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Institute of Animal Technology Bulletin W is hing you all a Ve ry H appy C hri stm a s Vol Vol54 49 No No 12 11 November December 2013 2018
Bulletin Vol 54 No 12 December 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 February Bulletin 1st January The opinions expressed in the Bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or the Institute CONTENTS Dear Readers 5 BING Meeting 6 Congress 2019 8 9 History of the RSPCA part 1 IAT Technologist Month 13 19 20 The importance of burrowing 21 24 AS ET News 26 29 AQUA 2018 31 33 Branch News 34 40 Dispatches 41 42 NIO Forum 44 Diary Dates 47
Bulletin December 2018 Dear Readers It is that time of the year again it only seems like yesterday I was writing my editorial for December last year where does the time go Other than the gorgeous Bertie modelling as Rudolph on the front Of course I am getting ahead of the Waggy Wednesday idea since I don t use social media very often I have to put my own dogs on the Bulletin front cover I guess that s the editor s privilege The BING group have their meeting report on page 6 if you are unaware of what Waggy Wednesday is and 90ish days now to Tech Month see their announcement on page 20 Other than Bertie we don t have anything particularly Christmassy but we do have some very interesting reading Penny Hawkins from the RSPCA has written a great review about the importance of burrowing climbing and standing upright for laboratory rats This is extremely thought provoking as we move into a time where we are beginning to address the natural behaviours of animals and recognise their importance in a research environment I am hoping to look at more of this kind of work next year so if anyone wants to write a review on any aspect of natural behaviour I would welcome receiving it I mention Penny working for the RSPCA because Karen has written another great article looking back into history this time that of that charity This is the first of a two part article this part is looking at the origins and the second to be published next month looks at the more recent history All that remains is for me to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday Season and the Bulletin will be back in the New Year Keep Readin g Car ole 5
6 December 2018 Bulletin BING Meeting 25th September All dressed up we met at the Farmers Club for the BING meeting There were familiar faces and a few new ones with everyone catching up over some refreshments before the meeting started Lynda Westall and Kally Booth chaired the first part of the meeting and welcomed us all After discussing the minutes from the last meeting Lynda and Kally were ready to get the second part of the meeting started This is the first meeting after the name change from Youth representatives to BING Branch Innovation and Networking Group The new name has been received very well by everyone As agreed at a previous meeting the BING representatives would be chairing and keeping minutes ourselves after nominating someone to do so
Bulletin December 2018 7 To get more involvement from branches attending meetings it was suggested that the BING rep could be a branch committee member and could be elected at AGMs Social Media We started by reviewing the action points from the last meeting and especially the idea about Waggy Wednesday and Throwback Thursday on Facebook The idea is that every Wednesday someone could post a picture of their dog or every Thursday someone could post something that has been posted but could be reposted This was to encourage each other to engage more via Facebook however we had to realise that since our Facebook page is open it is understandable that members do not wish to post using their private profile Welcome The Cardiff branch who we look forward to seeing more of in the future This is a new branch so if you live in that area and wish to join a branch this is an excellent opportunity We discussed if it was a good idea to move the BING meeting around in order for every branch to attend Currently our meetings are held in London and even though the turnout is good it could be opened up for more attendees This BING meeting was a great and productive meeting We did have to get our heads around the new name the new way of chairing the meeting and some new faces but it was great catching up and discussing new ideas Sadly we also had to say goodbye to April Shipton who is leaving this industry to pursue a career elsewhere We all wish you the very best of luck April Reporter Josefine Woodley
Timings below are subject to change Check the website and Bulletin regularly for up to date information WORKSHOPS Attendance at all Workshops is by the PRE BOOKING online system Tuesday 9th April workshop registration opens 7th March and closes 4th April 14 00 16 00 14 00 16 00 14 00 16 00 Workshop 1 RSPCA animal perspectives Juliet Dukes RSPCA Workshop 2 Severity cumulative ageing and other interesting Norman Flynn Home Office Workshop 3 Fundamental concepts in experimental design randomisation and blinding Nathalie Percie du Sert and Katie Lidster NC3Rs Wednesday 10th April 09 30 12 00 13 30 15 30 13 30 15 30 13 30 14 30 13 30 15 30 14 30 15 30 15 45 17 45 15 45 17 45 15 45 17 45 15 45 17 45 15 45 17 45 Thursday 11th April 11 30 13 30 11 30 13 30 11 30 13 00 11 30 13 30 workshop registration opens 7th March and closes 4th April Workshop 4 Bent fish accurately identifying ill health in Zebrafish Karen Dunford University College London Workshop 3 Fundamental concepts in experimental design randomisation and blinding Nathalie Percie du Sert and Katie Lidster NC3Rs Workshop 5 Nice to meet you so what do you do for a living Bella Williams Understanding Animal Research Workshop 6 The basics of an anaesthesia system a user s guide 1 hr Jayson Shaw Vet Tech Solutions Ltd Workshop 7 Everyday three Rs for Animal Technologists Penny Hawkins RSPCA Workshop 6 The basics of an anaesthesia system a user s guide 1 hr Jayson Shaw Vet Tech Solutions Ltd Workshop 2 Severity cumulative ageing and other interesting Norman Flynn Home Office Workshop 5 Nice to meet you so what do you do for a living Bella Williams Understanding Animal Research Workshop 8 Fish anatomy physiology natural habitats and the impacts on system design Paul Barwood University College London Workshop 9 Competence what does this look like Adrian Woodhouse Red Kite Veterinary Consultants Workshop 10 Working with non traditional species Diana Baumann Stowers Institute workshop registration opens 7th March and closes 4th April Workshop 7 Everyday three Rs for Animal Technologists Penny Hawkins RSPCA Workshop 9 Competence what does this look like Adrian Woodhouse Red Kite Veterinary Consultants Workshop 11 Adverse effects humane endpoints and animal welfare Stephen Woodley IAT Welfare Group Workshop 12 Can we change Yes we can Ngaire Dennison Home Office
PROVISIONAL SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED Venue North West England NEWS IN BRIEF O O O O O O View download the Invitation to Participate booklet at www iat org uk congress TWELVE CPD WORKSHOPS over three days SEVEN First Time Presenters TEN Paper Presentations including the Home Office Update FOUR Oral Poster Presentations Andrew Blake Tribute Award Paper Kevin Dolan Memorial Lecture A quick reference AT A GLANCE with timings can be viewed and downloaded from the website The FULL PRINTED PROGRAMME including abstract synopses will be published and distributed in the New Year To discuss any aspect of Congress or if you have any questions for the Congress Committee please contact us at congress iat org uk Check for updates www iat org uk
Bulletin December 2018 13 Two Centuries of Championship The Early History of the RSPCA T he Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals RSPCA is a well established and influential British institution with a long and successful history Just shy of being two centuries old the RSPCA has helped form both past and present legislation within the UK which is one of the most stringent in the world It has helped promote animal welfare and care and helped to shape the British view towards animals A depiction of animal cruelty in the 18th century William Hogarth Public domain Four stages of cruelty Second stage of cruelty
14 December 2018 Bulletin History in Context Public sentiment in the UK towards caring for animals has been notable since the 18th century Early examples of this sentiment are documented in published sermons statements from high profile people such as the much lauded Utilitarian Jeremy Bentham or animal theology publications like the A Dissertation on the Duty of Mercy and the Sin of Cruelty to Animals in 1777 The latter was written by a Reverend Primatt who denounced animal cruelty as did some of his contemporaries but he went further stating that animals should not be considered less than humans and should be treated accordingly These sentiments even with their slow growth in the public sphere were not those of the majority of society Through a modern lens the treatment of animals at that point in time was appalling Animals were nothing but property and commodities owners could do what they wished with their property without impunity Although an exaggeration intended for emotional effect the artist William Hogarth produced an engraving depicting animal cruelty as part of a series in these are vignettes of what may have been everyday occurrences Around 50 years after these there were multiple attempts to create legal protection of animals all of which failed in 1800 an anti bull baiting bill was defeated in Parliament and again in 1809 another bill for the protection of horses cows and sheep was also defeated However legal success in animal protection was finally gained in 1822 with the passing of Martin s Act or the Cruel and Improper Treatment of Cattle Act Richard Humanity Dick Martin with support from other prominent MPs such as William Wilberforce an abolitionist passed a bill to protect a few species from unnecessary harms Unfortunately even though it was passed and enacted the punishments for breaking the law were low and few and rarely enforced With the contradiction of a law protecting animals and it not being upheld in practice those who supported the Act came together to make further changes The First Steps Reverend Arthur Broome the editor of the aforementioned work of Reverend Primatt placed an advertisement in the paper looking for others who were also interested in the protection of animals There was one society in Liverpool called the Society for the Suppression and Prevention of Wanton Cruelty to Animals but it did not survive very long Broome based in London decided to start his own group and gathered support from those he knew would be interested Richard Martin and William Wilberforce They held a meeting on June 16th 1824 in the Old Slaughter s Coffee House on St Martin s Lane no longer extant and formed the Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals In all 22 men attended the meeting with the view to starting a group of people to enforce the neglected Martin s Act
Bulletin December 2018 15 The newly formed group had two objectives coming out of that first meeting to form one committee to influence public opinion through the use of literature and other publications and one to actually inspect and report on areas of concern These areas were on the street such as work animals entertainment animals the abattoirs and most notable the markets Due to its proximity Smithfield Market the meat market was the main target and two impromptu inspectors Charles Wheeler and Charles Teasdale were hired by the society to ensure that people were following the law For the rest of 1824 they identified 63 offenders most were from Smithfield Progress The law stated that the punishment for those found guilty of improper treatment of protected animals could be fined up to 5 approximately 350 Bill Burns became the first person prosecuted under the 1822 Act He was brought to court by Richard Martin who brought the mistreated donkey into the courtroom as evidence The Trial of Bill Burns P Mathews Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
16 December 2018 Bulletin today or two months in prison Much to the dismay of the society these fines and imprisonments were usually brushed aside and the offender would be let off The first person to be prosecuted for breaking Martin s Act was a man named Bill Burns Richard Martin himself brought him to court with the charge of improper treatment of a donkey Martin successfully made his case by bringing the donkey into court as evidence According to reports at the time the donkey was emaciated and covered with abrasions and scars Bill Burns was found guilty and became the first person to be charged with mistreatment of an animal Faltering The Society began with great vigour and enthusiasm Broome in his eagerness gave up his parish to work full time with the society He maintained their finances with money coming from patrons donations and other members of the public as well as out of his own pocket Despite this meagre income the society found themselves in debt by 300 in 1826 that is approximately 25 000 today Broome as the Secretary was incarcerated in debtors prison and the work of the society was stopped Martin and Lewis Gompertz one of the founding members was able to eventually raise enough funds to pay the debt and release Broome from prison with much effort Lewis Gompertz was one of the founding members of the SPCA He was a noted vegan inventor and had strong principles about the use of animals Lewis Gompertz Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Bulletin December 2018 17 The society was able to start anew in 1828 however Broome stood aside from any level of responsibility and Gompertz assumed the role of secretary Gompertz was seen as a highly principled albeit eccentric man He was a vegan at a time when meat was a staple food and believed that the only meat that should be consumed was that that had only died of natural causes Transportation was typically reliant on animal power and in protest to their mistreatment Gompertz refused to take cabs in fact he even designed his own bicycle in order to get himself around He also did not believe in the use of furs leathers or suede for clothing as they were all animal based Gompertz in conjunction with the society lobbied for more enforcement of Martin s Act as well as extending the act to include the ban of animals in entertainment Unfortunately due to differences Gompertz left the society in 1832 and together with William Wilberforce started another organisation called the Animals Friend Society William Wilberforce an MP and abolitionist was a founding member of the SPCA Portrait of William Wilberforce Karl Anton Hickel Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
18 December 2018 Bulletin A Strong Foothold The society began to grow and gained enough public support that they were financially stable and had even been able to have an office rather than meeting in a coffee house or tavern With the growing support they continued to lobby the government and push for changes in legislation More MPs were agreeing with the need to provide legal protection to animals which became evident with the amendment of the first bill This was the Cruelty to Animals Act in 1835 This act was created with the support of another MP Joseph Pease With his name and the support of the society this bill prohibited any type of entertainment that involved animals particularly those that caused suffering Sports such as bull baiting cock fighting and dog fighting It also created more regulations about slaughter and transportation of animals Although passed the bill did have its criticisms including the expense of having to hire inspectors the potential of false reports leading to a waste of time and money and that the poor would no longer have entertainment Despite these concerns from its opponents the bill became legislation and animals in the UK had more protection than they had had before This was a massive change in the British landscape Animals have been an integral part of human history and have been used for transport work science and sport This British legislative change was the first to regulate their use in three of those fields No longer could animals be seen as mere property but as sentient beings capable of suffering A small sphere of society had pushed and successfully turned the social conscience and influenced the written laws to treat and protect animals as such British society had been changed irreversibly The R 1835 was a successful year for the society Not only had it played a large part in the legal change it had also gained favour with the royal family That year a letter was received by the society from the Duchess of Kent the Princess Victoria of Saxe Coburg Saalfeld informing them that she and her daughter the Princess Victoria of Kent later the Queen would like to become patrons of the society In 1840 after the Princess became Queen the society was granted her royal patronage and they changed their name to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals a name they still bear today
Bulletin December 2018 19 Princess Victoria became a patron along with her mother in 1835 the same year as the new legislation She granted the Royal to be used in the society s name in 1840 Portrait of Princess Victoria of Kent 1819 1901 later Queen Victoria After George Hayter Public domain
20 December 2018 Bulletin
Bulletin December 2018 21 The importance of burrowing climbing and standing upright for laboratory rats A discussion of a paper by Joanna Makowska and Dan Weary R Soc Open sci 3 160136 2016 By Penny Hawkins An adult rat can reach a height of 30 cm when standing on their hind legs yet the current minimum cage height in the Home Office Code of Practice is just 20 cm Figure 1 The fact that many rats cannot perform this important behaviour is increasingly acknowledged as an animal welfare and ethical issue and some establishments have recognised this and are choosing to purchase taller cages However this is unfortunately far from the norm at present and I would like to recommend this paper as a way of starting a conversation about rat housing at your facility if it still uses Figure 1 Height of an cages that are 20 cm high Makowska and adult rat when standing Weary s paper addresses burrowing and climbing as well as standing upright but this article will focus on standing upright because this has the greatest potential to be addressed in the short term The authors start by discussing how rat use in the laboratory began and how the first lab rats were housed and cared for For example the aim of the Wistar Institute in 1906 was to keep rats contented and happy and the first cages contained enough litter for rats to dig and large running wheels This certainly strikes a chord given the current emphasis on positive welfare and a good life for animals But subsequent drives to reduce economic costs and to make cage cleaning easier led to the smaller plastic cages in use today The paper also briefly describes the natural behaviour of rats including burrowing climbing foraging and rearing upright to explore and to socialise with other rats all of which are significantly curtailed in standard caging It cites papers explaining that domestication may alter the qualities of natural behaviours and the thresholds of the stimuli needed to initiate these but the
22 December 2018 Bulletin critically important point is that domestication does not seem to have eliminated any behaviours The Ratlife video in which laboratory rats placed in a semi natural environment performed a wide range of innate natural behaviours is a great way to convince any of your colleagues who may still have doubts about this the full video is now available online youtube com watch v giu5WjUt2GA So given that natural behaviours including standing upright are innate in laboratory rats and adult rats cannot rear up in cages that are 20 cm tall the obvious next question is does this matter to the rats and how much This is where animal welfare science comes in Makowska and Weary s goal was to investigate whether laboratory rats are motivated to perform certain natural behaviours that are not possible in standard cages The authors also hypothesised that rats who are unable to rear and stretch vertically might try to compensate for this by performing more lateral stretches and the second part of their study aimed to test this hypothesis They housed female Sprague Dawley rats in two different conditions standard polycarbonate cages with minimal enrichment and large semi naturalistic cages with 30 cm of digging substrate as shown in Figure 2 Thirteen monthold rats housed in the large cages stood upright an average of 75 times a day and they stood more often when they were younger an average of 180 times a Figure 2 The semi natural cage
Bulletin December 2018 23 day when they were three months old Most of the upright standing occurred during the dark active phase which shows how vitally important it is to monitor behaviour over the whole 24 hour period when evaluating enrichment or when assessing welfare Rats in the standard cages performed lateral stretches approximately eight times more often than the rats in the semi natural cages did This does suggest that lateral stretching is used to compensate if rats are unable to stand upright on their hind legs and the authors also present evidence to suggest that the lateral stretches may also be making up for a reduced ability to exercise in general Is this a welfare issue The authors support the concept that an animal s ability to stretch and straighten the limbs is a key component of their health and behavioural needs Under the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 use of metabolic cages involving moderate restriction of movement over a prolonged period up to five days is classified as moderate severity would you consider that being unable to stand fully upright was a moderate restriction of movement It is certainly hard to imagine support for a Code of Practice for housing larger animals such as primates that did not allow them to stand up Makowska and Weary also assessed the welfare of both groups of rats using an anticipatory behaviour test which assessed the rats internal mental states The results suggested that the rats in the semi natural cages had better welfare than those in the standard cages Clearly this may have been because they could rear or burrow or climb or forage or because they were housed in larger groups or a combination of some or all of these factors However the authors suggest that burrowing and upright standing are especially important to rats The authors also suggest that research is warranted to address the direct consequences of preventing or benefits of allowing rats to perform burrowing climbing and upright standing Personally I have some doubts regarding the fundamental need to gather more evidence relating to standing on the hind legs For example it is apparently taken for granted that animals of other species should be able to stand upright and stretch out without the need for empirical evidence This is surely a matter of basic empathy and common sense and facilities are increasingly buying in taller caging for these very reasons They are also presumably prepared to accept that their science will be improved if rats are housed in taller caging as the physiological responses to the discomfort and distress caused by the inability to stand upright will not be present to cause confounds
24 December 2018 Bulletin An alternative viewpoint is that in the real world rats are unfortunately not given the same priority as other species not by IAT members of course As we all know rats have a bad press despite our efforts and are often unfairly viewed as robust and tolerant So perhaps there is a case for further research to provide evidence that rats benefit from caging that permits them to stand upright if that is what it will take to change minds and improve minimum standards However in my view this should only use non invasive techniques as in Makowska and Weary s study The authors do not say what happened to their rats after the study ended but presumably it would have been possible to rehome them Some next steps to consider Whatever happens next I think this paper provides some important evidence to help make a case right now for a better quality and quantity of space for laboratory rats in general including taller cages If your facility is using or starting to purchase cages that are tall enough to allow rats to stand then that s a good step towards better rat welfare If that isn t happening yet you might like to bring the paper by Makowska and Weary to the establishment s attention for example by asking the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body AWERB to discuss it asking the Named Information Officer NIO or other named persons whether they have seen it or discussing it directly with the scientists whom you work with If you have an internal Three Rs newsletter or intranet you could suggest these include a link to the paper it is open access at rsos royalsocietypublishing org content 3 6 160136 If some are not convinced you could try using your professional networks e g user groups or the NACWO forum or the Animals in Science Committee s AWERB Hub network to identify other establishments that are already using taller cages then ask for some dialogue and or a visit to help change minds You may be able to conduct an in house evaluation study or persuade a project licence holder to do a pilot study using taller cages Approaches and attitudes towards rat housing have changed significantly for the better in recent years and it is really important to keep up the momentum for animal welfare ethical and scientific reasons rats deserve it
26 December 2018 Bulletin 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 We would like to wish all our readers a happy Christmas and best wishes for 2019 Apart from dealing with bursary applications and other routine work the summer is a quiet time for AS ET That all changes in the autumn with our two Annual Lectures one held in London and the second in Manchester Our first lecturer was Professor Claudio Stern FRS who gave a fascinating lecture in London on the processes that establish cell diversity and pattern at the early stages of development in vertebrates with a particular interest in the control of the formation of twins The use of human embryos is restricted under the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act 1990 so the majority of Professor Stern s work is carried out in chicken embryos Much is still unknown but Professor Stern explained how his team had discovered the processes which control the formation of the primitive streak in early development and recorded that it took 17 years to get the full picture He outlined his other projects and the questions they still needed to answer I think many in the audience had forgotten much of the embryology they had learnt whilst studying for IAT qualifications so it was comforting when Professor Stern helped us to recall those sessions from long in the past The Professor has a list of qualifications and honours credited to him that is as long as some people s family trees but it was obvious from his lecture that the passion for science is still very much present in his work and he and his team are to be congratulated on their dedication to finding the answers to further understanding the mechanisms involved in cell division that they show Our thanks goes to Tecniplast who kindly sponsored the London Lecture The Second Annual Lecture followed on 7th November when Professor Sir Richard Gardner FRS gave an updated version of the lecture he delivered in London for the first Annual lecture in 2015 Harnessing Stem Cells for Regenerative
Bulletin December 2018 27 Medicine how far have we got A report see page 29 of the lecture by the IAT North West Branch is given elsewhere in this bulletin but AS ET would like to thank Graham Morrissey who organised the venue and the reception to the IAT North West Branch who provided the splendid buffet and to our sponsors CCTech and Agenda Life Science Prof Sir Richard Gardner FRS We are very pleased to report that the chair of our Board of Trustees has been awarded the 2018 Waddington medal of the British Society of Developmental Biology BSDB The medal honours outstanding research performance as well as services to the developmental biology community The announcement from the BSDB describes Richard as a pioneer in the study of mammalian development and refers to his many hugely important discoveries relating to the fate of cells in early mammalian development and the properties of stem cells It goes on to describe his work in helping to shape science policy in the UK and his important role in mentoring younger developmental biologists who have gone on to become illustrious embryologists in their turn The BSDB also refers to the important role he held from 1986 2006 as President of the Institute of Animal Technology The Waddington Medal is the latest in a long list of honours and distinctions awarded to Richard throughout his career all indicating the value of his contribution to World science We congratulate him on this honour
AS ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excelle Bulletin May 2014 15 the28 care and welfare of animals used in science Bulletin December 2018 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
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Bulletin December 2018 31 Meeting report of AQUA 2018 T he AQUA congress is a global aquaculture event co organised by the World Aquaculture Society WAS and the European Aquaculture Society EAS every 6 years in Europe This time the conference took place in the fascinating French city of Montpellier The conference was held in Le Corum Congress Centre five minutes walk from Place de la Com die Montpellier s central square and one of the largest pedestrian areas in Europe On Saturday 25th August we were blessed with warm weather for the opening ceremony and welcome drinks and I enjoyed the opportunity of networking with aquaculture researchers especially those from Stirling and Barcelona The next day among the three keynote speakers that opened the conference during the plenary session I would like to mention the talk presented by yvind Oaland from Marine Harvest who described innovations that the company will be implementing by 2019 The scientific programme began with big topics such as immunology and
32 December 2018 Bulletin pathology or fish breeding and genetics The most interesting sessions for me personally during the congress were those related to these fields live feeds welfare emerging diseases and diagnostics and biosecurity areas I have extensive experience in On Monday we had the welfare session with an interesting talk about the 3Rs a study that intended to contribute to the reduction R by identifying the lowest number of fish European seabass that could be used for monitoring and or experimental purposes They found that 5 to 13 fish should be the lowest number to use in experiments with shoaling species to reduce the number of animals needed without compromising variability in the data I found this very useful for our future trials with zebrafish On Tuesday the first presentation conducted by Cara Brosnahan a scientist at Ministry for Primary Industries Aquatic Animal Diseases Animal Health Laboratory New Zealand was related to one of the main problems in molecular diagnostic tests that is to differentiate between dead and alive pathogens in your fish samples She presented the named viability PCR that allows you to conduct a molecular assessment of microbial viability by previously incubating samples with a specific reagent differentiating between DNA from dead or inactivated cells amplification by PCR is
Bulletin December 2018 33 inhibited or significantly silenced and the target DNA in the sample that is interpreted to be mostly viable cell membranes is intact and so is a stronger quantitative PCR signal Throughout the congress poster sessions took place and the UCL Fish Facility was a participant with a poster Animal Health and Diagnostics Implementation of an integrated zebrafish health management programme at the UCL Fish Facility The trade exhibition was represented by companies covering aquaculture needs related to different areas such as animal health molecular diagnostic tools vaccines nutrition accurate dosing feeders high performance feed probiotics technology to improve reproduction by using cryopreservation programmes an extensive number of aquaculture equipment manufacturers management software for production planning cost analysis and efficient management an extensive variety of water treatment equipment and solutions etc As I expected between the exhibitors you could find different feed suppliers some of them are current diet and live feeds suppliers for zebrafish facilities and it was nice to meet them again On Wednesday the highlight was a delightful dinner at the Chateau Flaugergues The vineyard owners organised an exquisite al fresco dinner which included a fine wine tasting experience through a circuit across gastronomy and wine of three outdoor levels the terrace of the castle white wine the bamboo grove rose wine and the orangery red wine To get your mouth watering the menu was a finger buffet dinner in the garden which included oysters trout cheese salted macarons mini tartlets scramble eggs etc For dessert we had a variety of cakes and the famous sweet macarons of all the colours and flavours that you can imagine This dinner marked the end of the Trade Exhibition and it was the perfect occasion to interact with people from other countries and to increase the aquaculture community network helped by the friendly and relaxed atmosphere of the evening I seized the opportunity to talk more to Cara Brosnahan about her presentation and also to most of my managers and colleagues who I ve come to know after more than 10 years working in aquaculture Reporter Visila Moiche
34 December 2018 Bulletin Ireland Branch Symposium 2017 23th May 2018 This year the Ireland Branch Symposium took place at the Trinity Biomedical Science Institute Trinity College Dublin We had over 70 registrations with an estimated 30 extra people who popped in throughout the day There were 19 trade companies sponsoring the event to which we would like to extend our thanks in helping us to make this event possible and successful each year The morning started nice and relaxed with registration and refreshments in the trade area so everyone could settle in and catch up with each other Nigel opening the morning session Presentations started at noon and this year a very exciting mix of presentations was organised Dr Charlotte Callaghan Trinity College Dublin kicked off the symposium with her talk on the use of Behavioural Paradigms in Research in relation to researching depression in animal models Dr Callaghan s research explores the underlying causative mechanisms as developing physical exercise psychological and pharmacological interventions to disease This was followed by a talk venturing into the cephalopod world with Dr Viola Galligioni Trinity College Dublin who explained to us how the EU Directive 2010 63 was a challenge for cephalopod research During this talk it was clear that although the Directive 2010 63 EU covered different species including sheep zebrafish Xenopus laevis mice rats pigs and Nothobranchius furzeri cephalopods are the only invertebrates regulated by the Directive This has resulted in various
Bulletin December 2018 35 challenges arising for researchers who are trying to plan obtain funding and carry out research using cephalopods while under the Directive regulations After the morning sessions a well deserved lunch break with a buffet set up in the trade area gave everyone the chance to refuel their energy levels so we could continue with the afternoon talks and to interact with the many trade stands It gave everyone the opportunity to talk both with the trade and fellow technicians and researchers Lunchtime chatting with trade and fellow researchers and technicians
36 December 2018 Bulletin Professor Noel Caplice a Clinical Scientist from the University College Cork started the afternoon sessions with a very interesting talk on Cardiac repair after heart attack From Bench to Bedside Professor Caplice s research in vascular biology is helping to develop basic molecular and cellular concepts and talked about the completion of the world trials of IGF1 in humans with acute myocardial infarction and poor heart function in 2016 After Professor Caplice s presentation we had a slight change to the normal programme with a Trade Innovation Soap Box as you can imagine this was organised chaos and a bit of fun with everyone competing to get what their company ethos was and information across within their 3 minute slots Adrian Smith was next to the stand with his presentation PREPARE before you ARRIVE Adrian is a British veterinarian who is currently living in Norway he is a Board member of the Danish 3Rs centre and also a member of the Denmark Committee for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes in Denmark PREPARE stands for Planning Research and Experimental Procedures on Animals Recommendations for Excellence the concept is simple to improve the quality reproducibility and translatability of studies involving research animals This presentation provided advice on how to successfully plan animal studies from day one to help eliminate or reduce the risk of a research project getting into difficulties after the research has already begun The last guest speaker was Gerry Creighton from Dublin Zoo Mr Creighton s presentation captivated the attention of everyone in the room with his enthusiasm about his animals pictures and videos of behind the scenes at the Dublin Zoo elephant enclosure which has recently been extensively remodelled Videos showing the benefits of the zoo keepers hands off approach to animal handling and training to allow the animals to express their natural behaviours and also how these changes have resulted in a successful breeding programme It was an amazing day full of many great highlights The committee received very positive feedback from the day and would like to thank everyone involved in making this year s symposium a success from the organisers of the Ireland Branch committee to the trade companies and to all delegates attending the symposium We are looking forward to next year s symposium and hope for a similar exciting programme so everyone will be back again Lisa Watson IAT Ireland Branch Secretary
Bulletin December 2018 37 Oxford Branch Summer Event TEE OFF This year the summer event was held at Junkyard Golf in Oxford s new Westgate Centre on the 10th September If you ve never been to Junk Yard Golf it s probably not far off from what you imagine it to be mini golf Wait for it in a junkyard A sort of rave junkyard with neon lights and three weird and wonderful themed courses With 20 in attendance we needed a lot of caddies People came from four of the facilities in Oxford Tecniplast and Agenda who kindly part sponsored the evening big up Agenda It was a nice way for people from other places to catch up and chill out competitively Everyone split off into four teams of five and set off onto our respective courses The Three courses were Gary Pablo and Bozo The Two that we played were Pablo and Bozo which is a slight shame because Gary has an actual slide but Bozo and Pablo certainly made up for it PABLO Jungle is massive Take an excursion into polluted tropical madness This course was like watching a psychedelic Indiana Jones movie Filled with giant spiders masked bears pyramids and complete with a MASSIVE VOLCANO
38 December 2018 Bulletin Scores were very loosely kept by each team However with a maximum of 8 shots per hole it kept the games going at a smooth pace Although I m sure not everyone who got to 8 shots actually admitted it However some players had obviously been practicing on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 on the old PlayStation 2 because there s no way some of those holes in one were all just a fluke or beginner s luck Adam and Jon checking out each other s new look I m going to go ahead and say they both approve Once the winners were crowned from the first course we went for a well deserved food break The food was five star Michelin quality if the Michelin stars were awarded by the Michelin man off of cars For those of us on a diet this was probably the healthiest dinner going With choices between hotdogs nachos popcorn and pic n mix it was very reminiscent of a child s birthday party Once we d devoured our treats we set off onto the next course BOZO Dark fairgrounds circus freaks and twisted clowns Winner takes it all in our homage to all things carnival This course had it all A creepy carousel clowns massive saw blades and a Ferris wheel with skulls on it thrown in for good measure By this point rivalries had time to brew and the stakes were high Although there wasn t a prize pride is
Bulletin December 2018 39 what we were all playing for If being trapped inside a mirror maze or potting a ball into a clown s grave doesn t do it for you then how about firing your ball out of a cannon Bozo certainly kept you on your toes with its weird and adventurous holes and just like the annoying ending to Inception it leaves you wanting more As well as leaving you wondering what just happened No clowns were harmed in our event at Junkyard Golf As well as incredibly cool golf courses Gordon Ramsey standard food and a ping pong table Junkyard Golf also has a photo booth Which doesn t sound photo here are som too exciting But it s not just any photo booth it s a GIF maker If you re not familiar with a GIF it spictures basically a movingtophoto f the wonderfully attractive it managed take here are some of the wonderfully attractive pictures it managed to take We re a nice bunch honest t t the answer is no idea We all had fun as a successful evening with positive feedback all round so keep your eyes peeled for future vents We re gonna need a bigger boat I mean buggy
40 December 2018 Bulletin You ve probably read all this wondering Well who won the answer is no idea We all had fun though and as my mum so often told me at sports day it s the taking part that counts All in all it was a successful evening with positive feedback all round so keep your eyes peeled for future events Matthew O Brien Adam Truby
Bulletin December 2018 41 Dispatches SIZE DOESN T MATTER New study shows that farm animal welfare is not compromised on larger farms but there is room for improvement The proportion of farms with more than 5 000 animals per farm is growing with modern facilities designed to optimise management and increase efficiency However criticism and concern for animal welfare amongst consumers and some politicians is also mounting as these intensive farming methods are believed to compromise welfare and increase the potential for diseases to spread But the situation is far from clear cut Various studies have been undertaken to ascertain whether the size of a farm in terms of the number of animals kept does impact on the health and wellbeing of the animals The outcomes have been varied showing that whilst there is an increased risk of disease being brought into a facility and transmitted by a high number of potentially susceptible animals in larger farms larger farms commonly implement improved hygiene measures and benefit from professional management which in turn reduces welfare risks and improves the lives of the animals The latest research which has recently been published in the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare UFAW journal Animal Welfare focuses specifically on animal welfare if it is compromised in larger farms and how Researchers looked at the welfare level of sixty conventional fattening pig farms in Northern Germany with a range of 250 pigs to 11 000 pigs per farm Using four basic principles good feeding good housing good health and appropriate behaviour the study revealed that none of the farm sizes proved superior in terms of animal welfare However none of the farms were scored as excellent Farm size did not affect the principle of good feeding which scored the highest of all four principles mainly due to the fact that only a very limited number of pigs had a poor body condition Nonetheless the water supply was found to be insufficient on 16 of the farms and a lack of and poorly functioning drinkers were found across all the farm sizes with one farm recording a maximum number of 43 pigs per drinker which far exceeded the threshold of 12 per drinker required to meet German legislation Farm size did not affect the principle of good health either although this was
42 December 2018 Bulletin scored the lowest of the four principles Moderate wounds was the third most common indicator of poor welfare and there was also a high frequency of bursitis wounds and manure on the pigs indicative of the necessity for progression in the production system to improve animal welfare Although the study assessed tailbiting lameness hernia severe wounds skin condition coughing and sneezing these were only seen at very low rates without any difference between the farm sizes Appropriate behaviour also recorded low scores in all the farm sizes The space allowances in more than 40 of the pens were below the German Farm Animal Welfare Regulations and over crowded pens were found on 92 of the farms although the proportion of over crowed pens was lowest on large farms One of the report s authors Dr Christian Lambertz of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL said Our study did not show that farm size was a factor for the animals welfare however the high occurrence of bursitis and soiled animals which are known to be affected by floor type and quality underline the necessity of improving the quality of floors and of climate management Simple adjustments in the management of space allowances and of water supply can also improve welfare The study concluded that although overall acceptable or enhanced scores were achieved for many of the criteria the need for improvement in others was clear Farm Animal Welfare Council 2012 Further information Subscribers to the Animal Welfare Journal will find this paper SEK Meyer Hamme C Lambertz and M Gauly Assessing the welfare level of intensive fattening pig farms in Gemany with the Welfare Quality protocol does farm size matter in Volume 27 issue 3 The full abstract of the study can be read at UFAW s website http www ufaw org uk the ufaw journal animal welfare If you wish to read the full paper you can visit ingentaconnect com to access the paper for 25 US plus taxes http www ingentaconnect com contentone ufaw aw 2018 00000027 00000003 art 00008 Those purchasing the paper or choosing to subscribe to the Animal Welfare journal will be supporting UFAW s work http www ufaw org uk the ufaw journal subscription rates Media contact Dr Robert Hubrecht Chief Executive and Scientific Director UFAW Tel 01582 831818 email hubrecht ufaw org uk
44 December 2018 Bulletin 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 Tech3Rs a newsletter dedicated to animal technicians The NC3Rs have launched Tech3Rs a new newsletter aimed at animal technicians working in licensed establishments to share updates on the most relevant resources research and events Tech3Rs will support technicians in identifying opportunities to embed the 3Rs in practice and ensure high standards of animal welfare Issues will be published quarterly in a downloadable PDF format Facilities in the UK can also order hard copies for display in your units Read the first issue online now https nc3rs org uk tech3rs Visit the new NC3Rs resources hub for animal technicians https nc3rs org uk animal technician
Bulletin December 2018 DIARY Dates 19 December Congress 2019 closing date for Oral Poster Presentations Details on page 40 2019 22 March Congress registration closes 9 12 April IAT Congress North West England Details on page 8 9 23 24 January Train the trainer London Details https www rsb org uk events event trainthetrainer 10 13 June FELASA Conference Prague Details http www felasa2019 eu 30 January 1 February 2nd Italian Zebrafish Meeting Pisa Details https zfim2019 webs com 2020 24 26 March AST2020 Edinburgh Details https www ast2020 org 28 February Congress poster submission closes Details on page 40 1 31 March IAT Technologist Month Details on page 20 Front cover Bertie of the Glen by Tom Wheeler 47