Wild-caught mice are subject to USDA regulation. The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (the Guide)1, the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals2 and the Animal Welfare Act and Regulations3 ask generally that alternatives to painful or distressful procedures be considered. Here this is addressed in the IACUC's question of whether to categorize the study in column C or column E. The Guide provides more specific guidance on this subject, recommending that alternatives to physical restraint be considered and that physical restraint be the minimum necessary to accomplish scientific goals—both of which have been addressed by the IACUC. The regulations are silent, however, on any specific time limit and put the burden of defining “prolonged restraint” on the IACUC.
Any time an animal's movement is restricted, there is the potential for stress or distress, which needs to be addressed. The research group provided the IACUC with a video of a wild mouse undergoing the same procedure in a colleague's lab and with data showing the mouse had normal glucose levels as evidence that the restraint procedure was not stressful to the animal, but no information was provided regarding prior acclimatization of the mouse to the restraint procedure before testing. Such acclimatization could have affected both behavior during restraint and glucose levels. Contacting the principal investigator to clarify this point may be one way to address the concern before the IACUC is ready to approve the use of animals for this study. The IACUC might also suggest that the investigator do a pilot study measuring either serum glucose or fecal cortisol levels for a pre-determined time.
Once the IACUC has observed or reviewed any further requested information, it may be comfortable assigning the animals used to the appropriate column in the USDA annual report. As the USDA report is a report of events that have already occurred, the IACUC might choose to assign the animals to a column provisionally for the protocol and reevaluate after the experiments or the pilot study is complete.
References
Institute for Laboratory Animal Research. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals 29–30 (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2011).
Public Health Service. Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals Section IV,C,1,a: Review of PHS-Conducted or Supported Research Projects. (US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, 1986; amended 2002).
Code of Federal Regulations. Title 9, Chapter 1, Subchapter A—Animal Welfare: Part 2 Regulations. §2.31(d)(i) and (ii).
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Shukan, E., Hitt, N. Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Perhaps a pilot study. Lab Anim 40, 173 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0611-173b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0611-173b
