Lab animals 1 Flashcards
what are most lab animals used for?
- studies relating to essential structures and functions
- development of products
- medical studies
- education and training
- regulatory testing
what animals are used?
- mice
- fish
- cattle
- brids, rats, etc…
difference with lab animal vs other vet med
- Specific pathogen-free animals – infectious agents
very rarely cause of health issues - Regulated environment and Multiple stakeholders
- Purpose – answer scientific questions, or use in
teaching – compared to companionship or
production - Health questions and treatments – impact includes
interference with research - Cost vs Benefit analysis – Welfare assessment of
animals
how do we avoid lab animals getting exposed to other pathogens?
- Most pathogenic agents have been
eradicated from the field through: - Sanitation of environment
- Rederivation (C-section, fostering)
animal wellness conversational issues in lab med
- Challenge of meeting behavioural needs in convenient enclosures
- Impact of research protocols inducing disease, or conditions for study, genetic manipulation
- Ethical use of animals
veterinarians in animal research are employed by who?
- University/government/hospital - clinical
veterinarian, administration, pathologist, specialist,
educator - Private sector - as above + toxicologist, discovery
- Biomedical researcher
- Consultant (enrichment, welfare, model
development, etc)
lab animal veterinarian roles and responsibilities
- screening of protocols and advising researchers:
> anesthetic, analgesic, antiseptic surgical methods, routes / volumes for drug admin
<><> - training researchers and staff > handling, surgery, anesthesia, observation of procedures
<><> - clinical rounds > examine, diagnose, and provide treatment plans
how to lab animal vets train research personel? who are these personnel?
- roles of lab staff > admin of substances, anesthesia, surgery
- background of lab staff > undergrad, grad students, research associates, vets, MDs, etc.
> training comprised of online materials, quizzes, hands-on modules, assessment
Laws and Regulations for lab animal vets
- Criminal Code and Cruelty to Animals Act (Federal)
- Animals for Research Act – Ontario (Provincial) > minimal standards of care for vertebrates, also inspections and reviews (OMAFRA)
federal guidelines for use of experimental animals
- what document? how does it work?
CCAC – Canadian Council on Animal Care
- voluntary?
* Constant revisions of guidelines
* Peer review system of oversight
* CCAC inspection every 5-6 years
Local Oversight – ACC
- what is this? what they do?
Animal Care Committee
* Group of individuals appointed by an
institutional officer that provide
oversight for animal use in an
institution
<><>
Required members
* Institutional scientist
* Veterinarian
* Community member
<><>
Additional Members
* Administration
* Institutional non-animal user
* Health and Safety
* Statistician
<><>
Activities
* Animal care and use programs
* Protocol review (Animal Use Protocol,
AUP)
* Facilities
* Ensure scientific merit review
* Animal user training
* Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
programs
* Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
* Provision of adequate veterinary care
* Compliance
* Documentation
stakeholders of lab animals
- Clients
- Institutional property
- Public funding, ethical treatment
- community members
public opinion on lab animals and use
- is welfare important?
- should there be oversight by an independent body?
- public believes welfare is important and there be be oversight
what does the public think about use of animals for:
- medical research
- training / teaching
- agricultural studies
- understanding functions of tissues and organs
- for all of these, most people find acceptable or somewhat acceptable
> most support for use in teaching (eg. of veterinarians)
Scientific and Pedagogical Merit of animal use - what are our standards?
- All studies must have
scientific merit based
on peer review - Review by funding
agencies often
accepted (NSERC, CIHR) - Alternative methods
must be in place for
funding from non-peer
reviewed sources - Teaching protocols
must have pedagogical
merit - More difficult because
fewer experts in
pedagogy related to
animal training - Includes animal user
training at institutions
Animal Use Protocol
- what is this? who approves it?
- Describes the animal use
proposed by a researcher - Must be approved by the
ACC
<><><><> - Research objectives and benefits in
lay terms - Rationale for use of animals
- Personnel and
qualifications/training - Funding and peer review
- Category of invasiveness
- Detailed procedures involving
animals - Consideration of the 3Rs
- Humane endpoints
- Safeguards for the use of
hazardous agents - Method of euthanasia (acceptable,
conditional)
what are ‘animal models’? what is the ideal?
- Definition: Form of imitation in which
normal biology/behaviour can be studied
or in which spontaneous/induced disease
processes can be explored
<><><><> - Ideal Animal Model:
- similarity to process being mimicked
- ease of handling,
- rapid reproduction,
- economy of maintenance,
- ability to sample,
- defined genetic composition,
- defined disease status
spontaneous vs induced animal models
spontaneous - epilepsy, colitis, neoplasia… hard to control when they happen. less common.
induced - genetics, surgical, chemical… more common.
humane endpoints for lab animals
- death should not be an endpoint
- develop humane endpoints that reliably lead to death
‘- prefer stage 1 as opposed to pre-moribund mouse - maximum tolerated dose (MTD) replacing LD50 (lethal dose) > dose at which there are negative clinical signs, but not death (animals don’t have to suffer in the same way to determine lethality)
Humane Intervention Points
- what is this?
- The term ‘humane intervention point’ is used to
describe a time at which clinical signs (physiology,
physical appearance, or behaviour) indicate that an
intervention is required to relieve pain or distress,
but it is not necessarily euthanasia. - Requires monitoring and treatment plans
monitoring sheets and scoring tell us what?
- describe the disease we are investigating but as well as health and welfare parameters, and humane interventions
> show us when to watch more closely for interventions…
Authority to treat for lab animals - what is this? how does it work?
- The ACC must also delegate to the
veterinarian(s) the authority to treat,
remove from a study or euthanize, if
necessary, an animal according to the
veterinarian’s professional judgment. - The veterinarian must attempt to contact
the animal user whose animal is in poor
condition before beginning any treatment
that has not previously been agreed upon. - A written report should be sent by the
veterinarian to the animal user and to the
AC
3 rs - what are they? purpose?
3Rs: Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement
<><><><>
The first ethical framework developed to ensure research animal welfare
“….scientific excellence and humane use of laboratory animals are inextricably linked.”
methods of replacement of animals in research
- Organoids– multi-tissue in vitro experiments
- Organ on a chip
- Teaching models
- Non-animal health surveillance
methods of reduction of animal use in research
- Appropriately designed
and analysed animal
experiments that are
robust and
reproducible, and truly
add to the knowledge
base. - PREPARE and ARRIVE
guidelines– Checklists
for standardized
preparation and
reporting of studies
methods of refining animal use in research
- Behavioural management – Provision of
environmental resources and practices to meet animals’ needs - Refined handling practices – similar to Fear-free practices, training of animals
- RI.SE – Research Institute of Sweden
Why aren’t the 3Rs enough?
“the 3Rs framework
does not feature general moral
principles that display the core values at work in animal
research ethics. In addition, the 3Rs framework does not adequately address the costs and benefits of animals research to humane beings or include a comprehensive program of animal-subjects protection”
Beauchamp and DeGrazia (B&D)
Principles of Animal Research
Ethics
Principles of Social Benefit
* The Principle of No Alternative Method
* The Principle of Expected Net Benefit
* The Principle of Sufficient Value to Justify Harm
<><><><>
Principles of Animal Welfare
* The Principle of No Unnecessary Harm
* The Principle of Basic Needs
* The Principle of Upper Limits to Harm
summary of lecture
- regulation? stakeholders? ethics?
- Laboratory animal research is highly regulated
especially in the academic setting - Multiple stakeholders involved that impact
decisions related to care and treatment - Establishing monitoring and treatment protocols in
advance is critical - Ethical framework starts with the 3Rs and is
progressing towards inclusion of clear societal
benefit, and upper limits to harm
3 Rs definitions
Replacement - Avoiding or replacing the use of animals in areas where they otherwise would have been used.
<><>
Reduction - Minimising the number of animals used consistent with scientific aims.
<><>
Refinement - Minimising the pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm that research animals might experience.
