04-12-2012, 04:25 PM
GUIDELINES FOR CARE AND USE OF ANIMALS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
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INTRODUCTION
The use of laboratory Animals in Scientific Research has been a subject of debate for over a century.
Though the animals were first used in research in second century AD their systematic use in research
began about 100 years ago, when vaccines for polio and rabies came up for production. Since then,
the animals have been used in research investigations and production of biologicals and have played
an important role in unfolding vital information about the human and animal life processes. This has
helped in the advancement of medicine, development of drugs, diagnostics and production of
biologicals for alleviating sufferings of both human and animals.
It must be emphasized that use of animals in research is inevitable and cannot be abandoned in the
interest of human and animal welfare. In-vitro alternate methods cannot replace animal
experimentation totally, but can work only as adjuncts and reduce the number of animals in some
cases. However, efforts to develop in vitro models should continuously be made.
The scientists are deeply concerned about the rational and humane use of animals in research.
Ethics committees are functional in many institutes. They are concerned about avoiding
unnecessary pain or suffering or injury to animals during holding, experimentation and postexperimental
period by monitoring and improving their housing, environment, feeding and
veterinary care. The Government of India has authorized the National Accreditation Board of
Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), promoted by the Department of Science and
Technology, to provide accredition services to laboratories covering a wide range of subjects
including biological and clinical laboratories. The NABL is a full member of the International
Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation and the Asia Pacific Laboratory Cooperation. Such
accreditation of animal facilities would demonstrate their commitment to responsible animal care
and use and good science since such an accreditation is an indicator of an institution’s ability to
comply with its assurances.
In India, the need to develop guidelines for the use of animals in research has been discussed at
various forums. Unfortunately no standard document was available for reference till 1992 when the
Indian National Science Academy developed the guidelines for use of animals in scientific research.
Considering the knowledge generated internationally over the years and the guidelines of WHO,
NIH associated NRC, USA and European Union, the INSA guidelines have been updated.
The Need
The biomedical scientists generally work to unfold the complicated processes of life and to provide
new measures for the health and welfare of the society i.e. the humans, the animals and the
environment. There is, therefore, need to provide them certain degree of freedom and adequate
facilities to use animals wherever necessary. It is evident that certain life processes can not be
investigated without involving whole animal system. The in-vitro alternatives can only provide
limited information. These cannot totally replace the animals in experiments. This is why the use of
animals continues to be mandatory to meet the statutory regulatory requirements. At the same time,
it is an obligation of the scientists t ensure that the experiments conducted on animals are rational
and unavoidable, and no unnecessary pain or injury is inflicted on them and they are maintained in
best possible environmental conditions. It is, therefore, necessary to have well-defined guidelines
which will safeguard the pursuit of knowledge, the interest of society and the welfare of animals.
The Objectives
To provide guidelines for
1. housing, care, breeding and maintenance of experimental animals to keep them in
physical comfort and good health and to permit them to grow, reproduce and behave
normally;
2. sources of experimental animals of known genetic, health and nutritional status;
3. development of training facilities for scientists, technicians and other supportive staff for
the care of animals and their use in experiments;
4. acceptable experimental techniques and procedures for anesthesia and euthanasia;
5. developing alternate in-vitro systems to replace animal experiments;
6. the constitution of institutional ethics committees, their functions and the legal and
ethical obligations to ensure minimal and ethical use of animals.
The INSA guidelines are the only ones available at the National level and adopted by well
established institutions in India for care and use of their laboratory animals. However, there is need
to adopt these in all the research animal facilities. It is therefore essential that these guidelines are
accepted as the national guidelines.
SOURCES OF EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS
Animals for experiments should be procured by scientists from recognized animal facilities. The
animals trapped from the wild, e.g. the monkeys, feral dogs and cats are also used in research as they
are readily available and less expensive compared to colony bred animals. These wild and feral
animals are generally quarantined and stabilized in animal facility before use in experiments. The
health and genetic status of these animals are not known and therefore a careful screening during
quarantine is necessary. The wild and feral animals should be acquired after due clearance from
Institutional Animal Ethics Committees and through certified suppliers.
The only authentic source of getting right type of animals for research should be from recognized
scientific animal facilities where the animal colonies of known genetic and health status are
available. Such animals only can provide reliable results. The scientists should therefore insist upon
getting defined animals through organized colonies eliminating unscrupulous traders, which not only
supply poor stock of animals but also maintain these animals under most unethical and unhygienic
conditions. A list of Scientific Institutions which maintain recognized animal strains is given in
Annexure-1. A directory of animal species and strains available with each of these institutions
should be prepared and circulated. A list of ‘Physiological Norms of Commonly Used Laboratory
Animals’ and ‘Reproductive Data of Commonly Used Laboratory Animals’ is given in Annexure 2
and 3 respectively.
LABORATORY ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND MANAGEMENT
(i) Housing and Environment
Laboratory animals are very sensitive to their living conditions. It is important that they are housed
in an isolated building located as far away from human habitations as possible and not exposed to
dust, smoke, noise, wild rodents, insects and birds. The building, cages and environment of animal
rooms are the major factors which affect the quality of animals.
In planning an animal facility the space should be well divided for various activities. The animal
rooms should occupy about 50-60% of the total constructed area and the remaining area should be
utilized for services such as stores (8-10%), washing (8-10%), office and staff (8-10%), machine
rooms (4-5%) quarantine and corridors (12-15%).
The cages should be made of suitable metal (stainless steel, galvanized iron sheet/rods) or synthetic
material (polypropylene/polycarbonate). They should be of suitable size for each species of animal
and should have adequate arrangement for feeding and watering. They must be free from crevices,
corners and sharp edges for easy cleaning and to avoid injury. The bedding should be of right
material and sterilized before use. Common bedding materials used in India are paddy husk, saw
dust, paper currings, dry grass and crushed corn cobs.
The environment of animal room (Macro-environment) and animal cage (Micro-environment) is an
important factor on which the production and experimental efficiency of the animal depends. Since
animals are very sensitive to environmental changes, sharp fluctuations in temperature, humidity,
light, sound and ventilation should be avoided. The recommended environmental requirements for
animal rooms, for different species are given in Annexure-4.