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Institute of Animal Technology Bulletin G G G Shambles of Science Rat Tickling Cave Things G G G AS ET News Branch News Situations Vacant Vol 54 No 5 May 2018

Bulletin Vol 54 No 5 May 2018 EDITOR Carole Wilson bulletineditor iat org uk ASSISTANT EDITOR Karen Dunford bulletinassistant iat org uk CONTENTS Dear Readers 5 ADVERTISEMENT MANAGERS PRC Associates Ltd mail prcassoc co uk Ken Writes Chris Hall Obituary 10 11 Published monthly by the Institute of Animal Technology Registered Office 5 South Parade Summertown Oxford OX2 7JL Shambles of Science 14 20 Rat Tickling 21 27 AS ET News 29 31 Branch News 33 40 ISSN 0263 2861 For enquiries other than Bulletin related contact IAT ADMINISTRATOR admin iat org uk or 0800 085 4380 Final copy date for July Bulletin 1st June The opinions expressed in the Bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or the Institute NIO Forum 7 9 41 Cave Things 42 45 Situations Vacant 45 46 Diary Dates 47

Bulletin May 2018 De ar Re aders Another month has flown by I can t believe it is May already I hope everyone who attended Congress had a good time I certainly did I thought it was one of the strongest Congresses I have ever attended I loved all the workshops and presentations The fish facility team had to split up to cover all the presentations we wanted to attend and then met back up to discuss them Next month the Bulletin will be covering Congress in depth Back to this month s issue We have to report the very sad news of Chris Hall s passing Please read his obituary on page 10 The robin on the front cover does not represent any of the articles in the Bulletin this month but to me it signals better weather and finally the coming of spring and regeneration after the winter It was also one of the entries of this year s photo competition more of which in future Bulletins Even though we do not have an article on robins another species of bird zebra finches were being discussed at the West of Scotland AGM and mini seminar The whole event sounded fascinating read about it on page 35 In another branch s news West Middlesex have announced the river cruise see page 33 I shall definitely be going to that In addition to Branch news this month the IAT Welfare Group are back this time covering rat tickling see page 21 I think this is a very interesting subject rats seem to like the interaction What do you think The Welfare Group are very keen to start a debate about animal welfare and the Bulletin is the forum to do it in If you are more interested in fish than mammals then Paul is back with an article about cave fish see page 42 I would love to have more debate about fish for example we have lots of guidelines for specific species of mammal yet very few for fish of which there are over 31 000 species Let me know what you think Happy R eadi ng Carole 5

Bulletin May 2018 7 Ken writes W ell as I write this update Congress 2018 has come and gone A very healthy 470 delegates registered and I hope you would agree with me that it was a very successful meeting on all levels I thought that the scientific programme workshops and posters were especially strong and I would encourage all those who attended Congress 2018 to recommend Congress 2019 to their colleagues which will again showcase the latest advances in laboratory animal care and welfare One should always remember the enormous amount of work that goes into organising such an event and I think it is a tribute to the Congress Committee on how much work they put in to make it all look so relaxed and effortless from the delegate s perspective The 2017 Annual Report was passed at the AGM and is now available on the Member s Section on the IAT website www iat org uk members documents Linda Horan highlighted a number of key areas and presented the main Council Objectives for 2018 1 Support the Animal Technology Apprenticeship IAT acting as an End Point Assessor EPA Organisation 2 Appoint the Educational Business Development Executive 3 Review the IAT HE Qualifications Rules of Combination and Module Content etc 4 In conjunction with EFAT and FELASA help to support the education and training of animal care staff across Europe 5 Continue and increase opportunities and joint initiatives with other organisations I would also like to welcome Dr Penny Hawkins and Professor Jan Bas Prins who were both elected as new Vice Presidents On financial matters the IAT made a small operating loss for the third year in succession which in itself is of little concern because we have sufficient reserves in our contingency fund of 250k Previously the IAT have been asked why they require 250k in reserves and I d like to take this opportunity to explain why Firstly such a sum is required to enable the IAT sufficient credit rating to book venues for IAT Congress and

8 May 2018 Bulletin secondly under Ofqual regulations all awarding organisations have to show sufficient reserves to ensure future financial sustainability I would also add if one looks at the financial annual turnover of the IAT at around 650k reserves of 250k is hardly extravagant I will end there regarding the AGM as a full report will be published on the IAT website with an abridged version in the IAT Bulletin The IAT as a founding member of the European Federation of Animal Technologists EFAT and following a presentation to the FELASA Council EFAT have now been asked to participate in a working group looking at animal care staff training across Europe Also on European matters EFAT have been approached to provide a session at the FELASA 2019 Congress to provide speakers workshops and training resources specifically aimed at animal care staff The IAT have been invited to send representation to the Home Office Training and Communications Group HOTCG which has been created from the previous Home Office Liaison Group The first meeting has set the terms of reference for the group and one of the first issues to be looked at will be training of animal handling and sexing and how it is assessed It has been agreed that future IAT graduation ceremonies will be held on the first Wednesday of July every two years in London with the next ceremony being the 3rd July 2019 Publicity will be prepared well in advance advertised in the IAT Bulletin and on the CLAST website As part of the IAT s commitment to act as an End Point Assessor under the apprenticeship scheme an Educational Business Development Executive is being sought the job description is agreed by Council and will be widely advertised ASAP with a view to holding interviews in May June 2018 Council were very sad to be saying farewell to Cathy Godfrey who stood down from IAT Council at the March meeting Cathy has been involved with the IAT for 40 years and has seen many changes during that time Cathy thanked Council and all her friends in the industry for all their help and friendship over the years The next meeting of the IAT Council will take place in May 2018

Bulletin May 2018 Ken s view I thought that on this occasion I would leave you with my personal thoughts regarding how establishments that use animals for medical research manage their facilities Now don t get me wrong I certainly have no intention of telling people how to operate their animal facilities However I do find it somewhat contradictory that while establishments invest millions of pounds on providing the optimum environment they can for their animals and science some institutions seem reluctant to invest the necessary resources to train their animal care staff to then optimise the latest technologies and equipment I have heard opinions expressed that some of those holding senior animal facility posts especially the NACWO role are not up to the job Of course while it is quite legitimate to raise such concerns one also has to accept the individuals must also have been given sufficient opportunities and resources to develop the required skills and knowledge to fulfil their roles In addition there is an obligation on us all to request and take advantage of CPD opportunities when offered After all failure is in no one s interest least of all the animals in our care Ken Applebee Chair IAT Council April 2018 9

10 May 2018 Bulletin O B I T U A RY CHRISTOPHER HALL MBE I t is with great sadness that we remember Christopher Hall who together with his family bred and supplied guinea pigs to the biomedical research community for many years from Darley Oaks Farm in Staffordshire Chris died peacefully surrounded by his family on 13th March 2018 after a long and brave battle with cancer After a private family service a Memorial Service was held for Chris on the 5th April in the village of Yoxall A hard working man outgoing and with a good sense of humour Chris had time for everyone he met He enjoyed meeting others within the research community and both he and his wife Margaret attended many different functions across our industry Some of us who are more mature in our years will have fond memories of the splendid celebrations held at their home hosted by Chris and Margaret which once included a tribute band for his favourite group The Beatles The Hall family were for more than six years subjected to over 450 instances of serious criminal activity by so called Animal Rights Militia The disturbing events perpetrated by the Animal Rights Militia became notorious in October 2004 when the remains of Christopher Hall s mother in law were removed from her grave The remains were recovered in May 2006 when police searched woodland after receiving information from an activist they had arrested The truly personal and appalling nature of their actions precipitated a turning point in the history of animal rights activism in the UK The behaviour of the Animal Rights Militia and their inhumane actions only served to discredit them resulting in their rapid downfall with subsequent criminal convictions and long prison sentences for those found guilty Sadly after trading for three decades the Hall family took the decision to close their lawful and legitimate business in August 2005 It was devastating for the Hall family that in a democratic country the rule of law could be overruled by violence It is only today that the biomedical research industry in the UK remains largely free of such criminal intent due to the tremendous bravery and unstinting fortitude demonstrated by Chris and his family and for that our industry should be eternally grateful Fraser Darling

Bulletin May 2018 Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Christopher Hall On Thursday 5th April 2018 Chris Hall was sadly laid to rest following a brave fight with cancer A private ceremony at the crematorium was attended by his family followed by a Memorial Service at St Peters Church in Yoxall for all who knew him It was a lovely service attended by over four hundred people filling the church to capacity demonstrating just how well loved and respected Chris was amongst his family friends colleagues and everyone who knew him His two daughters and brother presented both moving and funny anecdotes from memories of their time with their father and brother Friends also contributed with their stories of the time spent in his life Representatives from the IAT and within the Industry were also present to show the tremendous respect held for Chris for his continued support to the IAT even when times were difficult for him and his family The sun shone on Yoxall that day commemorating the life of a man who brought sunshine to everyone who knew him Cathy Godfrey Thursday 5th April was both a sad and uplifting day when along with 400 others I attended the Memorial Service for Chris Hall a great man who I had the privilege to become both a personal and business friend with some twenty years ago and sadly as often within life who I didn t get to see very often over recent years but the service brought back happy memories from when we did meet up at meetings or when I was invited by Chris and Margaret to their home and we would sit chatting in their garden Chris and Margaret will always have a special and honoured place in our world of Animal Technology Not only for the breeding and supply of guinea pigs raised under the best welfare conditions but also for their dedication and determination to support many of us in a very difficult environment at a time when our rights and beliefs in animal welfare and science were being seriously challenged and for which they and their families will always be in our debt Pete Willan 11

14 May 2018 Bulletin Progressing from Shambles From the Shambles of Science to Reforming Animal Welfare in Science Karen Dunford The Swedish anti vivisectionists Lizzy Lind af Hageby and Leisa Katherina Schartau are remembered in history as being the catalysts for the Brown Dog Affair in which they recorded and alleged the mistreatment of a dog during a physiology lecture see volume 54 1 for the whole story however this was not the sole record that they made In 1903 they published their diary of their time spent as students in different institutions around London detailing as they saw it unethical use of animals this is entitled The Shambles of Science Extracts from the Diary of Two Students of Physiology Vivisection goes back centuries See page for author CC BY 4 0 https creativecommons org licenses by 4 0 via Wikimedia Commons

Bulletin May 2018 15 This source of early 20th century anti vivisectionist views is difficult to read as much of it has been redacted or lost over the last century leaving a diary full of holes As with any historical study it is now impossible to discern fact from exaggeration in what remains of this diary but the sentiment left on the pages is a record of what that group of society felt was wrong with a regulated area of science And whilst their aims of eliminating animals as a scientific model have not been achieved more than a century later most of their concerns have since been addressed or made more stringent in the legal arena and can now be found under the current legislation Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 When reading the book it is clear that there is one main theme and that is the ability of animals to experience pain Lind af Hageby and Schartau connected this to the use of anaesthesia or lack thereof However they also raised concerns over animal reuse which was prohibited under the contemporary laws basic daily animal welfare and animal sourcing The bulk of the diary involves physiology based lectures which the authors witnessed first hand and describes in flowery language animals suffering for the sake of a demonstration Many of the animals described are those that were intended to be anaesthetised but for one reason or another were not properly so descriptions of whining crying struggling and even growling pepper the diary entries One dog is described as crying whilst his kidneys are exposed and a cat visibly struggling against its restraints after an incision had been made Lizzy Lind af Hageby one of the authors of the Shambles of Science By Harris Ewing photographer Public domain or Public domain via Wikimedia Commons In 1903 scientists using animals for research were liable under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 This legislation clearly states that animals must not be used

16 May 2018 Bulletin The Animal Defence Anti Vivisection Society Protest Public Domain https commons wikimedia org w index php curid 19796819 for painful experiments unless by a licensed person for an acceptable reason any animals permitted for use in painful experiments must be done so under anaesthesia and euthanised immediately afterwards Additionally the authors expressed that they felt that researchers believed animals were capable of feeling only little if any pain and therefore they were able to conduct experiments with only minimal pain relief This is in line with historical views of animals and their pain perception Descartes in the 16th century wrote of animals as only soft machines incapable of pain Even into the 21st century the ability of fish to feel pain is debated Today the same principle about animals experiencing pain is applied under the current legislation as its predecessor animals can only be used for painful experiments if authorised by the Home Office and performed by an authorised person under the Act Where the current Act expands on this is twofold giving pain a definition and the categorisation of pain suffering distress and lasting harm in different severity limits ASPA provides a definition of pain which whilst still broad negates the level of subjectivity that was present in the 1875

Bulletin May 2018 17 legislation As any licence holder will know severity limits are highly regulated and reporting actual severity is an annual legal requirement Furthermore any pain that an animal experiences must be ameliorated and or minimised Thanks to the progress of veterinary medicine and modern understanding of analgesics animals are no longer required to be euthanised if they underwent a painful procedure Anaesthesia is frequently a requirement for regulated procedures like a century ago where it differs is that it is not always required According to ASPA if the administration of anaesthesia is more traumatic than the procedure then it is not necessary But perhaps a large difference here from our predecessors is that today not all procedures are invasive many descriptions of the work in 1903 would be classed as surgical today The Cruelty to Animals Act 1875 does explicitly state that painful experiments require anaesthesia and the described ones from The Shambles of Science article fall into this category but it is not necessarily clear if there were many non painful experiments A reconstruction of a lecture that was described in the Shambles of Science Public Domain https commons wikimedia org w index php curid 19796760 In 1903 those using anaesthestics were not as well versed in these substances as we are now In 1959 Macfarland developed the modern paradigm for identifying sufficient anaesthetic depth which includes multiple clinical signs

18 May 2018 Bulletin this has been adapted for use in many species including laboratory animals The descriptions in the Shambles of Science that identify instances where there was some form of anaesthesia used mention anaesthetic depth being recognised as whether or not the animal was moving not monitoring the animal for other signs such as respiration The authors directly state in their book that vivisectionists believe that their animal models were sufficiently anaesthetised at all times even when others present did not agree Textbooks at the time however stated concerns about anaesthetics frustrating scientific experiments and therefore deep anaesthesia should be avoided it is important to note however that the legislation agreed with this concern and would permit painful procedures without anaesthetic if it would negatively affect the procedure With our modern eyes then these descriptions of insufficient anaesthestic depth may appear to be negligent but within the context of the time this may actually have been the best possible care available There are also descriptions of the use of neuromuscular blocking agents NMBA such as curare and urari At the time this use was not prohibited but was not considered a replacement for anaesthetics Lind af Hageby and Schartau encountered some instances where this was possibly being done Currently NMBAs are specifically regulated by ASPA through both the PPL and PiL and are usually used in conjunction with anaesthetics and analgesia although this is species dependent Under the Cruelty to Animals Act reuse of animals in painful scientific procedures was not permitted as the Act required those animals to be euthanised However the authors wrote about animals that had been clearly reused as they had scarring from previous surgeries In fact one of the professors involved in the Brown Dog Affair admitted in court that he was guilty of that specific non compliance Under ASPA reuse is also highly regulated it must be authorised on the PPL the animal cannot come from a higher severity limit into a lower limit the animal must have never experienced a severe limit the animal must be examined and approved by an NVS Even though technically reuse was not possible in the early 20th century there were not enough checks in place to prevent non compliance Welfare is a common concern amongst anti vivisectionists in previous centuries as well as today Today many groups rally around the idea that animals are suffering However animal welfare and care is a main concern under the legislation PiL holders are legally obliged to look after their animals to a high standard codes of practice for different species have been published to provide guidelines on how to do this effectively However within the Cruelty to Animals Act there is no condition for the state of the animals and unfortunately this was obvious to Lind af Hageby and Schartau

Bulletin May 2018 19 They spoke of tours around departments where the animal cages were visible these would have unwell animals and dead animals in with healthy animals This would not be the case in a modern animal lab many are staffed by animal technicians whose main job description is to provide and maintain animal care and welfare The welfare standards at the time were not as advanced as those a century later One of the concerns raised repeatedly in the diary as well as during the riots of the Brown Dog Affair was the source of animals At the time records were not kept indicating where animals were obtained from and there is anecdotal evidence that people sold animals into labs A public concern whether founded or not was that beloved family pets were abducted from the street and sold by a heartless ruffian to vivisectionists in their lofty educational towers Whilst this picture may seem exaggerated and edging on the side of the ridiculous it was a concern for many at the time given what is known about 19th century resurrectionists who looted graves this does not seem improbable Currently animals used in labs are typically sourced from authorised breeders and suppliers additionally many commonly used species An antivivisection protest centred around the Brown Dog Affair which originated out of the Shambles of Science Public Domain https commons wikimedia org w index php curid 19796828

20 May 2018 Bulletin are Schedule 2 species meaning they can only be sourced from such establishments All companion animals such as dogs and cats are Schedule 2 species It is legal to obtain non Schedule 2 animals from pet shops and the wild but it is generally not seen as best practice as the animals may be unhealthy or have an undesirable genetic trait In response to the Brown Dog Affair triggered by the authors of the Shambles of Science the Home Office revised their practices with animals in science which led to the new legislation Protection of Animals Act 1911 The concerns expressed in the diary were slowly but eventually addressed through tightening restrictions on the experience of pain preventing animal reuse and improving animal welfare standards Obtaining animals is also heavily regulated through the inclusion of Schedule 2 Reference McFarland W N 1959 A study of the effects of anaesthetics on the behaviour and physiology of fishes Publications of the Institute of Marine Sciences 6 22 55

Bulletin May 2018 21 WEBSITE AND PAPER REVIEW Rat Tickling By Janet Stephens photographer Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Introduction The topic of rat tickling has been a topic with a lot of information in recent times For this review the Animal Welfare Group has not only picked a paper to review but also the Gaskill lab webpage on rat tickling WEBSITE REVIEW Address https ag purdue edu ansc gaskill resources One of the first things you notice is the huge picture of a woman holding a rat close to her face As you scroll down the page the website asks a number of questions in bold which are followed by a small paragraph of text answering the questions

22 May 2018 Bulletin The first question asked is what is rat tickling This is followed up an explanation and is further enhanced by a video which gives an overview of the technique from Dr Jakk Pankseep The video lasts 1 31 and is a bit dated however you get the idea of the rat tickling technique Scrolling further down the page the next questions asked are How do we know if rats like tickling Why should I tickle my rat How do I tickle my rat All have a section of text answering the above questions with the exception being how do I tickle my rat This section is further enhanced by three full coloured pictures of the technique followed by bullet points describing the steps in further detail This is then followed by a video showing a human demonstrating the technique Beneath the video are more bullet points with hints and tips Below this is a video showing male rats playing This gives a good comparison between the two Advice on what not to do is underneath this video Then to end the webpage asks more questions such as How do I know if I am a good tickler and my rat likes it How do I know if my rat does NOT like tickling What factors should I keep in mind during tickling These are all followed up with advice below them And finally the statement on the webpage states overall have fun and remember that rats are individuals Find what works for you We would also suggest that you too what works for the rats especially if they have undergone regulated procedures PAPER REVIEW There are a number of papers with the subject of rat tickling We have chosen one that demonstrates the role the rat tickling technique plays in rats that have undergone a regulated procedure The paper reviewed is titled The social buffering effect of playful handling on responses to repeated intraperitoneal injections in laboratory rats The authors are Sylvie Cloutier Kim Wahl Chelsea Baker and Ruth C Newberry and published in The Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science volume 53 number 2

Bulletin May 2018 23 Tickling is known in humans to elicit a positive response such as laughter By Kyle Flood from Victoria British Columbia Canada Tickle Tickle CC BY SA 2 0 https creativecommons org licenses by sa 2 0 via Wikimedia Commons Introduction The hypothesis of the paper is that playful tickling would decrease stress associated with repeated injections in adult laboratory rats This is because as the paper explains handling small animals for veterinary and experimental procedure can negatively affect animal wellbeing This study is not unique as the researchers had performed previous studies and found in one that the tickling did not help whereas in another it habituated the animals to being closely monitored by technicians post injection The paper goes on to suggest that the natural playful rough and tumble behaviour between conspecifics at the juvenile stage can be mimicked by humans handling the animals and that this would reduce stress experienced by the rats The tickling movement was achieved through alternately tickling the rat s nape and ventral surface using rapid finger movements This form of interaction has been shown to induce a positive motivational state in rats and to be actively solicited by the animals Methods Altogether 48 male rats were used during the juvenile period half of the rats received only the routine minimal handling whilst the others received the

24 May 2018 Bulletin tickling treatment for two minutes daily Once adults the rats were randomly assigned to a handling treatment group either no tickling just a hand placed on the rat but no further movement or tickling pre and post intraperitoneal injections The treatment lasted for ten consecutive days and was conducted during the dark phase with the aid of a red light To reduce any variables in the experiment the animals were housed singly and located randomly throughout the rodent racks By Lucija T CC BY SA 4 0 https creativecommons org licenses by sa 4 0 from Wikimedia Commons Data was recorded and gathered through sound including both audible and inaudible calls the 50 kHz inaudible calls are interpreted as positive sounds the 22 kHz inaudible calls were associated with aversive states and audible are interpreted as associated with distress or pain Changes in bodyweight were also measured and fecal samples were taken to test for corticosterone

Bulletin May 2018 25 Results and Discussion The results showed that rats with the most tickling experience both at the juvenile and adult stage had experienced less stress during the experiment this was shown through more 50 kHz inaudible calls recorded The more exposure or the early exposure at the juvenile stage showed that rats produced more inaudible calls at 50 kHz and therefore experienced less stress Overall this would reduce the frequency of aversive or audible calls during the procedure and had an impact on the length of the procedure Neither bodyweight or fecal corticosterone were significantly affected by the different handling techniques This study provides support for the hypothesis that tickling when provided both before and after injection is effective in mitigating pain and distress experienced by animals during an intraperitoneal injection The conclusion of the paper is that this change in handling will have a positive impact on laboratory rat welfare The reduction of time in conducting the procedure and the relatively lower experience of stress experienced by the rats would also strengthen the quality of scientific data collected in research as well as reduce numbers of rats used due to the necessity to repeat the procedure Reviewer 1 comments The age of the rats is not overly clear e g 21 days 45 days I am unsure if the animals were purchased and then went into the study or if they were acclimatised before and if so for how long It was also not clear why only males were used for the study nor if there was a specific reason for choosing the SD strain It is interesting that the animals were singly housed given that they are a social species This would have a huge impact on their stress levels The study stated that they were injected at random times during the night again it seems that disturbing an animal during this phase will negatively impact its stress level A repeat of this study done with animals housed in groups or pairs and with the procedure occurring during the day would be of interest An aside made in the paper was that there was evidence of prolonged decrease of fear of humans in the rats that had been tickled If this can be repeated it would have a positive impact in animal welfare On the surface this study may appear too strong in its methods however due to the lack of standard housing methods and disturbing the animals during the night phase this may not be as strong as it appears at first glance

26 May 2018 Bulletin These are the most interesting points that I took away from the paper Tickling of juvenile rats 25 to 45 days of age is the most valuable Rats will display reduced fear to human contact between 40 and 50 days after tickling has ceased The results suggest that for tickling to be effective it must be employed before and after an invasive event Tickling is a time rich procedure The payback is that animals are more relaxed during handling the procedure is completed quicker and one technician is required when previously two have been needed Would the results be the same under regular light condition It is expected that the majority of procedures are completed under regular lighting and not red light It is not clear how far in advance the tickling commenced before the procedure was undertaken If tickling was undertaken with no procedure for a number of days prior would the positive effects increase The animals were housed within lower humidities than expected within the UK could higher humidities have an effect on the results Reviewer 2 comments I thought this was an interesting paper It would be helpful to know if tickling would have an effect on breeding production Could there be a positive effect for the breeding results for strains that are poor breeders Here at our facility a lot of our work is behaviour related but we do tickle the rats to make them accustomed to handling I feel this really does work even for animals that are not undergoing repeated procedures Our rats happily sit on the forearm and like to be tickled I also feel that this helps with nervy or inexperienced students and researchers in gaining confidence with rats This is something that our university is keen to get involved with as we do a lot of IP injections with our rats However the majority of our IPs are carried out on female Lister Hooded rats which are very active and can be wriggly so it would be interesting to see how this strain and also being females would react in a similar study They are also injected with PCP which further affects their behaviour I do agree with the points that the first reviewer made regarding the red light aspect of the experiment and also singly housing the rats they are issues that stood out to me Overall I do think it is a positive idea and after speaking with members of staff in the unit especially the staff who work with rats they have been very

Bulletin May 2018 27 receptive to the idea If anything it is a new challenge to them and also promotes more contact with the animals compared to what they usually experience References https ag purdue edu ansc gaskill resources last accessed 31 03 2018 Cloutier S Wahl K Baker C and Newberry R C 2014 The social buffering effect of playful handling on responses to repeated intraperitoneal injections in laboratory rats Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science vol 53 2 pp161 166 IAT Animal Welfare Group Your opinions For a few months now the IAT Animal Welfare Group have been publishing these paper reviews to help inform the 2 500 or so members of the IAT Have you tried these welfare initiatives at you facilities Did they work or are they nonsense Your views are a vital part of providing animal welfare debates Animal Technologists are often the people who come up with and implement welfare ideas The IAT Bulletin is a good way to discuss and voice an opinion in the animal welfare debates This could be by way of letters to the editor in response to our welfare paper reviews Let s get the debate started Animal Welfare Group The Animal Welfare Group is responsible for leading the NACWO Exchange programme and ensuring that animal welfare advances are communicated to the IAT Membership 01 2 2 2 3 4 5 61 7 8 9 Matt Bilton Chair

Bulletin May 2018 29 Patron Professor Lord Naren Patel KT Chair of Trustees Professor Sir Richard Gardner FIAT Hon FRS Secretary to the Trust Ken Applebee OBE FIAT FRSB Trustees Stephen Barnett MSc Hon FRSB Jasmine Barley MSc FIAT Karen J Gardner AS ET News Registered Charity Number 113319 Registered Office 5 South Parade Summertown Oxford OX2 7JL AS ET does Yorkshire It does not seem a month ago that I was reporting the recent AS ET activities and now I have Carole knocking on my door figuratively of course for the next episode Its been a very busy few weeks with even more events to attend on the horizon The biggest event of recent weeks has of course been IAT Congress and despite threats from the weather a record number of delegates attended It was great to catch up with friends old and new especially some of our bursary recipients If anyone needs a snow shovel spare duvet and a flask please let me know as my nearest and dearest insisted I carried all three on my trip north just in case Congress is a major event for AS ET as it is for the IAT we benefit from various fundraising events and take the opportunity to hold a Board of Trustees meeting as well and other business meetings whilst we are all there Professor Gardner and Stephen Barnett distributed certificates to those sponsors from the trade companies who were attending Congress This year s fundraising campaign once again gained from a steps competition organised by Toby Sanders and sponsored by Agenda and Allentown Entrants purchased a pedometer for a minimum of 2 and the challenge was to do the number of steps closest to the pedometer our umpire was wearing The prize once again was a Fitbit and we were delighted to present Carmen Abela with the prize at the AS ET reception on the final evening of Congress We are grateful to everyone who took part and also to all of those delegates who at the thought of the amount of exercise involved gave a donation instead

30 May 2018 Bulletin In addition to the steps competition Russell and Amy Morgan of Impex very kindly organised a raffle of a giant Easter egg and raised the grand sum of 85 Professor Sir Richard Gardner once again provided another of his beautiful watercolours of the Yorkshire dales for a silent auction These paintings are avidly collected and raise significant sums for AS ET Sam Calvert and Sarah Lawson volunteered to ask delegates to sign up as supporters with the additional bonus of all new supporters being entered into a prize draw Although 2 a month doesn t seem a lot for example a cup of coffee from a garage costs more all these small sums add up to provide more bursaries to those requiring additional support to those employed in the care of animals used in science It does not have to be a course as we also contribute towards applicants attending scientific meetings that are relevant to their careers as well as offering the chance to win one of our special travel bursaries Our final activity at Congress thanks to continuing support from the Institute was a chance to acknowledge our gratitude to all our supporters and sponsors at a reception held just before the Congress dinner on the final evening It is always great to have a chance to welcome the friends of AS ET and my don t we all scrub up nicely During the reception Professor Gardner presented certificates to Karen Dunford and Jobie Broadhurst recognising their success in winning the Special Bursaries Various prizes that AS ET provides were presented including those for students studying for IAT qualifications Sadly its not all good news this year as you will see from the following announcement No Special Travel Bursary in 2018 Only four people entered for this very prestigious prize in 2017 The prize is an expensive one to offer and its educational value lies in the number of people we encourage to undertake the academic exercise of researching analysing and writing on the important topics the judges ask them to consider If the competition attracts so little interest we feel it is not a responsible use of the money people give us to achieve our aims For that reason and with regret AS ET has decided to withdraw the prize for 2018 We will try again in 2019 and hope for more interest We will however be holding the essay competition for the Congress Bursary prize so watch out for the announcement of the topic and conditions for entry in the Bulletin

AS ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excelle Bulletin May 2014 15 the care Bulletin and welfare of animals used in science May 2018 31 To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website www as et ET isisaacharity up advance education and promote excellence ET charityset set uptoto advance education and promote excellence The companies listed below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join care and welfare of animals used in science e find careout andhow welfare of animals used in science to support us by looking at our website ee how you can for visit website www as et org see how canapply apply for abursary bursary visitour our website www as et org AS ET charity set up up toaadvance advance education excellence in AS ET isis you aa charity set to education and promote AS ET is charity set up to advance education and promote excellence in the care and of animals usededucation ineducation science AS ET ischarity awelfare charity set up to advance advance education and promote excellence in the care and animals used in science AS ET aawelfare charity set up and promote excellence AS ET is ais setof up to to advance and promote excellence in in the care and welfare of animals used in science listed below AS ET If would like totojoin them the care and welfare ofsponsor animals used in science science the care and welfare animals used the care welfare of of animals used in in science ecompanies companies listed sponsor AS ET Ifyou you would join AS ET is aand charity to below advance education and promote excellence inlike the care andin the AS ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence To see how you canused apply for bursary visit how to support usinof by looking atvisit our website To see how you can apply for aa bursary our website www as et org uk welfare of animals science dout out how to support by looking our the care and welfare animals usedat in science To see how you can us apply for a bursary visit website our website www as et org uk To see how you can apply for bursary visit our website www as et org uk how apply aa bursary visit website www as et org uk To To seesee how youyou cancan apply forfor a bursary visit ourour website www as et org uk The companies listed below sponsor AS ET Ifour you would like them Sponsors of AS ET are listed below and to find out more please www as et org uk visit to thejoin website The companies listed below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join them To see how you can apply for asponsor bursary visit website The companies listed below AS ET If you would like to join them The companies listed below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join them The companies listed below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join them www as et org uk The companies listed below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join them find out out how how to to support support us us by by looking looking at at our our website website find find out how to support us by looking at our website find out how to support us by looking at our website find how support looking website find outout how to to support us us by by looking at at ourour The companies listed below sponsor AS ET Ifwebsite you would like to join them find out how to support us by looking at our website

River Thames Sundowner Cruise Friday 22nd June 2018 IAT West Middlesex Branch would like to invite you to a relaxing two hour sunset cruise on the river Thames With a nice glass of something fizzy in hand canap s and live music playing in the background this must be the one of the most relaxing ways to enjoy the spectacular views of London passing by Date Departure Return Friday 22nd June 2018 6 15pm Westminster pier 8 30pm Westminster pier Tickets 15 for IAT WMB members 27 for all other branch members Includes 2 hour River Cruise with spectacular illuminations of London A glass of bubbly on arrival Canap reception Live music Cash bar open throughout the cruise Tickets are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis If you would like to reserve your place please email Julie Bee crick ac uk Sponsored Sponseredby by

Bulletin May 2018 35 West of Scotland Branch AGM and mini Seminar 23rd February 2018 T he West of Scotland Branch was joined by techs from Dundee which swelled our numbers to around 25 This is a great turn out for us Thanks to everyone who turned up it made the organising worthwhile We had three great speakers lined up before the AGM The first of those was Dr Colin Henderson from the University of Dundee His presentation was based around his research and was titled Mouse models for drug development room for improvement He explained that there are more and more chemicals in the environment Since 1950 we have produced 80 000 new chemicals These can lead to mutations in humans and may account for the increase in cancer diagnoses His research is focussed on the cytochrome P450s Phase I drug metabolising enzymes which are responsible for the metabolism of more than 75 of all marketed prescription drugs The reason a lot of new drugs fail in clinical trials when they move from preclinical mouse rat studies to humans is that the P450 drug metabolises enzymes in mice very differently to humans resulting in altered drug pharmacokinetics i e how the drug is handled in the body and different plasma drug levels There is a real need for this type of research

1 2 19 4 4 4 4 14 2 6 7 1 7 A1 J 4 4 T7 9 Z 1 W 9 4 97 4 RS 7 5 4 V67 4 74 16 4 1 6 97 1 9 H 4 1 19 Bulletin 36 May 2018 A 17 4 H 4 2 19 4 4 5 6 4 1 A 7 19 1 4 1 1 4 6A 1 1 that a mouse model is currently so inadequate think A way around this is to create a humanised mouse put very simply the mouse s receptors are replaced with human ones This mouse model would then be better for pharmacological studies It was a really interesting talk if not a little depressing to C 2 6 1 9 4 4 1 I 97 4 7 9 L A9 16 47A 6 7 9 L 1 A 1 1 1 A 24 97 4 7 9 7 2 9 5 5 1 1 A 17 4 9 4 U 2 1 6 4 1 H 4 The next speaker Chris Connolly again from The University of Dundee 4 A1 4 4 7 9 7 4 911 6 4 _9 delivered a presentation entitled Two bee or not two bee that is the M A 1 9 0 277266 E F 7 3 2 G9 B7 C 0 1 23 7 E 4 1 A1 H H 2 5 question 1 2 5 4 _9 H There are two distinct kinds of bee colonies and all bees are female They are very intelligent and can be trained They have fast olfactory learning much faster than dogs the US military uses bees in explosive detection devices due to this trait We all know bees and insects are in decline you only need to think about long distance car journeys about 20 years ago when your car was covered in dead insects and now there is almost nothing Human populations are growing and we are clearing large areas of vegetation and destroying the food source for bees But a major problem is the sub lethal effect of neonicotinoids which are used as insecticides to control pest species but persist in the crops and expose bees via nectar and pollen This dose is extremely low and non lethal However it does affect their learning and memory so bees become poor foragers and less efficient at learning to associate floral scent with food reward This leads to colony failure and reduced pollination of food crops This type of insecticide is being phased out in the UK but not in other countries and new replacement pesticides may work in the same way

Bulletin May 2018 37 Going organic may help as pesticides are not used and more people change over to organics the more will be produced naturally reducing the chemical load in the environment The third and final speaker before the AGM was Graham Law from The University of Glasgow His talk entitled Enrichment Finches to Killer Whales was as always thought provoking Graham said we need to understand animal boredom before we can attempt to alleviate it and mentioned a book written by Francoise Wemelsfelder called Animal Boredom http animalstudiesrepository org cgi viewcontent cgi article 1001 context ac wp_asie Environmental enrichment is looked upon as a potential counterbalance to the boredom that being in captivity can create Graham pointed out that we often apply human perceptions of what comfort is to alleviate boredom in animals no matter how misguided or inappropriate these perceptions may be for the species concerned He has spent many years studying this topic and contributed to projects all over the world offering novel solutions He states that you need to understand what is of value to the animals and try to provide that for them Some folks are of the opinion that if an animal has been in captivity for many generations then their behavioural requirements have been reduced to a point where we no longer need to provide for them However in the case of laboratory animals we need only to look at the work of Dr Manuel Berdoy a zoologist at the University of Oxford to see just how erroneous that opinion is In his study Berdoy released laboratory rats into an enclosed outdoor farm setting Very quickly their wild type behaviour came to the fore see https www youtube com watch v giu5WjUt2GA See also the work of the ethologist Dr Alex Stolba on the behaviour of intensively reared pigs when returned to a semi wild situation Enriched animals are more stimulated and have heavier brains when compared to those held in unenriched environments Interestingly zoos look at how to preserve the natural behaviours of their charges whereas in a laboratory setting these behaviours for the most part are not needed and therefore less valued Graham has done a lot of work with the captive zebra finch colony at the Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine where he currently works This is still a laboratory environment but small changes can make a big difference from a rigid perch to flexible perches of different thickness it means the birds have to balance and use different muscle groups when one decides to fly away and the others stay on the perch

38 May 2018 Bulletin Zebra finches First appeared as Fig 1 in Law G Kitchener A C 2017 Environmental enrichment for Killer whales Orcinus orca at zoological institutions untried and untested International Zoo Yearbook 51 232 247 DOI 10 1111 izy 12152 Figure 1 Orca two way communication link Graham Law Universities and research organisations around the world can tune in The Orca captive wild communication link links all captive Orca to wild resident populations The captive whales will control on off switch for communication

Bulletin May 2018 39 An animal s preference can be assessed by offering different types of enrichment and scoring the amount of time spent utilising it or if it sacrifices a treat to access the enrichment The same approach to enriching the lives of laboratory zebra finches can be utilised to enrich the lives of captive killer whales Lots of small changes that increase the interface that the animals have with their environment can be brought into play For example after a working trip to Sea World in Florida Graham proposed an array of enrichment possibilities for killer whales including a look at creating acoustic space and distance A whale call in the ocean travels for miles and miles can acoustic space be created in captivity by using sound absorbent tiles on some areas of their pools Also by using satellite communication can we link the captive groups acoustically together so that they can communicate with each other Then using acoustic buoys in the oceans where resident killer whales pass through create a link with their wild counterparts Also the sounds of the wild seas where these animals or their parents originated from may be relevant in stimulating the ancestral memories that many animals are known to carry I d like to take this opportunity to thanks all three speakers for a really informative and interesting afternoon The talks were followed by some refreshments provided by the West of Scotland Branch and then we held the AGM 2017 had been a fairly quiet year and although we had some good ideas they didn t get organised The committee is as follows and I d like to welcome the new committee members POSITION NAME CHAIR Brian Leiper SECRETARY Linda Horan TREASURER Kevin O Halloran BRANCH REP MS KO COMMITTEE Lee Wheeler COMMITTEE David Dow COMMITTEE Margaret Skeoch COMMITTEE Dave Gormal COMMITTEE Dennis Duggan

40 May 2018 Bulletin After the meeting we headed to a pizza place for some food I ve never had such a thin pizza base and don t think I want to again Alastair from DBM very kindly paid the bill for the meal and drinks so massive thanks to him Lovely to see everyone attending Thanks to Kally for the Dundee speakers recommendations The next event is the Five Sisters Zoo on the 19th May Branch Reporter Linda Horan

Bulletin May 2018 41 NIO Forum N amed Information Officers are required to find and provide information for those who request it As the role is a relatively new addition to British laboratory animal facilities some NIOs may find it challenging to uncover requested information expeditiously Below are some resources that NIOs may find useful in their investigations UFAW Universities Federation for Animal Welfare UFAW is an independent charity that works with the animal welfare scientific community worldwide to develop and promote improvements in animal welfare This includes laboratory animals although the remit is much broader It serves several different functions including promotion of education support of scientific developments in animal welfare and the provision of expert advice to governments Probably of greatest interest to NIOs are the UFAW publications and news and events pages Among the publications are books useful and directed specifically at animal welfare in science These include The Welfare of Animals Used in Research Practice and Ethics by R Hubrecht and The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals edited by R Hubrecht and J Kirkwood The publications also include The UFAW Journal Animal Welfare a quarterly journal which contains papers related to a wide variety of animal welfare issues but also some specifically referencing laboratory animals The news and events include a news sheet published every spring which covers round ups of meetings amongst other things The 2018 news sheet has yet to be published so look out for that There is also a news page reporting on a variety of animal welfare issues All in all the UFAW website contains a great deal of very useful information for NIOs There is a lot of specific laboratory animal information covering a wide variety of species as well as ethical material The broader remit of UFAW also allows information collection for a deeper understanding of animal issues in general Website ufaw org uk

42 May 2018 Bulletin Cave Things Paul Barwood A wide range of animals have adapted to existence in the perpetual darkness of the subterranean environment Limited nutrient sources and a lack of environmental cues mean that these animals are notably different to those found on the surface most commonly losing sight and pigmentation There are three categories of animals that live in caves trogloxenes troglophiles and troglobites Trogloxenes such as rodents or bats will use caves for shelter but generally source their food from the outside world Troglophiles are creatures such as spiders which can potentially live in a cave for their entire life but can also survive on the surface Troglobites are fully adapted to cave life and have such specialised physiology that they would not survive on the surface Due to the isolation of cave environments most troglobites are rare have small ranges and are at risk of easily becoming extinct Many cave animals descend from species that originated before the last glaciation approximately 8000 BC Evolving from animals with traits that enabled them to survive and reproduce in cave environments over one thousand cave species are known to science Crustaceans insects and arachnids make up the majority of troglobites which also includes species of flatworms snails amphibians and fish Most caves are stable environments having little seasonal variation in temperature pressure and humidity They create a physical barrier so offer decreased competition for resources and reduced predation pressures thus enabling evolution via isolation Generally lacking in nutrients and food for the animals and insects that inhabit them most food in the cave ecosystem comes from the surface Other animals that use caves can import nutrients or depend on organic debris washed in roots passing through the bedrock can also bring in nutrients all of which are distributed by interconnected underground streams Low nutrient availability and similar environmental pressures push troglobites in the same evolutionary direction These traits include conservation of energy such as slower metabolisms and decreased reproductive rates which result in fewer but larger eggs that have an increased chance of survival Troglobitic organisms also commonly display and lose similar phenotypic traits often the loss of eyesight and pigmentation in perpetual darkness eyesight and pigmentation have no function Troglobites are therefore excellent models for the investigation of the underlying processes of regressive evolution

Bulletin May 2018 43 A cross between a surface fish with a cavefish results in a blind fish bottom By Joshua B Gross Richard Borowsky and Clifford J Tabin CC BY 1 0 http creativecommons org licenses by 1 0 via Wikimedia Commons Astyanax mexicanus By H Zell Own work GFDL http www gnu org copyleft fdl html or CC BY SA 3 0 https creativecommons org licenses by sa 3 0 via Wikimedia Commons

44 May 2018 Bulletin Currently regressive evolution is still poorly understood but Mexican cavefish Astyanax mexicanus have become a popular scientific research model They represent a good model for both developmental and genetic analyses because they have fully adapted to the cave environment and also have related surface relatives The caves also represent stable environmental pressures with few variables Uniquely among troglobites cavefish can be easily bred and raised in the laboratory and can be bred with their surface dwelling relatives In recent years combined use of morphological and genetic data has provided a much clearer picture of the origins of the Mexican cavefish Through these studies it has been possible to estimate when the cave forms became isolated from their ancestors on the surface and determine whether the cavefish from a single stock of surface fish going into the caves in one single instance or if that happened several times The consensus view is that they developed from at least two separate surface stocks over the past several million years with each stock being a result of multiple invasions of the cave environment This view of the origins of the Mexican cavefish will help in understanding whether parallel or convergent evolution is responsible for the phenotypes seen and the length of isolation required for these traits to come to the fore This will ultimately enable a deeper understanding of what is responsible for devolution and the loss of certain phenotypes Blind cave fish are not actually born blind For about the first 20 hours of embryo development their eyes start to develop normally after this the eyes of the Mexican cavefish regress and fat deposits take the place of their eyeballs Due to the loss of visual perception the region of the brain responsible for visual processing shrinks this results in their brain being smaller than those of the surface forms incurring a lower metabolic cost Along with decreased metabolic rates and augmented sensory perception that compensate for the loss of vision there have also been physiological changes caused by life in perpetual darkness Cavefish have enhanced taste perception more teeth and larger jaws than their surface dwelling counterparts The bodies of most animals are symmetrical often indicating good health and genes as well as making the processing of visual perception easier on the brain Mexican cavefish have lateral asymmetries that develop in their bone structure as they age predominantly around and behind the collapsed eye orbit By having a skewed skull a result of the fragmentation and the fusing of bones they are able to better sense their environment and detect food by increased sensitivity to movement and changes in water pressure through the lateral line Recently research of Mexican cavefish genetics has revealed some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the loss of eyesight and pigmentation Finding the genes and mutations responsible for trait modification in cavefish has increased our understanding of the molecular basis of parallel evolution

Bulletin May 2018 By U S Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters cave adapted crayfish uploaded by Dolovis CC BY 2 0 http creativecommons org licenses by 2 0 or Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Closing date Thursday 31st May 2018 45

Bulletin May 2018 47 DIARY Dates 24 May LARN Meeting England Details homeofficeliaison pirbright ac uk 1 June Improving Science Advancing Animal Welfare Towards better In Vitro Practices The Netherlands Details https www fcs free org symposium 2 June Guide Dog Event North West Branch Details michaeljackson manchester ac uk or nicky datesand com 5 7 June Fondazione Guido Bernardini Pathology of Fish Leiden Netherlands Details http www fondazioneguidobernard ini org en training_initiatives event_ detail aspx IDEvent 110 IDEventTyp e 5 IDEventSection 1 year 2018 13 15 June AFSTAL 44th Annual Conference Reims France Details http www colloque afstal com Front cover Robin Courtesy of Ken Lovelock 22 June West Middlesex Branch River Cruise See page 33 28 June UFAW Animal Welfare Conference Recent Advances in Animal Welfare Science VI Newcastle Details https www ufaw org uk ufawevents recent advances in animalwelfare science vi 28 29 June Fondazione Guido Bernardini The Three Rs in Research Project Design a Prerequisite for Good Science Italy http www fondazioneguidobernard ini org en training_initiatives event_ detail aspx IDEvent 112 IDEventTyp e 5 IDEventSection 1 year 2018 11 July Foundation Course in Tecniplast IVCs England Details info tecniplastuk com