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Pages 1-8

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From page 1...
... This is especially true for distress, which has historically been difficult to define and on which there has been relatively little research. Scope of the Study Due to both the paucity of information and the lack of a clear, widely accepted definition for distress, the scientific community using animals in research, including investigators, veterinarians, animal care staff, and animal care and use committees, has not had reliable guidance in recognizing, 
From page 2...
... While all possible scenarios cannot be included in this document, general guidelines and examples will be given to aid Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) members, investigators and animal care staff in making decisions about protocols using laboratory animals under current federal regulations and policies.
From page 3...
... Scientific research does not yet support objective criteria or principles with which to qualify distress, objective scientific assessment of subjective emotional states cannot be made, and while there is often a measure of agreement on the interpretation of physiologic and/or behavioral variables as indicators of stress, distress, or welfare status, there is not always a direct link. Further, the Committee postulates that even if a universally accepted definition existed, it could not be applied across all species and all conditions, because of the differential impact of the strain, age, gender, genetic background, and environment.
From page 4...
... Thus, recognizing stress and distress in laboratory animals based on behavioral changes remains a significant challenge to investigators and animal care staff. A first-order approach to this challenge is to understand the animals' normal behaviors, while keeping in mind that such behaviors are neither invariant nor universal.
From page 5...
... New minimally or noninvasive technologies that allow sophisticated tracking of disease progression, allow for reduction in animal numbers and/or earlier termination of experiments, thus avoiding prolonged and/or unnecessary discomfort to the animals. To address situations of unanticipated distress, the investigator, veterinary staff, and animal care personnel, working as a team and in compliance with the current regulations, should establish a plan to alleviate the distress, for example by removing an animal from the study, or through pharmacological treatment with anxiolytics, antidepressants, or neuroleptics.
From page 6...
... on the development of distress; • identify refinements in euthanasia methods; • study the potential use of historical controls in appropriate research protocols; • determine parameters for optimal husbandry conditions for labora tory animals; and • determine the appropriateness of experimental designs currently used for human research in studies that depend on laboratory ani mal models. The Committee also provides the following recommendations: 1.
From page 7...
... for publication of research on the effects of enrichment strategies on parameters such as physiology, distress, and endpoints for all laboratory animals (one useful example is the Primate Enrichment Database hosted by the Animal Welfare Institute) . Although a variety of journals (such as Lab Animal, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Animal Wel fare, Laboratory Animals, Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Ani mal Science, Comparative Medicine)
From page 8...
... Funding for laboratory animal welfare research, however, is usually available only in small amounts from nongovernmental organizations such as the Animal Welfare Institute, the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, and the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science. Given the impact of better animal welfare on science as well as the growing public interest in the treatment of labora tory animals, federal agencies and large foundations that support biomedical and behavioral research should make funds available specifically for the avenues of investigation listed above and for other related topics.


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