Killing animals as a necessary evil? The case of animal research

This chapter addresses the question of killing animals in research, primarily from a moral perspective, but also taking into account some of the practical and scientific considerations with moral consequences in this context. We start by exploring in which situations animals are killed in research and whether these are always inevitable, analysing re-use and re-homing of animals as potential alternatives. We then discuss for whom – and under what circumstances -killing matters, considering situations where there may be a conflict between the wish to avoid killing and that to avoid suffering, and further take human-animal interactions into account. We argue that, although there are relevant practical, scientific and ethical arguments favouring the euthanasia of animals in most research contexts, there is a potential for rehabilitating more animals than is currently the practice

Why in earth? Dustbathing behaviour in jungle and domestic fowl reviewed from a Tinbergian and animal welfare perspective

Dustbathing has been the subject of much research in captive birds. In the present review we bring together the studies of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus) and jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) to provide a more complete picture of the behaviour. Dustbathing is discussed from the four aspects suggested by Tinbergen (1963): ontogeny, phylogeny, function and causation and a general aim is to give as complete review as possible of research on dustbathing behaviour. Studies of ontogeny of dustbathing show that early substrate experience affects later preferences. It appears nevertheless as though the behaviour develops more or less normally even in the absence of appropriate dustbathing stimuli. The behaviour itself is described for a number of species, and there are experimental studies of dustbathing in both jungle fowl and domestic fowl, but there is little comparative research which could provide hypotheses about the phylogeny of the behaviour. Similarly, despite extensive discussions about the function of dustbathing behaviour and the many suggestions regarding the survival value of performing the behaviour, few studies have actually addressed this question. It has been demonstrated that dustbathing reduces the amount of feather lipids, thereby increasing the insulation capacity of the plumage, but other suggested functions, such as control of ectoparasites, have not been tested experimentally. The majority of studies of dustbathing behaviour address the question of causation. Dustbathing shows a clear diurnal rhythm and under unrestricted conditions, hens dustbathe about every two days. Birds deprived of litter show a rebound in dustbathing behaviour when litter is again made available, suggesting an increase in motivation after deprivation and so an influence of internal factors With respect to external factors, it has long been believed that dustbathing is socially facilitated, but this has been questioned in recent studies. The presence of a suitable substrate is an important stimulus for eliciting dustbathing, and hens seem to prefer substrates with a fine structure such as sand and peat. Dustbathing is further increased if the substrate is combined with light and heat. The question of whether or not hens are motivated to dustbathe has important consequences for bird welfare in commercial housing systems, but motivational studies give somewhat conflicting evidence. In the final part of this review, both normal litter dustbathing and ‘sham’ dustbathing in the absence of litter are discussed from a welfare perspective

Does the goal justify the methods? Harm and benefit in neuroscience research using animals

The goal of the present chapter is to open up for discussion some of the major ethical issues involved in animal-based neuroscience research. We begin by approaching the question of the moral acceptability of the use of animals in research at all, exploring the implications of three different ethical theories: contractarianism, utilitarianism and animal rights. In the remainder of the chapter we discuss more specific issues of neuroscience research within what we argue is the mainstream framework for research animal ethics, namely one based on harm-benefit analysis. We explore issues of harms and benefits and how to balance them as well as how to reduce harm and increase benefit within neuroscience research

Maternal behaviour in Mus musculus sp.: An ethological review

In this paper, we review the scientific literature on maternal behaviour in commensal house mice and laboratory mice. Similar to other altricial species, female mice prepare a nest before parturition. Once the pups are born, nursing is the main part of maternal behaviour, and pups are weaned through a gradual non-aggressive process after about 3 weeks. Mice are social and both males and females show parental behaviour. Female mice giving birth at about the same time form communal nests, where pups are also communally nursed, a phenomenon that may confer benefit in inclusive fitness. However, social living may also be risky with conspecifics being the main predators of pups. A distinct aggressive behaviour pattern shown by pregnant and lactating female is thought to protect nest and pups against such attacks. Maternal aggression is influenced by the presence of pups and by litter size and composition. Communication through external stimuli from the pups contributes to maintaining maternal behaviour, thereby influencing pup growth. Handling of infants and pre- and peri-natal stress affects maternal behaviour. When resources are limited, females may reduce litter size through infanticide; however, the phenomenon of maternal cannibalism under normal laboratory conditions is poorly understood. Many studies included in this review use only standard tests to measure maternal behaviour, and more ethological research would be valuable to understand problems with reproduction in laboratory strains as well as to understand the influence of different housing conditions.We would like to thank Robert Eriksson, Bo Algers, Hanno Würbel, Dan Weary and an anonymous referee for useful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. The work was supported by a grant from The Swedish National Board for Laboratory Animals and The Swedish Animal Welfare Agenc

Scientists’ perception of ethical issues in nanomedicine - a case study

Research and development in nanomedicine has been accompanied by the consideration of ethical issues; however, little is known about how researchers working in this area perceive such issues. Extracting data from 22 semi-structured interviews with nanomedicine practitioners, this case study explores scientists’ attitude towards and knowledge of ethical issues. We found that scientists reflect with ambiguity on the reputed novelty of nanomedicine and what are ethical issues and risks in their work. Respondents see no necessity for a paradigm shift in ethical considerations, but view ethical issues in nanomedicine as overlapping with those of other areas of biomedical research. Most respondents discuss ethical issues they faced in scientific work with their colleagues but expect benefit from additional information and training on ethics. Our findings can contribute to the design of new strategies - including training programs - to engage scientists in ethical discussion and stimulate their responsibility as nanomedicine practitioners

Estimating the predictive validity of diabetic animal models in rosiglitazone studies

For therapeutic studies, predictive validity of animal models - arguably the most important feature of animal models in terms of human relevance - can be calculated retrospectively by obtaining data on treatment efficacy from human and animal trials. Using rosiglitazone as a case study, we aim to determine the predictive validity of animal models of diabetes, by analyzing which models perform most similarly to humans during rosiglitazone treatment in terms of changes in standard diabetes diagnosis parameters (glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting glucose levels). A further objective of this article is to explore the impact of four covariates on the predictive capacity: i) diabetes induction method, ii) drug administration route, iii) sex of animals, and iv) diet during the experiments

Students’ acceptance of e-learning approaches in Laboratory Animal Science Training

Different online courses and training programs in Laboratory Animal Science (LAS) have emerged across Europe in recent years. E-learning appears to be a promising solution to achieve flexibility in training while meeting the quality criteria of demanding programs in short training periods. However, little is known about how students perceive e-learning in this context, and there is also a lack of specific and valid instruments to measure this perception. Within an exploratory study framework, the e-learning perception of 229 participants in 15 courses in Portugal using two different online training formats, flipped classroom and full online theoretical training, was assessed. For this purpose, the Questionnaire of E-learning Acceptance (QELA), a 32-item accordance Likert-type scale comprising five subscales was developed to explore the following: how participant perceive e-learning, satisfaction with organization and contents, perception of e-learning relevance for the time management, and its influence for practical training. In general, e-learning was well accepted and perceived to work well and be useful by the majority of courses participants, independently of the course level and e-learning format approach. These results indeed suggest that integration of e-learning is useful in LAS training. We also propose the QELA as a starting point for development and implementation of specific instruments to assess e-learning acceptance in LAS across a wider range of geographical and training contexts.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup- port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work is a result of the project funded by Norte- 01-0145-FEDER000008 – Porto Neurosciences and Neurologic Disease Research Initiative at I3S, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)

Do aversive-based training methods actually compromise dog welfare?: A literature review

The methods by which dogs are trained vary between methods involving mainly negative reinforcement and positive punishment (aversive-based methods) and methods based essentially in positive reinforcement and negative punishment (reward-based methods). However, the use of aversive-based methods is highly controversial. While some people defend their merits, others are concerned with their potential negative effect on dog welfare. To date, some studies have been performed aiming to assess the effects of aversive- and rewardbased methods on the welfare and behaviour of dogs. In the present paper we perform a comprehensive review of those studies with the aim of characterizing the state of the art of scientific knowledge of the topic. Generally, the published studies suggest that the use of aversive-based methods is correlated with indicators of compromised welfare in dogs, namely stress‐related behaviours during training, elevated cortisol levels and problematic behaviours such as fear and aggression. However, there are a number of limitations that prevent any strong conclusion from being drawn. First, a considerable proportion of the studies relied upon surveys rather than on objective measures. Second, they focused on sub-populations of police and laboratory dogs and, thus, only represent a small portion of dogs undergoing training. Finally, the empirical studies have concentrated mainly on the effects of shock-collar training, which is only one of several tools used in aversive-based training, and, in some studies, the description of the training methodologies lacks details. Here we present a description of the published studies, discuss their limitations, debate other aspects that, in parallel with the nature of the training methods, may affect dog welfare, and point to future directions for research on the topic.Ana Catarina Vieira de Castro was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia with an individual post-doc grant (SFRH/BPD/111509/2015). The work undergoing the present review paper did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or notfor-profit sectors

Welfare and Quantity of Life

The Animal welfare science is mostly focused on evaluating and improving the quality of life of animals that actually exist. This leaves out a range of ethically relevant issues regarding the quantity of life – in terms of number of animals living and the longevity of each animal. In many cases quantity and quality are related, and often there is a tension between the two. In this chapter, we develop a discussion around four practical cases presenting quality-quantity dilemmas: a) the issue of dairy cow longevity, b) the early slaughter of male dairy calves, c) the killing of newly-hatched male layer chicks and d) the conflict between reduction and refinement in animal research. The practical, economic and animal welfare aspects characterizing each case are presented together with relevant stakeholders’ perspective. We discuss the cases in light of the most relevant currents of thought in animal ethics, highlighting the main values at stake and which possible solutions may be sought according to each perspective