Using Behavior to Enhance Research Animal Welfare Kathryn Bayne, MS, PhD, DVM, DACLAM, DACAW, CAAB Global Director AAALAC International
Framing the Discussion Establishing context Using behavior to assess welfare Using behavior to improve welfare Knowledge gaps
What is a Research Animal?
Behavior as an Indicator of Animal Welfare Good first tier measure, but may be inadequate as the sole assessment tool Integrated approach that includes behavior, health profile, physiology, immunology of the animal is optimal, though some of the measures may be invasive and stressful for the animal
Welfare Assessment CCAC Guidance Information from structured behavioural assessments - An example would be documenting the animals behavioural repertoire and activity budgets (including grooming, sleeping, play, social behaviours, facial expressions and vocalizations). Behavioural assessment requires an understanding of what is normal behaviour for the species and individual animal, which may be observed from video footage of animals in their natural environment.
Where to begin. What is Normal Behavior? What is the Reference Point for Normalcy? Observer s experience? Living context of the animal? Animal demographics?
Understanding Normal Primate Behavior Within species differences arise from: Age Sex Health Condition Housing system Experience Current Previous
Understanding Research Animal Behavior
http://www.aps.uoguelph.ca/~gmason/stereotypicanimalbehaviour/library.shtml
Assessing Nonhuman Primate Welfare Ability to cope effectively with day-to-day changes in the social and physical environment Ability to engage in beneficial speciestypical activities Absence of maladaptive or pathological behavior that results in injury or other undesirable consequences Presence of a balanced temperament and absence of chronic signs of distress
Using Behavioral Indicators of Welfare There should be behavioral diversity Some kinds of species-typical behavior may be better indicators of welfare than others Determine the etiology of atypical behavior patterns before recommending an intervention
Naturalistic Nest Score System (Hess et al. 2008)
Time to Integrate into Nest Test (TINT) (Gaskill et al. 2013)
But, Strain Differences. Rock et al. 2014
Monitoring Experimental Animal Behavior for Welfare Judgments Determine which behaviors are: Readily observable Reliable across observers Are meaningful indicators of good/poor welfare Factor in known experimental effects Identify behavioral signs associated with the experimental effects
Welfare Assessment Tools Subjective observations, sometimes with limited objective data (e.g., amount of food consumed) Objective score sheets with pre-determined categories of observations and signs Score is a number Response is a yes/no (for presence of welfare indicator)
Welfare Assessment Coat Condition A dirty, unkempt coat is often suggestive of poor health or welfare. Barbering A starey coat reflects piloerection of guard hairs
Play Behavior as a Metric of Welfare
Bayne & Novak, 1998
Body Scoring (Nonhuman Primates) Honess et al. (2005) 1 = Very good coat condition; complete back cover 2 = A few small patches of alopecia (2-5 cm 2 ) 3 = Large patches of alopecia (>5 cm 2 ), or numerous small ones totaling 25-50% of the surface of the back 4 = Generalized alopecia (not patchy), involving more than 50% of the back 5 = Back completely bald (i.e., more skin visible than hair)
Laboratory Animals (2001) 35, 379-389
Assessing Pain in Laboratory Rodents Video Tutorial
Assessing Pain in Laboratory Animals In order to be practicable, a pain scoring scheme needs to use behaviours that can be readily identified by relatively inexperienced staff. It also needs to be applied rapidly and be capable of assessing behaviour in a short period of time.
Mouse Grimace Scale
Rat Grimace Scale
Readily Available Resource
Rabbit Grimace Scale Keating SCJ, Thomas AA, Flecknell PA, Leach MC (2012) Evaluation of EMLA Cream for Preventing Pain during Tattooing of Rabbits: Changes in Physiological, Behavioural and Facial Expression Responses. PLoS ONE 7(9): e44437. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044437 http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0044437
Leach MC, Coulter CA, Richardson CA, Flecknell PA (2011) Are We Looking in the Wrong Place? Implications for Behavioural-Based Pain Assessment in Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculi) and Beyond?. PLoS ONE 6(3): e13347. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013347 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0013347
Grimace Scale Other Applications Tail Docking in Piglets
Looking Beyond the Face
Using Behavior to Reduce Stress Working with the animal Designing the environment to elicit species typical behaviors
Positive Reinforcement Training
Positive Reinforcement Training
Modifying the environment to enhance animal well-being Choosing Wisely.
Designing the Behavioral Management Program Evaluate your colony Species, age, use Evaluate the housing system Facility, cage system Define the parameters of the BMP Enrichment, training animals, training staff Who is responsible? IACUC, EEC What is the budget?
Enrichment-- What, Why, How Enrichment is typically intended to improve animal welfare over some established baseline. Often, the wild counterpart of the laboratory animal is held up as the standard for comparison. However, this comparison may be inadequate due to the potential for changes to have occurred in the biology of the laboratory animal (e.g., mouse) following generations of targeted breeding.
Animals should have opportunities to exhibit species-typical activity patterns -- Perching
Animals should have opportunities to exhibit species-typical activity patterns -- Foraging
Foraging Opportunities
Humane Endpoints vs. Experimental Endpoints Understanding behavior Markers of reduced well-being Well trained staff Earlier (more humane) endpoints can be identified and used to prevent or terminate pain/distress
Research Animal Welfare Assessment Team Approach Assessment parameters are customized to the species, strain, research use Education and training Validation Establish criteria of good welfare Recognize experimental effects Identify clinical and behavioral signs associated with the experimental effects and thus determine intervention points/humane endpoints Communication
Assessment Challenges Sheer numbers Up to one hundred thousand rodents at one institution Balancing herd health with ensuring individual animal welfare Technologies (e.g., IVCs) create challenges in conducting daily observation of rodents Economic constraints Societal values are diverse regarding the use of animals in research, teaching and testing and so data may be interpreted differently
Cataloging the Ethogram
Still learning.. Press Posturing (Gaskill & Pritchett-Corning, 2015)
With thanks and attribution to Assessing the Health and Welfare of Laboratory Animals Newcastle University 3R Research Foundation Switzerland Canadian Council on Animal Care National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research
Thank You!