Improving Research Animal Welfare Through Human Behaviour Change

Presenter: Patricia V Turner, _{MS, DVM, DVSc, DACLAM, DABT, DECAWBM (AWSEL)}

Visits to research facilities in Canada and the U.S. by various regulatory and accreditation organizations commonly demonstrate gaps in routine implementation of tools, practices, and techniques to enhance the environment and care of research rodents. While part of the answer for this may lie in a need for further animal welfare science and 3R’s research, some of this is also related to resistance in changing behaviors and practices in those working with research rodents. Our research focussed on the need for understanding principles of human behavior change to improve animal welfare. The specific objective was to assess the current attitudes of Canadian laboratory animal professionals, including veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and animal care personnel, towards research animal welfare to determine major animal welfare concerns for rodents. Study participants were recruited from amongst the memberships of CALAS/ACSAL and CALAM/ACMAL. Methods consisted of 1:1 structured 30-60min interviews with 17 veterinarians and 18 veterinary technicians/animal caregivers from a range of research facility types from across Canada. Volunteers were asked between 13-17 questions, depending on their responses, and they were additionally asked to complete a 5-question written demographic survey after the oral interview. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and transcripts were subsequently coded using a thematic analysis using NVivo software. Our results identified no discernible differences in response comments between gender, age, geographic distribution or institutional type, although responses did differ in weighting between veterinarians and veterinary technicians/animal caregivers. Both groups consistently identified current rodent housing standards and pain management as their biggest welfare concerns. Historical standards and speciesism were identified as the primary reasons for current welfare issues, but most interviewees remain optimistic that it is possible to move beyond these limitations.

Patricia Turner is a laboratory animal veterinarian and pathologist who works as Corporate Vice-President, Global Animal Welfare for Charles River Laboratories. In this role, she is responsible for assessing welfare risks and developing animal welfare policy and related training for the company’s sites around the world. Turner is also a Professor Emerita at the University of Guelph. She conducts research in animal welfare science with her research group at Charles River and graduate students at Guelph. Turner is President of the World Veterinary Association and is also an author and co-editor of >150 papers, chapters and books on animal welfare, laboratory animal medicine, and small mammal pathology.