Research Methods in Life Sciences Commons^™

Laboratory Animals: Unification Of Legislation In Europe, H. Rozemond

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

A committee of experts, Comite Ad Hoc pour Ia Protection des Animaux (CAHPA), has been convened by the Council of Europe to prepare a European convention on the protection of laboratory animals. The chief goal of the Council of Europe is to implement peaceful cooperation concerning cultural, economic, and social affairs in Europe. Matters of military concern are excluded. The countries represented on the Council include Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Greece, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey, Sweden, and Switzerland. The Council holds conventions on various topics …

A Message From Pano, William G. Conway

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

William Conway, the CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society, was an innovative Zoo Director who, at times, presented his ideas in unusual ways. The Conway article reprinted in this issue of IJSAP is in the form of a memorandum from a field agent of the chimpanzee species to the “Most High Primate” resigning from his position. In Conway’s description, the memo was found in an unstamped envelope with no return address on the grounds of the Bronx Zoo. The memorandum appeared to have been written by a chimpanzee on assignment from a clandestine organization in Africa that sent undercover chimpanzees …

Meetings & Announcements

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The first international meeting on the Human/Companion Animal Bond was held at the University of Pennsylvania during October 5-7, 1981. The meeting brought together persons concerned about animal welfare and a broad spectrum of healthcare professionals. Two symposia were held in Europe in late 1981 (The Netherlands and Sweden) on the LD50 test. In October 1981, a symposium was organized in Switzerland on using animals in research and testing. At the end of 1981, the National Society for Medical Research organized an “adjunct” methods seminar. Finally, the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare organized a conference on the regulation of animal …

Letter To Editor: Journal Editorial Vindicates Vivisectionists, Pat Allan

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

M.W. Fox's editorial, "The 'Show Dog' Syndrome" (IJSAP 3(1):3, 1982) cannot help but be extremely upsetting to any person who wants to see the particularly sadistic and useless experiments involving sentient beings recognized as such. I am referring to Fox's reference to Overmeier's "learned helplessness" experiments involving intense unavoidable electrical shock administered to dogs. Through reference to these kinds of experiments, Fox lends credibility to them; it would seem there is no other way to understand the "show dog" syndrome from a scientific perspective. Fox therefore

validates Overmeier's research and others who engage in similar research.

Letter To Editor: M.W. Fox Response To Allan's Letter To Editor, M. W. Fox

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

I have never condoned animal studies of learned helplessness that entail significant physical and psychological trauma - such as five milliamperes of inescapable electrical shock repeated at intervals for several days. I have also forcefully criticized psychologists (Fox, 1981, Psychopharmacol. Bull. 17:80-84) for poor experimental design and needless repetition.

The Issue Of Science And The Issue Of Care, Andrew N. Rowan

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Dr. Edward Taub, Director of the Behavioral Biology Center of the Institute for Behavioral Research, was, on

November 23, 1981, found guilty of 6 counts of cruelty to animals. Dr. Taub has cried "victimization" and has attempted.

(with some success) to rally researchers to his defense. However, scientists should beware of taking up this case as a cause celebre. Taub was not being tried because his research was cruel (and hence unjustified); he was being tried because his laboratory was grossly unsanitary and did not provide adequate veterinary care. According to one respected laboratory animal veterinarian, the conditions were …

News And Analysis

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The section includes reports on the use of pound animals for research; EEC standards for battery cages for laying hens; a declaration that fish are considered to be animals in Massachusetts, the rescue of dogs from research in Maryland; determining wildlife populations in Virginia; the tuna-dolphin controversy; the protection of laboratory animals; animal experimentation in the UK; the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee; broiler chicken welfare; ignorance regarding wildlife in the USA, the Ames Test as an alternative; the ban on sperm whale hunting; and an analysis of alternatives research supported by the NIH.

Reporting Requirements Under The Animal Welfare Act: Their Inadequacies And The Public's Right To Know, M. Solomon, P. C. Lovenheim

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The Animal Welfare Act is the only federal statute designed to protect animals used in laboratory research. This law requires research facilities to register with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and meet minimum housing standards, care, and treatment standards for most warm-blooded animals. The Act is administered by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), an agency of the USDA. Research institutions are required to file annual reports. However, the reports are frequently deficient. The authors argue that the USDA should issue clear definitions for what is meant by “pain” and “distress. ” They should also provide further …

The Silver Spring 17, Andrew N. Rowan

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

On November 23, 1981, in a Maryland District Court, Dr. Edward Taub was found guilty under a Maryland state anti-cruelty statute of not providing adequate veterinary care for 6 of the 17 monkeys confiscated from his laboratory two months earlier. The case has received extensive press coverage and caused widespread alarm in the scientific community. According to Science (274:121, 1981 ), "scientists throughout the country have been shocked by the Taub case, initially perceiving it as a bid by antivivisectionists to procure a court ruling against animal experimentation." Taub has fostered this impression and has drawn a false analogy between …

Legislation And Regulation

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The idea of new federal regulation on the care and use of animals in research is no longer novel; bills that would control and refocus the conduct of animal experimentation in the U.S. have been pending since the last session of Congress. Last autumn, however, a new phase in the process began. On 13-14 October 1981, the House Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology held information-gathering public hearings to evaluate existing bills and possibly formulate its own legislation.

How To Compose A Laboratory Animal Use Report For The Usda, J. M. Cass

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

All research facilities must submit an annual report on laboratory animal use to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Care Staff as part of the legal requirements of the Federal Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (P.L. 89-544) and its subsequent amendments. This report (USDA: V.C. Form 18-23, Annual Report of Research Facility) must include an explanation of the scientific bases for conducting any research and tests that involve unalleviated distress (the "Pain-No Drugs" situation) in animal subjects. In some cases, only one of these reports is required.

Updating The British Cruelty To Animals Act Of 1876: Can The Center Hold?, Judith Hampson

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Long experience with unsuccessful attempts by British animal welfare groups to promote private members' bills for reform or replacement of the 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act has convinced reformists that achieving this kind of change by lobbying Parliament may be impossible. For this reason, a small reformist group- spearheaded by the ex-chairman of the Labour Party, Lord Houghton, and an eminent surgeon, the late Lord Platt- was formed and drafted reform proposals in a document widely known as the Houghton/Piatt Memorandum (paper submitted to the Home Secretary, 1976). This report called for a substantial tightening of controls established under the …

Some Thoughts On The Laboratory Cage Design Process, Margaret E. Wallace

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

A block to progress in the design of cages and other restricted environments for animals has been the notion that animal and human needs are necessarily in conflict. The design process should list the established and suspected animal needs separately from human needs- husbandry and experimental. Comparison of the two lists will often show more compatible needs than expected, and design features can be worked out to fulfill them. Adjustments may be made where needs are less compatible until "sufficient" compatibility is achieved. An innovative design for a mouse cage is described to show that this process can lead to …

Deep Woodchip Litter: Hygiene, Feeding, And Behavioral Enhancement In Eight Primate Species, Arnold S. Chamove, James R. Anderson, Susan C. Morgan-Jones, Susan P. Jones

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Sixty-seven animals from eight primate species were used to assess improved husbandry techniques. The presence of woodchips as a direct-contact litter decreased inactivity and fighting and increased time spent on the ground. Placing food in the deep litter led to further behavioral improvement. Frozen foods improved distribution and reduced fighting in most situations, especially when buried in the litter. With time, the litter became increasingly inhibitory to bacteria. The results suggest that inexpensive ways of increasing environmental complexity are effective in improving housing for primates.