ethical and legal research?
facility inspections and program reviews twice a year
What are major parts of IACUC protocol reviews?
- rationale and purpose of animal use
- description of procedures
- availability or appropriateness of alternatives
- justification of species and numb er of animals
- unnecessary duplication of experiments
- non-standard housing and husbandry requirements
- pain management
- potential for adverse effects
- impact on procedure on animals’ wellbeing
What is a whistleblower policy?
the names of people reporting an incident will be withheld and no threat or reprisal will be made against anyone reporting perceived mistreatment or noncompliance
- brought to the attention of IACUC chair
What is the difference between biomedical and agricultural research animals?
BIOMED - surrogates for humans
AG - surrogates for other animals
What are the 3 R’s?
- REDUCTION - any strategy to reduce animals being used in research
- REFINEMENT - modification of experimental procedures to minimize pain
- REPLACEMENT - avoiding or replacing use of animals in research