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Session B2: Evaluation Techniques for Animal Well-BeingChairs: Vera Baumans (Sweden) and David Mellor (New Zealand) B2: Preference Tests and Consumer Demand Studies: Advantages and Limitations in Assessing Animal Welfare Preference tests provide insight into how animals perceive their world and their feelings about the environment, whilst avoiding our own anthropocentric concerns. They have been used to assess environmental aspects such as floor-type, lighting, nesting material, cage color, etc., and the aversiveness of standard practices. But, preference tests have limitations, e.g. absolute versus relative need, short versus long-term preferences, lack of 'behavioral wisdom,' influence of external causal factors, strength of preference, and, non-exclusivity. Consumer demand studies are an extension of preference tests in which animals are required to pay a cost for a resource. Demand studies have been used to examine the strength of motivation for space, social contact, nesting material, maternal behavior, etc., but also have limitations, e.g. time/complexity, importance of demand curve characteristics, and, effect of social context. Despite their limitations, however, preference and demand studies remain invaluable tools in the assessment of animal welfare. B2: Methods for Evaluation of Laboratory Animal Well-Being Well-being is a relative concept, referring to the state of an animal in relation to its ability to cope with its environment. This ability to cope is what we usually try to measure in evaluation of the animal's well-being. Good welfare, in general, is considered to be related to a broad behavioral repertoire that requires considerable knowledge of the animal's species-specific behavior and general knowledge of their biology. Ideally, well-being should be measured in a positive way, such as measuring pleasure, e.g., by anticipatory behavior. However, until now, more parameters were available to detect failures to cope, leading to stress and/or discomfort. Parameters used in the assessment of discomfort are behavioral parameters, such as stereotypies, reduction in grooming, and changes in activity; physiological parameters, such as body weight, abnormal posture, respiratory signs, heart rate, hormone levels; and post mortem signs as retrospective parameters, such as stomach ulcers, adrenal cortex size, and fatty deposits. The usefulness of these parameters will be discussed. B2: Non-Invasive Stress Assessment in the Laboratory Rat Non-invasive stress measures allow us to assess the impact of potential refinements and are also refinements themselves, allowing physiological state to be accessed without invasive or aversive techniques. This is especially true if urinary hormones are measured in a single micturation, rather than in 24-hour outputs as collected in metabolism cages. For laboratory rats (Lister Hoodeds), data will be presented on the validity of using single-micturation urinary corticosterone and catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline), plus low-level chromodacryorrhoea (a porphyrin secretion from the Harderian glands, visible around the eyes and/or nose) to assess stress. The responses of these measures to time of day, social dominance, mild disturbance (e.g., unknown human visitors) and severe disturbance (the use of noisy power tools in a neighboring room) will be presented. Preliminary analyses indicate that mean levels of chromodacryrrhoea are highest in subordinate animals, but negatively correlate with urinary corticoserone levels. However, levels of both indices are increased by external disturbance. Methodological issues will also be discussed, i.e., chromodacryrrhoea scoring systems, urine collection methods, urinary hormone assay techniques, and optimum urine sampling intervals. B2: Refining Husbandry and Management of Large Primates Improvement of primate facilities is potentially costly, constrained by health and safety considerations and the limited experience present in smaller units. During the last decade, most units have progressed from two-tier single housing on grid floors, but there are still opportunities for refinements to reduce contingent suffering. The methodology of housing rhesus monkeys loose in rooms without cages will be demonstrated in an 11-minute video presentation. The animals have defined health status, but routine room maintenance and animal handling encourages close staff contact, generating health and safety issues. The management changes have resulted in less aggressive, more cooperative animals, less stressed by capture. There are more natural behaviors, decreased animal and staff stress, improved breeding, and better experimental models. The cages remain cleaner, releasing staff to spend more time on positive reinforcement training. There is better use of available space, and experimental projects have been included within the breeding colony. The project has demonstrated a way of providing a management system that results in major benefits to animal welfare, staff morale, and the quality of the scientific studies undertaken. Continuing challenges include dealing with social unrest within groups, managing animal health, and maintaining high levels of personnel safety. B2: Refinement of Gerbil Housing and Husbandry in the Laboratory Mongolian gerbils, Meriones unguiculatus, are widely used as model species in parasitology, epilepsy- and stroke-research. When kept under standard laboratory housing conditions, however, gerbils develop two distinctive behavioral abnormalities: stereotypic digging and bar chewing. Our work centered on assessing the mechanisms leading to these stereotypies. We aimed at finding practical housing and husbandry solutions that prevent the development of such stereotypies in the laboratory by addressing the behavioral needs of gerbils. Fecal cortisol levels were used as a non-invasive method to compare stress reactions in gerbils housed under different conditions. Stereotypic digging was caused by the lack of a burrow in the laboratory cage; stereotypic bar chewing was caused by premature separation of juveniles from their family before the birth of younger siblings. An integrated artificial burrow system will be presented that prevents the development of stereotypic digging in gerbils and adaptations in husbandry routines will be suggested that significantly reduce the incidence of bar chewing. We conclude that simple refinement of housing is effective in improving gerbil welfare in the laboratory. This research was supported by 3R Research Foundation Switzerland, grant 58-97, to Professor Barbara König. B2: The Wild Behaviors of Laboratory Rats (http://www.RATLIFE.org) Background: The rat is the second most widely used species in the laboratory. It is somewhat of a paradox, however, that, given its level of known cognitive abilities, the rat seems comparatively one of the least well provided for animals in the laboratory. General Aims: Progress in animal welfare/husbandry is, to a large extent, driven by a combination of awareness, willingness, and facts. Hence, rather than preconceiving specific solutions, this project aims to be relevant to all three by emphasizing the range of wild behaviors that, despite generations of domestication, remain innate amongst Wistar and Lister hooded rats and ready to be expressed when given the opportunity. Content: These issues are illustrated via the medium of a 20-minute digital film (shown in part) and associated web resource. Filmed in an outdoor complex habitat over several months (much like a wildlife documentary), the "wild" behaviors expressed by these laboratory rats are relevant to husbandry, as well as to the design of laboratory experiments. The material is associated with a dedicated web site, which hosts a library of additional clips on topics of particular relevance, with text and references in a format that can be downloaded for consultation and teaching.
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