Necessity, Use, and Care of Laboratory Dogs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2020) / Chapter Skim
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As one component of its effort to understand the procedures governing animal care and use at the VA and the scientific justification for undertaking research in laboratory dogs, the committee reviewed 14 animal component of research protocol forms associated with current or recent past studies proposing the use of laboratory dogs, as well as additional background materials provided by the VA. The committee supplemented information from expert panels with a comprehensive 1
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as well as site visits, the committee concludes that the VA's biomedical research programs involving laboratory dogs appear to adhere to all relevant policies surrounding animal research. There is evidence that dogs were the first animal to be domesticated, deriving from the grey wolf at least 14,200 and perhaps as long as 36,000 years ago.1 Unlike other domesticated species such as pigs and cows, which were primarily selected for traits related to food production, the ancestors of dogs were initially selected for their behaviors.2 The ancient bonding relationship 1 Ovodov, N
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. Cardiovascular disease, spinal cord injury, and imaging are areas of current VA biomedical research using laboratory dogs;3 diabetes, narcolepsy, osteoarthritis and chronic pain, and experimental pharmacology and toxicology are areas of recent past VA research; and the committee identified three areas considered to be potential candidates for future VA research using (laboratory or companion)
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biomedical research. Based on the request from the VA to review areas of research from 2016 onward, the committee concludes that laboratory dogs currently remain scientifically necessary in these areas of active biomedical research at the VA: • mechanistic insights of premature ventricular contraction-induced cardiomyopathy; • autonomic nerve activity and cardiac arrhythmias; • cardiovascular disease requiring functional modeling of the human Purkinje system; and • development and testing of implantable devices to stimulate respiration and cough in spinal cord injury.
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Scientific review committees and institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) would be conducting simultaneous reviews of the analysis of harm and benefit, such that all three parties -- principal investigator, scientific review committee, and IACUC -- would develop an agreed-upon understanding of "scientific necessity," reconcile any differences of perspective related to the proposed study, and generally pool accountability for decisions related to the use of laboratory dogs.
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The practical effect of that definitional disagreement is that the majority believes that the interests of other laboratory animals than the dog must be taken into consideration when determining the necessity of research on laboratory dogs, while the minority believes that the question the committee was asked dealt not with other research animals but only with laboratory dogs. Recommendation 2: Adopt an expanded set of criteria for determining when to use laboratory dogs in the U.S.
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should enhance its scientific and ethical review process so that it better integrates the assessment of harm and burden with assess ments of value and impact associated with biomedical research using laboratory dogs. There should be an explicit and strong connection between scientific review and institu tional animal care and use committee (IACUC)
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will require successfully addressing those factors that favor the continued use of laboratory dogs. The VA has an opportunity to become a premier biomedical research entity engaging formally with veterinary expertise, both to enhance the experience of laboratory dogs and to conduct clinical trials in companion dogs, using companion dog studies to replace laboratory dog research wherever possible.
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This framework should prioritize: • Modifying the protocol review processes (see Recommendation 3) to require and support robust consideration of NAMs, human clinical trials, companion dogs, and alternative animal models.
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Department of Veterans Affairs to combine aspects of each of the three major approaches to animal welfare, explicitly consider positive and negative welfare states, and measure animal-based welfare indicators in order to enhance the positive welfare of laboratory dogs. Conclusion 5-2: While the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Animal Welfare Act provide a foundation for the assessment of well-being, the U.S.
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Conclusion 5-4: Based on the information obtained during site visits and in materials submitted to the committee, including AAALAC International accreditation letters and the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare report on assessment of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
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° VA veterinary and animal care staff, facilities personnel, members of the institutional animal care and use committee, and principal investigators should conduct formal, written assessments of animal welfare that reflect the state of the art in animal welfare assessment methods.
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