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Summary Laboratory Animal Science
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Laboratory Animal Science - 3e bachelor biomedische wetenschappen
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Learning material: laboratory animal scienceChapter 1: Introduction
Animal science: multidisciplinary
- quality of research
- well-being of the laboratory animals
By increasing the knowledge of different aspects of laboratory animals
- contributes to the reliability and reproducibility of the results
- decrease of discomfort for the animals
Topics
1) Legislation – Safety
2) Zootechnique of different species
3) Housing of lab animals
4) Ethics
5) Anaesthesia – Analgesia – Euthanasia
6) Experimental & Surgical techniques
7) Hygiene & Microbiological Standardisation
8) Genetical Standardisation & transgenesis
9) Behaviour an wellbeing
10) Feeding lab animals
11) Using alternative methods
+ workshop: handling of small animals
+ ECD Project-assignment
Exam
- exam material: webinars
- written exam: max 18/20
- 5 questions evenly divided over the course topics
➔ final score: exam (18/20) + assignment (2/20)
When ended successfully => FELASA B certificate!
Chapter 2: History
don’t important, gives background for chapter 3: ‘Legislation’
Use of lab animals parallel with the development of medical science.
Hippocrates: accent on anatomy, mostly descriptive character,
vivisection, no anaesthesia, on alive and awake animals.
Galenus: physiology (ex. urine produced by kidneys), animal accepted as a model for men.
Rising of Christianity: nearly no research done during several centuries, very little animals use.
From the 15th century on: urge to increase knowledge, experiments on non-anaesthetised animals.
Cartesian view on life: animals don’t feel pain, so you can freely use them for experiments.
Andreas Vesalius: anatomy of humans + animal experiments.
William Harvey: animal = important source of information (ex. blood circulation and valves).
1
,Second half of the 19th century: important increase in animal use!
Discovery of anaesthetics + several important scientific discoveries:
- Darwin: biological similarities between humans and animals => use of animals as model for humans.
- Claude Bernard: function or organs. Defends the use of animals in experimental work.
- Emergence of microbiology: infection experiments and development of vaccines and antisera.
After WO I: production of pharmaca, new disciplines and strong increase i/t number of lab animals.
Shift in type of species used: dogs, cats, rabbits and pigs => rodents: rats and mice.
Legal obligation to test compounds in animals before use in clinical studies
1876: firs legislation concerning the use of animals in research
Countermovement’s against the use of animals in experiments.
Chapter 3: Legislation
3.1. Numbers
Between 600 and 700 thousand lab animals are used in Belgium, mostly rodents like rats and mice.
Use of laboratory animals is fluctuating:
- development of alternatives, ethics, legislation, more responsible use and high costs → decrease
- development of transgenic animals used in many disease models → increase
3.2. Legislation
3.2.1. Overview of the national and European legislation:
First European Convention for the protection of vertebrate animals that are used for experimental and
outer scientific purposes – March 1986 – November 1991
Belgian law concerning the protection and well-being of animals – August 1986
Royal Decree concerning the protection of laboratory animals – November 1993
3.2.2. Recent changes in the law:
New Belgian Royal Decree: even stricter rules concerning housing of laboratory animals – April 2010
New European Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purpose – September 2010
Royal Decree: transposition of the EU Directive into national legislation – May 2013
3.2.3. What does the law say…
Definition of “Laboratory animal”
Every living vertebrate (gewerveld) animal
- including free living and/or reproducing larval forms
- excluding other foetal or embryonic forms
- used or intended for laboratory experiments
2
,Some things have changed:
- include some invertebrae, like Cephalopoda (squid, lobster…)
- include mammalian embryonic (zoogdierembryogenese) forms from the last third of term
Definition of “Animal experiment”
Every use of a living vertebrate animal for experimental and other scientific purposes.
- can inflict pain, suffering, discomfort or permanent injury
- including every treatment that has the purpose/consequence of the birth of an animal in this condition
- except the least painful, accepted methods to kill er mark the animal (so-called humane methods)
- excluding non-experimental treatments in agriculture and in veterinary practice
Pain, suffering and discomfort were not defines in previous legislation → now included in the new
European Directive → Royal Decree
Animals should not be used more than once in experiments that inflict serious pain and suffering!
Pain and permanent injury are taken into account to determine the degree of pain and suffering.
- Mild: administration of anaesthesia, non-invasive imaging, superficial procedures etc.
- Moderate: surgery under general anaesthesia and appropriate analgesia, associated with post-surgical
pain; induction of tumours or spontaneous tumours; irradiation or chemotherapy a sublethal dose etc.
- Serious: toxicity testing, vaccine potency testing, irradiation or chemotherapy with a lethal dose
without reconstitution of the immune system etc.
Purposes of animal use:
- production and control of sera, vaccines or diagnostics
- toxicological and pharmacological research
- diagnose of diseases
- education
- answer scientific questions
Housing and taking care of laboratory animals
- housing conditions, environment, space to move, feed, water and care → meet the animals’ needs
- daily control of animals and environment (ex. temperature), also during weekends and holidays
- regular control by the veterinarian (large animals) or expert (rodents, rabbits)
- law Oct. 1991: detailed overview of caretaking and housing of animals per species
Source and identification of laboratory animals
- no stray pets (zwerfdieren), lost or abandoned (verlaten) animals, but purpose-bred!
- mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, primates, dogs, cats and quail
=> purpose-bred by licensed breeding companies
=> exemption (difficult to get, strong motivation needed, when you need animals that aren’t available
purpose-bred ex. special breed of dog)
- special demands for threatened species living in the wild (also strong motivation needed)
- farm animals (ex. sheep, pigs etc.)
=> farm → not purpose-bred
- register must be kept of all animals coming in and leaving the laboratory
- dogs, cats and primates
=> marked individually and permanent
=> immediately after weaning (spenen)
Statistical information
→ statistical data concerning the use of laboratory animals must be handed to the government every
year: number used per species and numbers per type of experiment (ex. fundamental research,
toxicology, education etc. and even more specific what disease).
3
, Responsible use of laboratory animals
Animal experiments
- must be restricted to the absolute minimum
- may only be performed if the purpose cannot be achieved by other methods
- may only then cause pain, suffering or injury if they cannot be avoided for the purpose
- may only be performed under anaesthesia, unless the pain, suffering or injury is less than what is
caused by the anaesthesia
- if anaesthesia is not possible, analgesics or another fitting method to decrease pain or suffering
should be used
- animals must never be subject to serious pain, great discomfort or suffering
- the choice of animal species must be seriously considered
- preferably use animals with the lowest neurophysiologic degree
3 R’s (Russell and Burch): “The principles of Humane Experimental Technique”
=> Reduction, Replacement and Refinement (see chapter “Alternative Methods”)
3.2.4. What do you need before starting animal experiments?
1) Governmental laboratory licence → Flemish Community, dept Animal Welfare.
You need this to be allowed to do animal experiments.
• overview and map of the rooms
• overview of the kind of experiments that will be performed
• list of the species and their source
• overview of the staff, responsible for the projects and working with the animals
=> laboratory director: responsible manager
=> expert: responsible for the protection of the health and well-being of laboratory animals
for large animals: veterinarian; for small animals: FELASA C training under supervision
=> project leader: sets up the experiments, responsible for the animal experiments, keeps a log
=> biotechnicians: staff that conducts the experiments
=> animal caretaker
2) Permission of the Ethical Committee is obligatory in laboratories and institutions since 2001.
Tasks:- evaluation of the planned experiments
- setting up of ethical criteria concerning animal experiments
- advising laboratories and the government
- reporting to the government
Professional secrecy (beroepsgeheim) for the members!
Composition:
- laboratory director certain skills are needed:
- project leader - knowledge of animal models
- biotechnician - knowledge of statistics
- veterinarian or expert - knowledge of alternative methods
- independent members - …
! governmental inspector is no longer a member, but can attend the ECD meeting at any time
Competencies are important: ethics, alternative methods, animal health and wellbeing, experimental
design and statistical evaluation
- at least 7 members are present and at least all the competencies are present to approve a project
- no conflict of interest allowed
Appropriate form to apply for the permission of the Ethical Committee:
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