Return to flip book view

Institute of Animal Technology Bulletin G G G Barking in Roe Deer Revisiting a Book Review AS ET Annual Lecture G G G Caption Competition Branch News Diary Dates Vol 54 No 8 August 2018

Bulletin Vol 54 No 8 August 2018 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 ISSN 0263 2861 For enquiries other than Bulletin related contact IAT ADMINISTRATOR admin iat org uk or 0800 085 4380 Final copy date for October Bulletin 1st September The opinions expressed in the Bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or the Institute CONTENTS Dear Readers Barking in Roe Deer Congress 2019 Book Review 5 7 9 11 13 15 BING Meeting and 18 19 Caption Competition Andrew Blake Tribute Award Branch News Diary Dates 24 22 29 31

Bulletin August 2018 De ar Re aders I hope everyone is enjoying the summer holidays and the wonderful weather This month we have a packed edition with a return to an old feature which I don t believe has been in the Bulletin since 2012 Yes the caption competition is back See page 18 Captions of 10 or less words it s got to be printable and the winner is awarded a 50 voucher Did you see the front cover What a great photo of a roe deer taken by Lewis Thornhill and I have reviewed a paper about roe deer barking accompanied by more fantastic images from Lewis See pages 7 9 Karen has also written another article this time she has taken a trip down the IAT s memory lane and has revisited and re reviewed a book that was first reported on in the very first publication of the IAT when we were called the Animal Technicians Association back in 1950 Read that on pages 13 15 Did anyone notice that we covered Congress 18 in the June issue and moved seamlessly into promoting Congress 19 in the July issue That can only mean that it s definitely time to start thinking about what work you want to share then see pages 10 12 This is also a good time to remind you about the Andrew Blake Tribute Award still time to enter see page 24 What about the Branches How about going to the races page 21 with the Surrey Sussex and Hampshire Branch or competitive fishing page 23 You are too late to go to the zoo with the Glasgow and Edinburgh Branch but you can read about it on pages 25 29 If you are not a member of a Branch contact a Branch secretary and join see page 22 Happy R eadi ng Carole 5

Bulletin August 2018 7 Barking in Roe Deer Reviewer Carole Wilson Images Lewis Thornhill A review Contexts and possible functions of barking in roe deer As animal technologists we may think that all research carried out using animals is in a biomedical context and involves the use of small mammals and even smaller fish However there is much work carried out trying to understand animals their behaviour and environment in general for example the study of marine mammals Here I review a paper that investigates barking in roe deer when they bark and why they bark The authors primarily studied barking in response to human disturbance and to the prerecorded sounds of other deer barking Three different reasons for barking were hypothesised barking as a warning to predators that the deer were aware of them to indicate territories and as an alarm call It was found that lone deer barked more than those in groups suggesting that the barks were about predator detection barking to warn the predator that the deer knew they were there This also seems likely because if a predator was spotted very close up the deer

8 August 2018 Bulletin would silently flee The authors also speculated that the barking of more than one deer may also act as a deterrent confusing potential predators as to the position of the deer The barking became more frequent at low light suggesting that it became more difficult to spot predators in dim light and increased from February through to August further suggesting that the growth of plants and trees may impair vision It was hypothesised that barking increased in both dim light and heavy vegetation as a response to perceived threats as well as real threats from predators a better safe than sorry strategy The authors found this difficult to assess as the area in which they studied the deer had no natural predators All deer irrespective of sex age group size and time of year barked to some degree in response to disturbances Young solitary individuals barked most frequently even very young fawns were observed barking although most of the fawn barking took the form of high pitched contact squeaks with their mothers rather than the yapping dog barks made by more mature individuals Although all roe dear bark it did not appear to be as an alarm call to other deer Those animals living with close family relationships did not bark as much as lone deer suggesting that if barking was an alarm call those with close family relationships should bark the most which they did not

Bulletin August 2018 9 Despite this males barked more than females and the frequency of barking seems to correspond to age older males barking the most These males were more likely to respond to the recorded calls than younger males indeed one male rushed at a speaker playing barking of another male on his territory Barking in males increased in the pre rutting season and corresponded to more aggressive behaviour The older males barked more frequently than young ones suggesting that barking in roe deer has also a territorial function In summary this paper hypothesises that barking in roe deer evolved as an antipredator strategy barking to alert potential threats that they had been spotted A secondary function of barking seems to arise in territorial claims older male deer bark more frequently and even more so before the rutting season The authors however found no evidence of barking being an alarm call to other roe deer These findings do not always correspond to the habits of other species of deer suggesting that barking has different functions across different types of deer Reference Contexts and possible functions of barking in roe deer D Reby B Carnelutti A Hewison Animal Behaviour 1999 57b 1121 1128

THIS IS YOUR INVITATION TO CONNECT AND PARTICIPATE See the booklet distributed in this issue Delegate registration opens ONLINE Monday 10th September Venue North West England Included in it are O Registration and Closing Dates reminders O Early bird discounts availability O Full package information and cost O Day packages information and costs O Discounts for taking part in the Scientific Programme O Provisional timings for Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday O Trade exhibition timings O Social Programme DO YOU HAVE COLLEAGUES WHO YOU THINK MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN PRESENTING BUT DO NOT SEE THE BULLETIN REGULARLY THEN WHY NOT ALSO DOWNLOAD THE 3 CALL FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE WEBSITE AND PIN THEM ON YOUR TEA ROOM NOTICE BOARD The Invitation to Participate booklet can also be viewed online and downloaded at www iat org uk congress To discuss any aspect of Congress or if you have any questions for the Congress Committee please contact us at congress iat org uk

Packaging for Animal Technology and Welfare ATW and Bulletin At the 2018 AGM Steve Barnett raised a question concerning the environmental impact of future packaging for the ATW and Bulletin The current stock of polythene bags are indeed recyclable in the same fashion as other plastic carrier bags The supplier does operate a strict environmental policy which ensures they exercise proper control over their activities to limit environmentally damaging and wasteful practices The current stocks of postage bags will last for one further year and of course by not utilising these would be in itself an environmental waste Council have already begun seeking samples and quotes for the optimum environmentally friendly packaging whilst ensuring the security of the contents IAT Council

Bulletin August 2018 13 Book Review Notes on Communicable Diseases of Laboratory Animals The first publication of what is now the IAT Bulletin included a book review of the then newly published Notes on Communicable Diseases of Laboratory Animals by Dr H J Parish Dr Parish also spoke on his work at the 1950 Congress reported in the same Bulletin that report coming next month The book is more of a monograph or handbook and intended as a quick reference guide for diagnosis in an animal house The book itself according to its own preface was requested by delegates at a meeting of the Society of Public Analysts Biological Methods Group in 1947 and was based on a previous The cover of Notes on Communicable synopsis presented there Diseases of Laboratory Animals by Dr Parish The book is small with a paper cover Notes is structured in such a It would have been a handy addition to a way to make it an easy to use 1950s animal house guide on identification of diseases It covers 11 different species including dogs cats monkeys mice and canaries Each section describes common diseases and their corresponding symptoms post mortem diagnostics and suggestions on control of disease Some of the diseases covered may be familiar to the modern animal technician such as snuffles in rabbits or ringworm in mice Other diseases covered that pique an interest are Haemolytic streptococcal bubonic infections in guinea pigs rabbit syphilis and toxoplasmosis in ferrets Notes also covers how to treat these diseases once present in an animal population as well as general guidelines on control and cleanliness in animal houses

14 August 2018 Bulletin The review that appeared in the 1950 Bulletin states the necessity of such a book in animal houses throughout the country The reviewer who remains unnamed emphasises the fact that diseases in animals can result in both the death of the animals and the research being severely delayed or setting back any scientific work being conducted The reviewer points out that the book is in no way comprehensive but was overall impressed with the handbook The original review of Notes as it appeared in the first edition of the Journal of the Animal Technicians Association The reviewer gave a favourable review noting the importance of such a handbook on animal welfare Looking at both the 68 year old review and book in a modern context is quite interesting The review itself hints at the newly accepted concept of healthy animals equals good science now widely accepted and the request of the book to be published mentioned in the preface indicates that those working in animal houses had a desire to move the industry forward and improve the quality of welfare and research The lack of diagnostic tools at the disposal of animal house attendants is also intimated by the impressed tone of the reviewer The information presented in the book seems useful but perhaps a little less scientifically presented than a 21st century version would be But as the

Bulletin August 2018 15 reviewer pointed out Notes is not comprehensive and so this may have been intentional Some of the controls suggested are still in use today such as quarantines of imported animals disinfection and sterilisation of equipment One of the treatments suggested does leave some questions the treatment for rabbit syphilis is listed as mercurial ointments arsenical injections or penicillin In 2018 the suggested treatment would be the latter as mercury and arsenic are known toxins At the time of publication penicillin was a new drug and clearly animal treatments were only slowly catching up to human medicine This also brings another question who would administer these treatments Today under ASPA an NVS Named Veterinarian Surgeon would be responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the animal population Was the administration of treatment done by the animal house workers in 1950 Was a vet present And was Notes intended to be a stand in for a vet in terms of diagnosing an animal Today when teaching technicians how to identify ill health in fish it is made clear that a diagnosis should never be made and only clinical expressions should be recorded For the mammalian technicians I would ask if you make a diagnosis on your own with a guide such as this one or is it made by a specialist The handbook was published in 1950 which predates the publication of the now ubiquitous 3Rs 1959 yet the book and the impetus to produce it is a clear forerunner of refinement Animal house attendants were clearly thought to benefit from this book which in turn would benefit the animals The idea that catching and diagnosing a disease before rampaging through an animal colony is one animal technicians still work with and was equally if not more so important more than half a century ago If anyone would like to read a copy of Notes on Communicable Diseases of Laboratory Animals it is available for purchase in various online stores as well as through libraries such as the Wellcome Library or the British Library It makes a fascinating read Reviewer Karen Dunford

16 August 2018 Bulletin Annual Lecture AS ET Annual Lecture AS ET Lecture AS ET Annual AnnualAS ET Lecture London London London London Two for the price of o Two for the price of one Two for the price of one Two for the price of one Two for the price of one the ultima twinning the ultimate twinning twinning the ultimate twinning the ultimate twinning the ultimate UHJHQHUDWLRQ regeneration UHJHQHUDWLRQ UHJHQHUDWLRQ UHJHQHUDWLRQ Professor Professor Stern Professor Claudio Claudio Stern Claudio Ster BSc FRMedSci PhD Stern DSc FRS FRSB FRMedSci BSc PhD Professor Claudio BSc PhD DSc DSc FRSB FRSB FRMedSci FRS BSc PhD DSc FRSB FRMedSci FRS J Z Young Professor of Anatom J JZ Z Young Young Professor Professor of of Anatomy Anatomy University College London University College London University College London J Z____________________________________________________________ Young Professor of Anatomy _________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ University College London 4 30pm 2018 Wednesday 18th October 2018 4 30pm Wednesday Wednesday 18th October October ____________________________________________________________ 5 00pm 2018 4 30pm Wednesday 17th 18th October 2018 Central London Central London London Central 4 30pm Wednesday 18th October 2018 Central London The be followed by a wine recep Thelecture lecture will be be followed followed by aa wine reception The bylecture winewill reception The lecturewill will be followed by a wine reception Central London ________________ ________________ ________________ The lecture will be followed by a wine reception Admission Free Admission Free Admission Free ________________ Order Tickets from Order Tickets from Order Tickets from http www animalsinscienceeducationtrust org uk a http www animalsinscienceeducationtrust org uk annuallecture Admission Free http www animalsinscienceeducationtrust org uk annuallecture Sponsored by Sponsored by Sponsored Order Tickets by from http www animalsinscienceeducationtrust org uk annuallecture Sponsored by

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 August 2018 17 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

18 August 2018 Bulletin The BING Caption Competition Write a 10 word or less caption for this photo and win a 50 voucher The winner will be published in a future edition of the Bulletin Send your entries to Lynda Westall lynda westall aol co uk and Kally Booth k booth dundee ac uk

Bulletin August 2018 Branch Innovation and Networking Group BING Meeting held on Tuesday 15th May 2018 The Tuesday above saw another meeting for the IAT Youth Reps taking place It was a lovely warm day in London and it was great to catch up with the other attendees and see what actions had been achieved since our last meeting in September 2017 There were several regular attendees present but also a new representative coming along to their first meeting everyone was made welcome There was quite a lot of discussion regarding Congress and how ideas from this group might continue to contribute to activities in the future Ideas for competitions ice breakers and talks were all considered and will be passed to the Congress committee for their consideration also For those of you that are not aware there is an IAT Facebook page that you can join and we are exploring ways we can use social media to increase this activity and get more people interacting Finally one of the main agenda items for this meeting was the suggestion of a change to the remit of the group and therefore its name that was posed by Council It was felt the original name was restrictive and not in keeping with the diversity policy of the IAT After much discussion and some guidance from Council it was agreed to rename the group the Branch Innovation and Networking Group or BING for short For those Branches who had been unable to find a suitable IAT member to attend previous meeting if you have any member who is enthusiastic open minded and able to attend a couple of meetings a year then please get in touch with your Branch Secretary or the Branch Liaison Officer and register your interest We are always looking for new innovative members to join who can bring new ideas and insight to the group Once the meeting concluded we all went to a nearby pub to unwind before heading home The BING intend to update members on what they are involved with via a short article in the Bulletin following each BING meeting Melissa Vaughan 19

IAT Branches There are 16 regional branches of the IAT Branches organise educational and social events for the members within their region Branch Rules guidelines and templates for branch advertisements can all be downloaded from the Members section on the website This is a list of the current secretaries for each branch Branch Cambridge Edinburgh Herts Essex Huntingdon Suffolk Norfolk Ireland London Midlands North East England North West England Oxford Surrey Hampshire Sussex West Middlesex West of Scotland Secretary Sarah Shorne Janice Young Joanna Cruden Jo Martin IAT Email cambridgebranch iat org uk edinburghbranch iat org uk hertsessexbranch iat org uk hssbranch iat org uk Lisa Watson Rebecca Towns Ian Fielding Rachel Sandy and Joanne Bland Nicky Windows April Shipton irelandbranch iat org uk londonbranch iat org uk midlandsbranch iat org uk northeastbranch iat org uk Francesca Whitmore Josefine Morsing Linda Horan shsbranch iat org uk westmiddxbranch iat org uk westscotlandbranch iat org uk cheshirebranch iat org uk oxfordbranch iat org uk

Bulletin August 2018 23

Bulletin August 2018 25 IAT Glasgow Edinburgh Branch trip to Five Sisters Zoo O n Saturday 19th May the Glasgow Edinburgh Branch visited Five Sisters Zoo at West Calder on the outskirts of Edinburgh 34 people met at the zoo on a rather hot and sunny day and yes we do have hot days in Scotland It was nice to be joined by members from Dundee and Aberdeen and Patrick Johnston from Allentown Typically for Scotland the weather stayed nice all day and everyone had an opportunity to see all the fabulous animals enjoying the sunny weather The Five Sisters Zoo has over 100 varied exhibits ranging from leafcutter ants to lemurs and black rats to lions so there was plenty to see and do 34 people enjoyed the sunny day The visit was nicely timed and as we went round we managed to see a lot of the animals being fed which meant we got to watch them interacting with each other and the keepers in their enclosures As did some of the residents

26 August 2018 Taking it easy but also staying alert Bulletin

Bulletin August 2018 27 We had also booked two handling session where we got to handle a Corn snake a Giant African snail and the Lesser Madagascar Hedgehog Tenrec Animal technologists get younger all the time The Tenrec is a classic example of convergent evolution the process where unrelated creatures independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments The Tenrec is in fact genetically closer to an elephant than a hedgehog as well as being incredibly cute The Tenrec

28 August 2018 Bulletin The lemurs keep an eye out The residents of Five Sisters would like to thank the IAT for visiting

Bulletin August 2018 29 See you all next year Last year the Five Sisters managed to rehome four male lions rescued from a travelling circus in a purpose built two acre enclosure This year the zoo added two new bears to the bear sanctuary Henk and Eso young siblings around 3 years old They were rescued a year ago from a roadside restaurant in Albania and are thriving in their new environment Unfortunately they were a bit too elusive for our intrepid photographers to get a good photo of them but you can read about and see them on the Five Sisters website at https fivesisterszoo co uk newrescue There are lots of other animals you can get up close to and handle in the petting areas of the zoo plus you can assist in the feeding of the animals some things that can t be done at the more famous Edinburgh zoo The day rounded off with a trip to a local eatery where we indulged in our own slightly more civilised version of feeding time It was good to have so many people along for this highly enjoyable trip and we hope to see them all and more at the next branch event We would like to thank Allentown for support and sponsorship Keith Chalmers Branch reporter

Bulletin August 2018 31 DIARY Dates 4 September Wildlife Workshop Bristol Details training redkitevets co uk 10 September Congress 2019 Online registration opens See page 11 15 September IAT Inter branch Fishing Match Wellingborough Details on page 23 21 September RSPCA Lay Members Forum Edinburgh Details research animals rspca org uk 30 September Caption competition closes See page 18 6 October Surrey Sussex Hampshire Branch Autumn Horse Racing and Beer Festival See page 21 17 October AS ET Annual Lecture London Details on page 16 Front cover Roe deer by Lewis Thornhill 28 October 1st November AALAS Meeting Baltimore Details https www aalas org nationalmeeting 30 October RSPCA UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Meeting Central London Details research animals rspca org uk 2 November The Andrew Blake Tribute Award closing date Details on page 24 12 and 13 November NACWO Workshop London Details info learningcurvedevelopment co uk 16 November Congress 2019 closing date for Paper and Workshop submissions See pages 10 and 12 27 29 November LASA Conference Birmingham Details http www lasa co uk meetings info lasa co uk