December 2017 : simplebooklet.com

Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 05 Page 3 Bulletin Vol 53 No 12 December 2017 EDITOR Carole Wilson bulletineditor iat org uk ASSISTANT EDITOR Karen Dunford bulletinassistant iat org uk ADVERTISEMENT MANAGERS PRC Associates Ltd mail prcassoc co uk Published monthly by the Institute of Animal Technology Registered Office 5 South Parade Summertown Oxford OX2 7JL CONTENTS Dear Readers Ken Writes 5 7 9 Congress Workshops Announced 10 Youth Reps Meeting 12 13 Paper Review Reporting Clinical Signs 17 20 ANZLAA 2017 Report 22 24 Suppliers Register i xlvi Paper Review Enrichment for Ferrets 27 29 IAT Photographic Competition 30 31 Easy Fixes for Photos 33 37 Branch News 38 43 ISSN 0263 2861 For enquiries other than Bulletin related contact IAT ADMINISTRATOR admin iat org uk or 0800 085 4380 Final copy date for February Bulletin 1st January Diary Dates The opinions expressed in the Bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or the Institute 47

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 05 Page 5 Bulletin December 2017 Dear Readers It s that time of the year again festive greetings to you all In this month s packed edition we have the return of the IAT photographic competition see page 30 and to complement that Karen has written an article giving you all tips on how to improve the quality of your photos as well as change them completely I know it is difficult to believe but the Labrador on the front cover was never actually wearing a Santa hat Elsewhere Diana Baumann reports from ANZLAA 2017 see page 22 I believe that this is a first for the Bulletin and I d like to take the opportunity to wish our entire antipodean readership a very merry holiday I would also like to congratulate Diana on winning the best scientific presentation award at ANZLAA Closer to home there is a very exciting conference announcement read about it in Ken Writes on page 9 Ken also speaks about the fantastic work Matt Bilton and the Animal Welfare group have been doing And Matt is back with another paper review this time about reporting clinical signs in laboratory animals see page 17 And for those of you who have been waiting for the ferret enrichment paper review which I mistakenly suggested would be in the October Bulletin it s here now See page 27 Until we speak again in the new year Very Happy Holidays Carole 5

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 05 Bulletin Page 7 December 2017 7 Ken writes Cathy Godfrey has decided not to seek re election in 2018 and so will be retiring from Council Cathy has been a very long standing Council member and has served as Hon Secretary Board of Education and latterly Chair of the Board of Moderators In recognition for her outstanding service Cathy was awarded Life Membership of the Institute in 2014 Andy Cunningham has resigned from Council Andy has served on Council for many years including Vice Chair of Council and Council thank him for all his work during his time on Council wishing him well in the future The above resignations coupled with other members leaving Council earlier this year means that for the 2018 Council Elections there will be four vacancies available for new Council members so if you re a MIAT or Fellow why not stand for future election and contribute to the future success of your Institute For further information email admin iat org uk Preparations for Congress 2018 are now fully under way and I know that an exciting scientific programme is being confirmed with workshops platform presentations and posters Congress is an ideal event to top up your CPD as well as to meet you colleagues and hopefully many friends If you have never attended Congress an Ice Breaker event is included so you can meet other first time delegates so don t be worried about not possibly knowing anyone see http www iat org uk congress As I write the IAT is still awaiting official confirmation of having been awarded End Point Assessor status for the Animal Technologist Level 3 Apprenticeship which should come through before this article is published This delay is somewhat frustrating as we really want to progress the appointment of a paid individual to help develop the educational programme but this is dependent on both having a sound business plan and EPA status The Animal Technologist Level 3 Apprenticeship seems to be gathering momentum with many employers in our sector showing interest Like any new initiative it is still very early days but in view of government funding towards the training of apprentices it does seem for employers an opportunity too good to miss see http www iat org uk apprentice Matt Bilton and his colleagues on the Animal Welfare Group have updated the Welfare page on the IAT website and it now contains useful links to welfare reports and issues The Welfare Group are also producing

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 9 Bulletin December 2017 reviews of scientific papers which will be published in the Bulletin to help inform members of advances in animal welfare etc see http www iat org uk welfare Speaking of key resources the Introduction to Animal Technology Edited by Steve Barnett is now available as an entry level learning resource ideal for those studying for level 2 qualifications The book see opposite has been thoroughly revised into the third edition and is available to purchase as a download or viewed online See http www iat org uk books The next meeting of IAT Council will take place in December 2017 Ken s view I spoke a few months ago about how every organisation must adapt and change to the environment in which they exist or they will cease to be relevant or worse still become extinct As a long time member of the IAT I can recall times when relations between the IAT and other professional bodies and organisations were let s say less than cordial I m now truly delighted that especially over the past ten or so years the IAT along with the goodwill of other organisations now has an active interaction with our colleagues involved in laboratory animal science and technology not only here in the UK but also in Europe the US South Africa and others internationally This mutual understanding and respect has led to the announcement that the IAT LASA and LAVA will be organising the largest UK Animal Science and Technology meeting taking place in Edinburgh on 23rd 26th March 2020 To register an interest go to www ast2020 org Finally and by no means least on behalf of IAT Council I would like to wish all our members the complements of the Season wishing you all a happy and peaceful New Year Ken Applebee Chair IAT Council November 2017 9

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 10 Timings below are subject to change Check the website and Bulletin regularly for up to date information WORKSHOPS Attendance at all Workshops is by a PRE BOOKING system Tuesday 20th March workshop registration opens 23rd February and closes 9th March 15 30 16 30 Workshop 1 The basics of an anaesthesia system a user s guide 1hr Jayson Shaw Vet Tech Solutions Ltd 14 30 16 30 Workshop 2 Bent fish accurately identifying ill health in Zebrafish Karen Dunford University College London 14 30 16 30 Workshop 3 Ready steady prep Lorraine Stretton Learning Curve Development Ltd 14 30 16 30 Workshop 4 What makes a successful assessment NTCO training and competency Tina O Mahony Sainsbury Wellcome Centre Wednesday 21st March workshop registration opens 23rd February and closes 9th March 11 00 13 00 Workshop 2 Bent fish accurately identifying ill health in Zebrafish Karen Dunford University College London 11 00 13 00 Workshop 4 What makes a successful assessment NTCO training and competency Tina O Mahony Sainsbury Wellcome Centre 11 00 13 00 Workshop 5 What inspectors look for in animal technologists during an inspection Kathy Ryder Home Office 11 00 13 00 Workshop 6 Nice to meet you so what do you do for a living Bella Williams Understanding Animal Research 16 00 17 00 Workshop 1 The basics of an anaesthesia system a user s guide 1hr Jayson Shaw Vet Tech Solutions Ltd 14 00 17 00 Workshop 7 Preparing for RAnTech 3hrs Ian Garrod Learning Curve Development Ltd 14 00 16 00 Workshop 8 Preparing to present for the first time Diana Baumann Stowells Institute 14 00 16 00 Workshop 9 Identifying evaluating and validating refinements to animal care and use Katie Lidster NC3Rs 14 00 16 00 Workshop 10 Biosecurity keeping your animals safe Adrian Woodhouse Red Kite Veterinary Consultants Thursday 22nd March workshop registration opens 23rd February and closes 9th March 11 30 13 30 Workshop 3 Ready steady prep Lorraine Stretton Learning Curve Development Ltd 11 30 13 30 Workshop 5 What inspectors look for in animal technologists during an inspection Kathy Ryder Home Office 11 30 13 00 Workshop 9 Identifying evaluating and validating refinements to animal care and use Katie Lidster NC3Rs 11 30 13 30 Workshop 11 A beginner s guide to building an animal facility Stuart Mackrell The Pirbright Institute 11 30 13 30 Workshop 12 Mapping animal journeys using participatory methods to share knowledge about animal lives and care Emma Roe University of Southampton

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 11 20th 23rd March 2018 PROVISIONAL SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME NOW IN PLACE TWELVE CPD WORKSHOPS TO CHOOSE FROM Running across all THREE days FINAL REMINDER Cut off date for Oral Poster Presentation submissions is Wednesday 20th December A FULL PROGRAMME ON ALL PAPERS AND WORKSHOPS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE NEW YEAR Our Exhibitors are very important to us The participation of the Trade Industry is another crucial element of Congress and new for next year we are running parallel sessions of half hour slots throughout Wednesday for Commercial Workshops Also the popular one minute Flash Trade session will take place View and download a digital copy of the ITP at www iat org uk congress html To discuss any aspect of Congress or if you have any questions for the Congress Committee please contact us at congress iat org uk We have a One Stop online system for Registering check out the webite for the NEW guidance information Terms and Conditions apply for all Registrants Check for updates www iat org uk

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 12 12 December 2017 Bulletin Youth Representatives Meeting O n Tuesday 19th September IAT Youth Representatives from across the UK and Ireland gathered at The Farmers Club London for yet another successful meeting Lynda Westall and Nikki Stevens chaired the meeting Lynda began with welcoming us all and introducing any new attendees For many of the Youth Representatives this was far from our first meeting Over the years we have built strong relationships with our fellow colleagues and have become a team full of initiative and desire to make a difference New attendees are always greeted with a warm friendly and welcoming environment To kick start the meeting we reviewed the actions from the previous meeting held in May It was great for the team to see our ideas sprung into action We

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 Bulletin 08 06 Page 13 December 2017 13 covered a range of topics and were asked how we believe certain areas can be improved upon Below are simply a few examples of the questions asked and discussions IAT Congress The team are asked what we would do to make a change With us being young like minded individuals what would we do differently AS ET New ways to support such a prestigious charity How can we raise money and what events would we be interested in organising attending Branch Events How can we get more people involved across the UK and Ireland Feedback on how each branch operates and how we all find the general communication between branch members Social Media We were asked how we think we can improve on our social media presence with the aim to making the IAT more active and user friendly With discussions flowing and ideas brewing we moved to a brainstorming activity to expand on our thoughts We worked together to come up with a written proposal to present to Lynda and Nikki Lynda and Nikki take all ideas on board no matter how crazy We looked at different avenues and the possibilities of our ideas becoming a reality It is clear that we all have a driving passion for what we do with one key goal in mind MAKING A DIFFERENCE To conclude Lynda thanks us all for attending We went over what we had discussed for Lynda to present to the IAT Council the following day The day ended with a trip to the pub for a well deserved drink Reporter Ryan Hill

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Bulletin Page 17 December 2017 17 PAPER REVIEW The Reporting of Clinical Signs in Laboratory Animals Reviewed by Matt Bilton and The Animal Welfare Group This FELASA Working Group report was published in Laboratory Animals 2015 The aim of the review is to discuss systematic approaches to the observation and reporting of clinical signs in animals used for research The paper opens by describing clinical signs as objective terms for describing abnormalities that are detected during a clinical observation or examination of an animal The authors then go on to describe why the reporting of clinical signs is important such as G G G G G G G G retrospective reporting assessment of animal welfare effective communication humane endpoints phenotyping safety efficacy studies scientific outcomes scientific publications All these reasons make sense but from an animal technician s point of view the assessment of animal welfare is of upmost importance It is vital that any findings during the assessment of an animal are communicated in the right way If this is done wrong this could have a major impact on the animal s welfare The paper goes on to describe what should happen during a daily inspection Most highly trained animal technicians already have a good idea but this paper is aimed at a wider audience Here is what the paper suggests 1 When entering the animal room be observant of any abnormal sounds or lack of usual background noise smells and other conditions Check any notes on the management of the room or the animals 2 Observe the cages for any abnormal deposits substrate disruption or lack of maintenance of the nesting material by the animals feed and drinking water both supply and gradual consumption over time in case of ad libitum administration or leftovers in case of meal feeding etc

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 18 December 2017 08 06 Page 18 Bulletin 3 Observe each group for general activity level and any abnormal behaviour such as an animal dissociated from the group 4 Next observe the animals one by one Observe each animal from a distance for any abnormal behaviour body contour and coat changes etc 5 Next when approaching the cage or pen observe the response to external stimuli In case the cage needs to be handled to view individual animals as may be necessary when they are housed in containment such as an individually ventilated cage IVC or an isolator the response to stimuli is an integrated part of the initial observation steps 2 4 We think most animal technicians would be doing this as part of the day today job It is worth noting however that if animals are housed in IVCs animals are difficult to see due to how IVCs work The paper suggests that for daily inspection the animals need not be handled except where prior procedures or observation of clinical signs require close attention Animals that need closer observation can be identified by reading their permanent individual mark ear notch tattoo toe mark transponder or similar mark The paper does suggest that whenever animals need to be handled such as cage changes or procedures they should be examined more closely For this a simplified scheme for general clinical examination should be followed This identifies the importance of animal technicians observations made when cleaning out It is important that the reporting of clinical signs must not be confused with the reporting of diagnoses A diagnosis is a conclusion to be made from clinical and additional diagnostic observations or measurements e g blood analysis microbiological testing A clinical sign indicates some sort of abnormal condition but not its cause as the paper states The paper has a very good table which states the areas of interest and is divided up into the following subheadings G G G G G head neck trunk limbs tail In this table the authors suggest signs that should be reported and provides instructions on how this should be done The paper then goes through the users of an animal facility such as the investigator vets and animal care staff The paper suggests animal care staff should Be competent educated and trained to work with the type of animals in

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Latest e S IATB NEW Bulletin 30 11 17 08 06 Page 19 December 2017 19 their care and to recognise normal and abnormal animal behaviours and external features Animal care staff should be competent to relate clinical signs to wellbeing ill health pain and or distress and to report on these and act on such observations in a responsible way These reports should become more informative and objective by applying systematic approaches to observation examination of animals and the use of standard terminology Animal care staff should use the reporting system in place and notify any senior staff veterinarian and or investigator depending on the local organisational structure and procedures The paper contains a number of useful illustrations one of which provides clinical terminology in a clear way This would be highly recommended if a facility aims to develop its own glossary of clinical terminology The other illustrations are examples of score sheets which the authors of the paper suggest should be tailored to projects The paper provides suggestions on how to develop your own glossary 1 Identify the areas of application a species b animals in colony stock and or breeding c specific research models 2 Find out what notes have been made in the past 3 Cluster these notes to combine similar observations 4 Discuss the analysis as a group and agree on a what these descriptions actually describe b which clusters you select to translate to your initial glossary c what items from the reference glossary would suit your purpose d what common terminology will be used in connection with the scientific term e which qualifiers should be reported for each term 5 Agree on one or more formats to start data collection a paper forms per day or per group of animals b simple generic software 6 Train all users on a the proper application of the glossary use reference pictures if you have them b the use of the registration format c clinical observation and examination 7 Celebrate the start of using the initial glossary 8 Review and analyse the outcomes after a few months 9 Discuss the outcomes and findings as a group 10 Adapt your glossary registration format accordingly 11 Start thinking of making the system more elaborate and or efficient e g the use of sophisticated automation The paper also has its own example of a glossary and terminology of clinical signs in alphabetical order This would be a very good starting point in developing your own The paper also links to the FELASA webpage http www felasa eu recommendations guidelines glossary and reporting ofclinical signs this contains 28 pages of informative information on which this paper is based

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 20 December 2017 Page 20 Bulletin Overall this is a very instructional paper Animal technicians have an important role to play in the welfare of animals in science and if we can communicate with the scientists in a way that we can all understand it will only benefit the animals that we are all responsible for on a day to day basis References Fentener van Vlissingen JM Borrens M Girod A Lelovas P Morrison F Torres YS 2015 The reporting of clinical signs in laboratory animals Laboratory Animals 49 4 pp 267 283 doi 10 1177 0023677215584249 online Accessed 30 09 2017 IAT Animal Welfare Group The Animal Welfare Group would be very interested to find out how many establishments have such a detailed reporting process in place Having a generalised glossary in place is something the group would like to establish and develop This would have many benefits mainly in the training and development of staff Please contact m bilton imperial ac uk for further information

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 22 22 December 2017 Bulletin ANZLAA 2017 Annual Conference T he annual ANZLAA Australian and New Zealand Laboratory Animal Association conference was held this year in the beautiful destination city of Sydney Australia from September 6th to 8th 2017 Workshops held prior to the conference included sessions on zebrafish necropsy and difficult conversations whilst tours were offered to Australian BioResources or the Australia Reptile Park I was lucky enough to attend the Reptile Park and was rewarded with getting up close and personal with a variety of exotic engaging and inspiring Australian wildlife There I learnt about the critical work being done on the conservation breeding programme for the Tasmanian devil an iconic Tasmanian marsupial at serious risk of extinction from a highly contagious facial tumour disease The park staff also provide lifesaving snake and spider venom collection work and I was fortunate to watch a funnel web spider being milked as part of this important programme To end an exciting day an evening icebreaker event provided attendees with drinks and light refreshments whilst listening to vendors present their latest products and innovations in a series of short talks Bright and early the next morning the conference was launched with an address from Linda Stubbs 2017 ANZLAA President Next followed a Welcome to Country ceremony a speech made by an Indigenous Australian Elder to show respect to the traditional custodians of the land and to welcome visitors This event recognises Aboriginal people as the First Australians and custodians of their land A packed three days then commenced with a local speaker providing a morning keynote followed by an international guest speaker and then two or three tracks running concurrently International speaking panel members were Dr Marjorie Strobel Dr Kenneth Henderson and Prof Jan Bas Prins along with American AALAS president Paige Ebert Linda Stubbs presenting Diana Baumann with her trophy

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 23 Bulletin December 2017 23 On day one local keynote speaker Dr Minoti Apte OAM kicked off the scientific programme with a fascinating glimpse into the world of research on pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer One of the most devastating cancers having a very low survival rate Dr Apte s work on pancreatic stellate cells offers hope to inhibit or retard disease progression Dr Ken Henderson from Charles River Laboratories reviewed rodent health monitoring programmes and considerations for determining which pathogens to exclude as well as steps to mitigate disease spread Scientific streams on animal imaging management and training welfare green buildings and aquatic animals filled the rest of the time All topics are of particular attention these days as imaging technology becomes increasingly sophisticated and we all strive for sustainable building design and recycling options for a greener environment Now that fish are a mainstream laboratory animal Carrie Barton s talk on ensuring genetic health in Diana Baumann receives fish colonies was well received whilst Best Scientific Presentation Award Dr Suzanne Fowler provided us with a novel look at maintaining mindfulness in the work environment Day two opened with the intriguing history of the bionic eye by Prof Gregg Suaning He covered the history and variety of designs developed many of which have been modeled on the cochlear implant or bionic ear devices This was followed by a second session from Dr Ken Henderson on rodent health monitoring focusing in on methods to improve pathogen detection along with a review of the impact housing systems have on health monitoring programs Tracks offered this day included health monitoring wildlife and exotic animals current practice review large animal research and animal models alongside member presentations on topics ranging from a history of vivisection to using tattoos for identification An interactive session on What s Your Diagnosis tested attendees providing useful tips to help demystify the diagnostic process

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 24 December 2017 Page 24 Bulletin That night the conference banquet sponsored by Transnetyx was held at Doltone House on Jones Bay Wharf This is a unique heritage venue situated on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour and it offered outstanding views of the Harbour Bridge and the nighttime Sydney skyline to accompany a delicious meal and lively band The local keynote speaker for the final day Prof Chris Goodnow gave insight into the path from genome sequencing to animal models as a means to diagnosing medical issues and providing cures He was followed by Dr Marge Strobel of The Jackson Laboratory who provided a comprehensive oversight of maintaining genetic quality control when managing mouse colonies Streams for the day covered the areas of transgenic technologies and microbiota research accompanied by more member presentations offering understanding on transitioning to a supervisor role decontamination selecting and training trainers and anesthesia In addition to the host of talks on the more familiar species and themes I came away better educated on a diverse array of topics including humane endpoints for Ebola ferret studies use of drones in wildlife research automated blood sampling the private lives of sharks and assisted reproductive technologies in alpacas Competing for attention with the talks during the conference were a variety of workshops and discussion groups including mouse breeding animal welfare and a trainers forum covering best practice and how to teach it When not attending sessions and during the lunch and tea breaks trade exhibitor booths offered information and advice on specialized lab animal products and services with Biological Associates and Tecniplast providing sponsorship at the conference partner level Additionally posters provided education on subjects ranging from ergonomic environments detecting pain in sheep using a sheep grimace scale to optimal diets for rats in post stroke recovery All in all it was a hectic fun packed event offering 72 sessions 33 trade exhibitors 18 posters and attended by close to 400 attendees Thanks to the Sydney organizing committee for a great conference Next year s ANZLAA will take place in Melbourne from 11 14th September 2018 with the theme for the conference being From Little Things Big Things Grow Reporter Diana Baumann

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Bulletin Bulletin Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 Bulletin Bulletin 08 06 Page 25 May 2014 15 May 2014 15 May 2014 May 2014 15 15 AS ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence in the care Bulletin and welfare of animals used in science December 2017 25 Bulletin Bulletin May 2014 May 2014 15 15 AS ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence in AS ET a charity up to advance education andwebsite promote excellence in To is see youset can forused a bursary visit our www as et org uk the care andhow welfare of apply animals in science the care and welfare of animals used in science companies listed below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join them To seeThe how you can apply for a bursary visit our website www as et org uk To see how can apply aby bursary visit our website www as et org uk find out to support looking at our website AS ET is you ahow charity set upfor tousadvance education and promote excellence in the care and welfare of animals used in science AS ET a charity to advance education and promote excellence in The companies below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join in them AS ET is ais charity setset upup to advance education and promote excellence AS ET islisted a charity charity set up to advance advance education and promote excellence in AS ET is a set up to education and promote excellence in The AS ET companies listed below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join them the care and welfare of animals used in science the care and welfare of animals used in science AS ET is a charity is a charity set up set to up advance to advance education education and promote and promote excellence excellence in in find out how to support us by looking at our website the care and welfare of animals used inour science the care and welfare animals used in science To how can apply for a bursary visit our website www as et org uk find the outsee how toyou support usofof by looking at website care the and care welfare and welfare of animals animals used used in science in science AS ET is a charity to advance education and promote excellence in the care and To how can apply a bursary visit website www as et org uk To seesee how youyou can apply forfor a bursary visit ourour website www as et org uk welfare ofhow animals used in science To see how you can apply for bursary visit our website www as et org uk To see you can apply for aa bursary visit our website www as et org uk The companies listed below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join them To seeTohow see you howcan youapply can apply for a for bursary a bursary visit our visitwebsite our website www as et org uk www as et org uk find The out companies how to support us by looking at our website listed below sponsor AS ET If you would like to join them The companies below sponsor AS ET If you would like tothe join them Sponsors of AS ETlisted are listed below and to find out more please visit website 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 find out how to support us by looking our website The companies The companies listed listed belowbelow sponsor sponsor AS ET AS ET Ifat you Ifwebsite would you would like to like join to them join them find out how to support us by looking at our www as et org uk find outto how tosupport support usby bylooking looking at our website find out how to support us by looking our website find out findhow out how support to us byus looking at ouratat website our website

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 27 Bulletin December 2017 27 PAPER REVIEW Environmental Enrichment for Ferrets Reviewed by Karen Dunford Alfredo Guti rrez Own work CC BY SA 4 0 3 0 2 5 2 0 1 0 via Wikimedia Environmental enrichment is ubiquitous in animal technology from bedding material and toys for mice and other rodents to live food for fish to hunt However the use of environmental enrichment for some species that are used for scientific procedures is still being investigated as there is a dearth of knowledge in their preferences and natural behaviours Ferrets are one such species as they are becoming a more common and less ironic companion animal there is some older information on how to improve their quality of life As a scientific model there are still some questions to be answered on what is required Previous studies have found that ferrets do prefer an enriched environment to a barren one A study published in 2015 attempted to investigate the value of enrichment and what ferrets would be willing to pay to access it entitled Workaholic ferrets Does a two chambered consumer demand study give insights in the preferences of laboratory ferrets Mustela putorius furo this was published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science by Reijgwart et al

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 28 December 2017 08 06 Page 28 Bulletin The study utilised a consumer demand model which has been used for other species to determine the value of preferences of enrichment This is conducted by allowing an animal to access potentially valuable enrichment but at a cost In this case the cost was strain which is exhibited through the requirement of pushing open an increasingly heavy door in order to access the enrichment Studies using this model can look for the upper cost limit of accessing the enrichment by observing the point at which the animal decides that the enrichment is no longer worth the cost for example a food reward is not worth pushing a heavy door Reijgwart et al designed three different experiments to determine both the suitability of the chambers and to address multiple variables within the experiment particularly address the motivation of the animals attempts to access the enrichment The main construct was a two chambered cage that the ferrets lived for the entire duration of the experiment One chamber was a living chamber whilst the other was the experimental chamber containing possible enrichment Two doors made up a one way system of entering and exiting the enriched chamber One of these doors was the weighted door and was the only way to enter the chamber The first study was conducted to determine the suitability of the test it used the two chambers and recorded frequency and duration of visits to the enriched chamber through a weighted door which would have more weights added daily The second study used variations on this theme including a mesh tunnel addition and an extra barren chamber without a door in order to identify the value of an empty chamber The third study used variations of the door construction and design including a chamber with both a heavy door and a doorless entrance into the enriched chamber The results of the first study showed that this design only met two of Craig M Groshek Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

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Latest e S IATB NEW Bulletin 30 11 17 08 06 Page 29 December 2017 29 the three prerequisites set out for suitability It was unable to show a sufficient distinction between the maximum price paid for food and the price paid for accessing an empty chamber The other two studies which were intended to identify if there was a motivation for accessing an empty chamber were unable to identify a significant difference here either Despite these results there was an indication that the ferrets were pushing heavy doors to access an empty chamber for some purpose including exploration The paper made an interesting distinction at the beginning stating that previous studies into ferret preference of environmental enrichment addressed animals likes of offered enrichment but not their want of said enrichment The concept of want in the context of the study is the relation to motivation and what level of motivation or want will push an animal to actively seek it out By placing a payment method i e a heavy door in front of the liked object the animal can exhibit the level of want The study used food as the enrichment food is a necessity for survival so there is a potential here indicating that the want the animal is expressing is actually survival Another object such as a toy or even an edible treat would be an interesting and perhaps a better choice to express want Considering this anthropomorphically think about a colleague who has brought lunch but wants a bag of prawn cocktail crisps and has to walk 10 minutes to the nearest shop stopping to get cash on the way The motivation to go through extra steps for the unnecessary crisps does indeed indicate a high level of want of crisps Whilst the paper conclusion stated that more research is necessary the study did imply that the simple task of pushing on a heavy door may have been enrichment This was seen in the experiment in which the ferrets pushed on a heavy door to access an enriched chamber despite being able to access the chamber through a nearby entrance Overall the study highlights addressing environmental enrichment for ferrets Under the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 all licence holders establishment project and personal must adhere to the 3Rs at all times This study is clearly in this realm as it is attempting to refine and improve environmental enrichment for laboratory ferrets It is well established that environmental enrichment has a positive impact on the quality of life of animals in captivity including labs and zoos References Reijgwart M C Vinke C Hendriksen M van der Meer N Schoemaker J and van Zeeland Y 2015 Workaholic ferrets Does a two chamber consumer demand study give insight in the preferences of laboratory ferrets Mustela putorius furo Applied Animal Behaviour Science 171 pg 161 169 doi 10 1016 j applanim 2015 08 032

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 30 30 December 2017 Bulletin Are you a budding photographer Why not enter the IAT photographic competition The IAT is repeating the competition that offers you the opportunity to see your photograph used on the front cover of the Bulletin or Animal Technology and Welfare journal Some recent images used on the front covers of these IAT publications are shown as examples Prizes and what we are looking for We are offering cash prizes for the best three photographs There is a 1st prize of 75 00 a 2nd prize of 50 00 and a 3rd prize of 25 00 The IAT is especially looking for images relating to animal technology and animal images Please do not take any photographs inside your research facility without first gaining appropriate approval permissions Digital image specifications The photos should be portrait orientated preferably with some clear space at the top and bottom to facilitate headers and footers The high quality colour images should be at least 2Mb in size with clear well contrasted tones and must be supplied digitally in JPEG format and have a resolution of no less than 300 dpi IAT Journal Institute of Animal Technology Animal Technology and Welfare Bulletin INCLUDES G IAT Congress 2013 posters G Mouse endotracheal intubation simplified G Discussion on improving lighting for non human primates G Congress 2013 Severe suffering workshop report G G G Zebrafish in Research Guide Dog Puppy Update Ken Writes G G G Branch News Situations Vacant Diary Dates Vol 53 No 7 July 2017 Official Journal of the Institute of Animal Technology and European Federation of Animal Technologists ISSN 1742 0385 Vol 12 No 2 August 2013

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 31 Bulletin December 2017 31 Deadlines and how we will decide on the winner The deadline for entering is Friday 23rd February and the top 20 photographs selected by the Communications Group will be displayed at the IAT Congress in March where delegates will have the opportunity to vote for their favourites Following Congress the winners will be notified and also announced in a future Bulletin issue Institute of Animal Technology Bulletin G G G Three Minute Interview AS ET Suppliers Register G G Ken Writes A Year on Council Suppliers Register AS ET G G G Branch News Situations Vacant Diary Dates G G Branch News Situations Vacant Diary Dates Bulletin G G G 5th Technician Day AS ET CLAST G G G Branch News Suppliers Register Diary Dates Vol 52 No 5 May 2016 Institute of Animal Technology Bulletin Bulletin G G Vol 52 No 4 April 2016 Institute of Animal Technology G Institute of Animal Technology Council Meeting Synopsis A Working Life Suppliers Register Vol 52 No 7 July 2016 Branch News News from America Animal Research Advances Vol 46 No 3 March 2010 By entering the competition you will provide the IAT with permission to use your photograph in its publications and other media To enter please send your digital images to adrian redkitevets co uk Adrian Woodhouse MIAT RAnTech Chair Communications Group

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 33 Bulletin December 2017 33 Easy fixes for photos By Karen Dunford Everyone takes a bad photo now and then but photos don t have to be perfect If a photo doesn t look quite right or has too much unnecessary things in it it can be altered or manipulated to look better Some fixes are quick and easy such as cropping and rotating others require the use of software Below are some examples of relatively quick and easy things that can help improve your photos At the UCL Zebrafish Facility one of our technicians wanted a good photo of a female to add to a poster However the original photo turned out rather poorly her thumb was visible and the fish was upside and too far away However we cropped the photo to remove the thumb and rotated and enlarged the fish to bring our focal point to the foreground Original fish with thumb Altered photo If the photo has been taken at the wrong angle such as landscape instead of portrait it is possible to re orient the photo If the focus is relatively small in the original simply rotating and enlarging the photo will create a a new orientation Much of the background gets lost in this method so it can only work if it is acceptable to lose a portion of the photo If this is not possible because the focal point is too big or you want to retain some of the background then a little more software skill is necessary Photos can be manipulated with tools such as Photoshop In the aforementioned

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 34 34 December 2017 Bulletin scenario a photo with an object that is large in the foreground can be retained at the same size and the background enlarged This will usually lead to having to fill in holes and altering the background which is time consuming Photos that are taken in different types of light often do not turn out very well They can be too dark and hard to make out detail or they can be too bright and look washed out This can be easily fixed with most phones or computers without having to use fancy software Lighting and colouring adjustments can usually be made by adjusting the desired affect by sliding it along a bar Top left A dark photo of Welsh sheep Right An iPhone is capable of adjusting both light and colour Bottom left The altered photo where the sheep are much easier to see Some photos require heavier editing and this requires certain skills with software Anyone can learn how to use the wide variety of photo software that is available formal courses are available but so are free online tutorials such as lynda com or even searching YouTube for video tutorials Most software is complex and can do more than what is necessary even learning the basics can really help Photos may require to have something removed in order to make them better This requires the use of Photoshop or similar software Portions of images can be removed but must be filled in otherwise it will leave a hole The less complex the background the easier this can be covered up In Photoshop the

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 35 Bulletin December 2017 35 clone stamp tool can be used to copy parts of the image and placed into the hole left by the deleted portion this is great for sky or grass or anything that is roughly uniform in colour Left Original photo with a person visible Right Removal of the person in Photoshop Sycamore Gap on Hadrian s Wall without someone in the photo Photos that have complex foregrounds and backgrounds are much more difficult to alter The same methods mentioned above can be used but typically require more patience as it can be time consuming and tricky to get all of the altered elements to look just right Otherwise it can be painfully obvious when something is photoshopped More complex photos may also require more than just the clone stamp tool creating multiple layers of the

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 38 38 December 2017 Bulletin West Middlesex Branch River Cruise I t was my first West Middlesex IAT Branch event that I attended Luckily I was not alone but in the company of Gerry a veteran of this kind of event who I knew would help me break the ice The meeting was scheduled at 6pm in front of Westminster Pier We arrived a good 15 minutes in advance and sat on a bench looking at the Thames and wondering which one of the boats would be ours Little by little the rest of the crew arrived and we went to board the boat As soon as we got on board we were handed a glass of Prosecco Little did I know that from that moment onwards I would have to sail using only one hand for the whole trip Trying to not spill the precious wine we climbed to the upper deck and took our seat close to the bow Promptly the captain of the boat welcomed us on board and gave some unusual health and safety remarks Unusual because there was no mention about what to do if people were to fall into the Thames that would have been nice to know considering that every single person around me was holding a glass But I didn t have much time to think about it since the ropes were untied and a musician started to accompany us through the journey From left to right Alan Palmer Craig Thrussell Lewis Young Matt Legate

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 42 42 December 2017 Bulletin The SCCI is a four storey building with one of these floors being dedicated to the animal facility The tour was divided into four areas of the facility clean and dirty areas IVC and procedure rooms Tecniplast and MMM Group representatives were on hand to demonstrate and talk about the installed equipment Services in the facility include the first mouse facility in the UK using a box in a box technology which provides a high quality environment for the rodents in IVCs using a multi flow ventilation system via dedicated airhandling units which greatly reduces energy requirements The facility was developed by the project team alongside Cube Clean Tech CCT and Tecniplast and contains the latest in equipment Filling water bottles used to be simple The state of the art centre due to open in Spring 2018 will be a facility for revolutionary research into cancer treatments that enhance the immune system a hub for clinical trials and development of life saving drugs It will provide a focus for leading international multi disciplinary research groups to address questions of science and experimental medicine and will work in close collaboration with the Francis Crick Institute in London The autoclave being lowered into the building

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Latest e S IATB NEW Bulletin 30 11 17 08 06 Page 43 December 2017 43 The SCCI is the only dedicated cancer immunology centre in the UK and is comprised of a barrier molecular biology laboratory where genetic modification will be used to develop new vaccines and antibody constructs and of a pre clinical immunology laboratory investigating the complex interactions between cancer development and the immune system The new facility enables the University of Southampton to double the number of researchers working on cancer immunology and ultimately will double the number of patients taking part in clinical trials After the tour the group relocated to The Malvern Tavern pub for drinks and some bar food We were joined by several others involved in the tour or the Open Day that preceded our visit A big thank you to Richard Reid from Southampton University for agreeing to allow the tour and those from CCT and Tecniplast who organised the tour and presentations Lesley Hughes Branch Reporter In the pub

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 06 Page 44 44 December 2017 Bulletin NIO Forum Nature Methods http www nature com nmeth Nature Methods a branch of Nature journals focusses on papers that improve and refine pre existing methods and techniques for research within the biomedical and biological scope of academia Those wishing to submit are welcome to pre submit in order to determine if their paper is within the scope of the journal Due to its varied academic content papers must be written in clear and non technical English the journal provides help in writing such papers if this is problematic for the author Once ready to go through the full submission process the website provides guidelines for the basic formatting including non word documents such as videos and audio files as well as the documents that are required with submission NIOs can encourage their researchers to publish in Nature Methods if they have improved and enhanced any of their research methods To submit and see the full guidelines go to https www nature com nmeth for authors

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Latest e S IATB NEW 30 11 17 08 07 Page 47 Bulletin December 2017 DIARY Dates 8 December RSPCA Lay Members Forum London Details from research animals rspca org uk 13 December Animal Welfare Student Scholars Meeting Reading Details at www ufaw org uk 14 15 December Charles River NACWO course London Details from InsourcingSolutionsUK crl com 2018 January 4 staggered 1 day per week for 4 5 weeks Learning Curve Award in Education and Training formerly PTLLS Cambridge Details from info learningcurvedevelopment co uk 23 January 2018 LASA LAVA and IAT Named Persons Workshop Competency Assessment London Details at www lasa co uk 30 January Red Kite Biosecurity workshop 2 aimed at facility managers and vets St Georges London Details from training redkitevets co uk 14 February IAT Congress 2018 Call for Posters deadline See page 20 23 February Congress Workshops Registration opens See page 10 20 23 March IAT Congress 2018 North England See page 10 and 11 Cover photo Santa Paws Carole Wilson and Karen Dunford 47

December 2017

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