Chapter One History and Purpose of Laboratory Animal Science and Animal Care Programs

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Introduction to Laboratory Animal Care  Understand:  regulations, room environments, signs of clinical illness, safe and sanitary care, record keeping, irregularities, routine treatments, hygiene, sanitation and sterilization procedures  Provide important information flow to investigators about their animals.  Lab animal technicians are responsible for welfare of animals in their charge.

History and Purpose  Laboratory animal science = scientific & technical information and techniques  Includes husbandry, nutrition, behavior, health, production and management  Laboratory animal medicine deals with diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases.  Field of laboratory animal science has existed since 1950’s.

Animal Experimentation  Aristotle => comparative anatomy & embryology  Galen => principles for experimental research  19 th century => major medical advances  vaccines, anesthetics, techniques to prevent infection  20 th century => technology, chemistry, radiology, pharmacology, genetics, immunology...  Dr. Simon D. Brimhall became the first laboratory animal veterinarian  1950s - beginning of laboratory animal science

AALAS  1950 the Animal Care Panel (ACP) established.  ACP created organization concerned with production, care and study of laboratory animals.  ACP became the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS).  AALAS:  Publishes “Comparative Medicine” and “Contemporary Topics.”  Certifies trained technicians & promotes education.  Annual meeting of scientists, veterinarians, technicians, managers and suppliers.  There are 48 local AALAS branches

Other Associations  Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Lab Animal Care International - AAALAC International  accredits over 500 institutional animal care programs  National Association for Biomedical Research - NABR  public & scientific community legislation & regulations  incurably ill for Animal Research - iiFAR  represents individuals w/ little or no hope for a cure  American Veterinary Medical Association - AVMA  organization for veterinarians  American College of Lab Animal Medicine - ACLAM  veterinarians specialize in lab animal medicine  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - PETA  against the use of animals in research

The Role of the ALAT  Technicians directly impact experimental data.  Regulations/guidelines issued by PHS, NIH and USDA set standards for facility operation.  Continuing education trains technicians to meet operational and regulatory standards.  A research facility may develop own training program or use organizations such as AALAS.  AALAS certifies at the following levels:  ALAT - Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician  LAT - Laboratory Animal Technician  LATG - Laboratory Animal Technologist

More Roles of the ALAT  Animal husbandry daily functions  Sanitize animal rooms & caging, monitor environmental conditions and maintain records  First to recognize & report potential problems  Moral and ethical aspects of animal care  Know regulations for use of research animals.  Perform:  sanitation, sterilization, changes environment, handle, restrain & sex animals, identification, records, signs of illness, behavior  Improper care could disrupt research efforts or invalidate results.

Ethics of Animal Use  “Ethics” is defined as:  1) the principles of honor and morality  2) accepted rules of conduct  3) the moral principles of an individual  Knowledge gained to benefit humans & animals justifies animals being used in an ethical manner.  Certain rules must be followed to ensure animals are used ethically.  These rules are “The Three R’s.”

The Three R’s  The 3R’s  Replacement of animals  Refinement of procedures  Reduction to the minimum number  Cells culture  Cells from one animal may produce enough for many experiments.  Number of animals used can be reduced.  Refinement = designing experiment so stress & pain is minimized.  Animal in surgical procedure given anesthetic during and analgesic after surgery

Research Beneficiaries  Animal research has led to medical advances  resulting longer and healthier lives.  Immediate benefits from biomedical research:  Immunization against infectious diseases.  Antibiotics, insulin, anti-inflammatory, chemotherapy  Replacement, reattachment, transplants, and surgery  Normal lives or abilities for newborn  Studies in nutrition enhance animal health.  Vaccines enhance well-being of companion animals.  Drugs to fight infections, parasites, and cancer are tested on research animals.

Additional Reading Cohen, B.J. “The Early History of Animal Experimentation and Animal Care.” I. Antiquity. Laboratory Animal Science 9:39– Cohen, B.J. and Loew, F.M. Laboratory Animal Medicine: Historical Perspectives. Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, FL Flynn, R.J. “The Founding and Early History of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science.” Laboratory Animal Science 30(4, Part II): 765– Fox, M.A. The Case for Animal Experimentation—An Evolutionary and Ethical Perspective. University of California Press, Los Angeles, CA Sechzer, J.A., ed. “The Role of Animals in Biomedical Research,” Vol. 406, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, New York, NY