Introduction. ILAR 43 (1): 001.
[Reviewer's Note - Any parts of this introductory article which recapped
specific articles published in this ILAR issue were not reviewed as other
LABSG members will be summarizing these articles for the LABSG list.] Relationships
between animals and the research people who interact with them are a newly
emerging topic. The fact that a "bond" exists between human and animal
means that there has been a close and mutually meaningful relationship,
but the relationship can come at a cost. In addition to lab animal workers
physical risks (i.e. allergy, bites, scratches), there are other "emotional"
risks. Ironically, the people who feel deeply are among the best and most
devoted to their jobs. Animal caregivers are a key part of the research
but often feel alienated. Although there is concern about blurring the
distinction between a research subject and a pet (i.e. giving a research
animal a name), the inevitable closeness that results from day to day animal-human
interactions makes it difficult to avoid forming attachments. Part of this
dilemma has been affected by the language in the Animal Welfare Regulations.
For instance, the term "psychological well-being" as it relates to nonhuman
primate welfare is one such example. Relationships between research personnel
and their animals differ greatly. Animal care staff have more opportunities
to experience close relationships with the animals than do research technicians.
Research animals also have a vast capacity to recognize people and events
that they have learned will lead to pleasure or to pain. Researchers, technicians,
veterinarians, and care staff are devoted to the humane care and use of
research animals and to the search for that day when animals are no longer
needed for research.
No questions
Development of the human-research animal bond and its impact
on animal well-being. ILAR 43 (1): 004.
Tannenbaum argues that a true bond can only be defined as bidirectional,
which he describes as a relationship that benefits both parties and is
mutually voluntary. Dog socialization occurs during the sensitive period
at ~ 3 weeks of age and peaks at 6-8 weeks. Staats proposes that the "cognitive
intent to act in ways directed toward the well-being" of the animals which
they define as committment has a significant role in the relationship that
develops between a person and an animal. This committment is measured by
sustaining the relationship despite personal effort, time, money, and patience.
How bonds form: Human-animal bonds are formed when caring for or nurturing
patterns are established between human and animals. The dependancy is not
unlike that of a child on its parent. The greater the understanding of
the animal's behaviour the more likely that the understanding will lead
to the development of a bond between human and animals. The longer an animal
resides in the facility, the more likely staff will develop a bond with
it. The concept of naming lab animals constitutes further evidence of an
individual relationship between the animal and staff. Physical characteristics
eg appearance, pregnancy, infancy, perceived pain, certain behaviours,
result in increased attention from staff members, and individualization
of those animals, with the resulting formation of a bond. Training the
animals, and staff training on animal behavour is a key to improving job
performance and enhancing animal well-being, Talking to the animals in
the form of questions- asking how or what it is doing etc can reduce staff
stress and halp build the bond. PHS policy principle 4 and AWA NHP enrichment
amendment both encourage staff to identfity their own feelings and time
towards the animals. Many staff purchsase toys or food treats for lab animals
fromthe same stores as their pets, or donate old toys of their childrens.
No matter what kind of emotional bond people have with their animals, touch
is an essential part of that reationship. Blurring The Line Between Pets
and Lab Animals: Occasionally animals have been removed from the facility
official inventory and becomes mascots . Lab animal adoption programs exit
and portraits of favourite lab animals are often displayed. Impact of this
Bond on Animal Well-Being: Result in overall reduction in stress for the
animals and may serve to buffer the potential stress of certain experimental
situations resulting from the novelty of the procedure area etc. Personnel
gain more reward from their jobs.
Questions
1) Is the human -animal bond uni- or bidirectional or both?
2) Describe way the bond is formed.
3) When was the AWA amended to mandate NHP enrichment program?
Answers
1) Can be both however Tannenbaum argues that it can only be bidirectional
so that both parties are involved in the relationship.
2) -Caring/nurturing pattern is established
- Longer the animal resides inthe facility
-Naming the animal ie individualization
-Training the animal
-Verbal communication
-Enrichment programs
-Ownership of the animal
-Touch
-Blurring the line B/W research subject and pet (photos/adoption)
3) 1985
Human-Animal Bonds in the Laboratory: How Animal Behaviour
Affects the Perspective of Caregivers. ILAR 43 (1): 010.
Caregivers in animal labs generally find it rewarding and important
to increase the comfort of their animals. Most of the respondents to their
survey reported a high level of satisfaction in the workplace, however
some also mentioned sources of stress. Increasing the positive elements
and providing greater support for the challenging aspects of their work
can bolster the capability and motivation of caregivers to provide optimal
care. Their study findings include: 1) people are attracted by the animals
to become caregivers in labs, which points to the importance of providing
caregivers opportunities for rewarding interactions with animals. 2) Opportunities
that enhance the comfort of the animal & increase the performance of
a full range of animal behaviour increase the attractiveness of the species
and job satisfaction for the person. 3)The attractiveness of mice is more
limited than other species, perhaps partially due to their small size and
the requirements of maintaining a barrier facility. 4) Caregivers perhaps
would benefit from more evident support resulting from being included in
the research project, and being provided options for the stress of euthanasia.
No questions
Prediction and preparation: Pavlovian implications of research
animals discriminating among humans. ILAR 43 (1): 019.
A growing body of evidence suggests that animals can discriminate among
the humans with whom they have regular contact. The presence of a particular
human may signal delivery of an important event, thus allowing the animal
to prepare for its occurrence. In Pavlovian terms, humans become "walking
conditioned stimuli", eliciting measurable conditioned responses from animal
subjects. These responses may modulate the effects of variables under study.
Contact with a specific person may be the best predictor of what lies ahead
for the animals. It has been demonstrated in 11 different species the ability
to discriminate between humans including rats, chickens, llamas, rabbits,
sheep, cows, seals, emu, rhea, penguins, and honeybees. The paper describes
specific studies conducted to illustrate the above points. Pavlovian conditioneing
may also modulate heart rate, blood pressure, activate the immune system,
or produce drug tolerance or endorphin release. Animals may directly tie
these motivational effects , which easily qualify as uncontrolled variables
to the presence of a particulatr person. To determine whether any of these
conditioned physiological or motivational effects interfere with or modulate
what you are formally studying, it is advisable to vary your lab routine
to change the role of the conditoned stimulus person and evaluate whether
this change has a measurable impact on your data.
Questions
1) Can animals discriminate B/W humans?
2) How do humans become "conditoned Stimuli"?
3) Animals seek pleasure and avoid pain, & this is referred to
as ?
4) What is the benefit of Pavolvian responses?
5) How are these responses important to research?
Answers
1) Yes
2) Humans signal delivery of important events, thereby causing conditioned
responses
3) Hedonists
4) Prepares animals for what lies ahead
5) Humans can inadvertently alter research by modulating HR, BP, immunity,
change drug tolerance etc.
Ethical aspects of relationships between humans and research
animals. ILAR 43 (1): 027.
The different levels of involvement that animal care staff and researchers
have in the lives of lab animals can pit technicians against researchers.
Ways that research institutions can help individuals cope with the ethical
consequesnces of relationships with research animals include the following:
supporting the development of human-animal relationships in labs, giving
animal care personnel an ethical voice through involvement in the IACUC
decison process, publicaly acknowledging the emotional and moral costs
of human-lab animal relationships, and educating animal care staff about
the purpose and possible benefits of ressearch projects. Normative ethics
is t he branch of philosophy that informs us of what we should do based
on the rigorous application of logic to sets of fundamental principles.
Descriptive ethics involve the study of what people actually perceive to
be right or wrong. Characteristics such as gender, hair colour, or how
cute an animal is should not count. Deontologists base their ethics on
conformity to rationally derived rules rather than on the consequences
of an action. Nowhere do they argue or imply that we should treat some
animals differently simply because we have special relationships with them.
An ethical system in which a creature is afforded enhanced moral status
simply because someone happens to form a bond with it violates the principle
of impartiality. When animals are accepted as pets, a special set of contractual
responsibilities is assumed toward them by their owners or companions,
and that accords them special moral status. When an animal is transformed
from "object" to "pet" its' moral status is changed.
Questions
1) List ways for personnel to deal with the ethical concerns stemming
from human-animal bond.
1) Support the formation of bonds in the facility
Answers
Allow animal care staff to have voice on IACUC
Have professional discussion groups
Not make people euthanize animals that they have bonded with
Conduct memorial services
Educate staff on purpose and results of the research
Ethical implications of the human-animal bond in the laboratory.
ILAR 43 (1): 033.
The article discusses how the concept of a human-animal bond fits into
standard moral theories. The conclusion is that "impartial" theories such
as utilitarianism and deontological theories must be supplemented with
an "ethics of caring" and that the moral duties engendered by the human-animal
bond are best identified with such a supplemental theory. The following
criteria are most relevant to define the human-animal bond:
1) It involves a relationship between a human and individual animal.
This is not to say that humans cannot form bonds with more than 1 animal,
or vice versa. However a human-animal bond does not exist when someone
views an aquarium or a mouse colony as a collective.
2) Human-animal bond is reciprocal and persistent. No matter how fond
you are of an animal, if it does not recognize you, there is no bond in
the strongest sense. Similarly, if you cannot identify a particular chicken
from a flock, there is no bond. The notion of recognition (literally, re-cognition)
implies multiple instances of contact rather than a single contact to begin
establishing that bond. Human-animal bond involves increased trust on the
part of the animal and an increased caring and understanding of the animal's
needs on the part of the human. Note that although this relationship is
reciprocoal (ie both parties involved) it is not necessarily symmetrical.
3) Human-animal bond tends to promote an increase in well-being for
both parties.
All three of these conditons are necessary for a fully developed human-animal
bond. This consequence suggests that in a colony in which some but not
all of the animals are named, there may be differences in levels of care.
If all animals are named, it seems to follow that they are more likely
to be handled more uniformly. There is an implicit promise between the
human and animal as something like" we are friends, therefore you can/should
trust me and feel safe with me, and I will treat you as a freind and meet
your needs as well as I can" . The "promise" of each party is different
therefore the relationship is not symmetrical. It is important to understand
that it is the underlying attitude not the actual behaviour of the participants
that separates a human-animal bond from other sorts of human animal interaction.
To summarize , if we recognize that the complete impartiality and abstractness
demanded by many versions of classical ethics is impoverished, a corrective
move is required. Any such correction that recognizes the moral significance
of personalized relationships between persons will provide ways in which
such bonds translate into special moral duties, rights, or privileges.
Many of the arguments that justify giving moral significance to friendship
will also apply to human-animal bonds. When a Human-animal bond is considered
as a type of promise, as suggested above, then severing the bond abruptly
and without adequate justification (eg euthanizing an animal merely for
convenience) is a betrayal of trust, a broken promise, and a general repudiation
of the bond. Researchers must continue to question the barriers that have
traditionally been erected against forming human-animal bonds in the name
of objectivity and to investigate seriously the ways in which fostering
the formation of human-animal bonds can promote animal welfare without
compromising the scientifc respectabillity of research.
Questions
1) What are 3 criteria of Human-animal bond considered necessary?
2) Is the human-animal bond considered symmetrical?
Answers
1) -Relationship forms between individaul animals not groups
- the bond is reciprocal and persistent
-the bond promotes an increase in well-being for both parties.
2) No, because the promise is different for the animals vs human
An additional "R": remembering the animals. ILAR 43 (1): 038.
Religious memorial services for animals in certain areas of the world
provide an historical basis for such acknowledgement activities. The
need to establish such events in academic and research settings is
discussed in this paper.
Activities, either sacred or secular, can memorialize and acknowledge
the animals as well as the connections between humans and animals.
Appreciation for the animals, and the care and consideration provided
by those who interact with and care for them, can be strenghthened by these
formal events. Acknowledgement of these feelings of attachment enhances
the work environment by providing support to personnel , especialy when
the animal lives are lost. The relationship between animal and humans in
the lab setting as symbiotic. Members of the research team who could be
referred to as caregivers provide food, water, shelter, and etc to the
animal. The animals in turn, provide data and intellectual stimulation
and emotional gratification. One critical and supportive step to assist
workers in developing appropriate coping mechanisms is to validate their
feelings and the existance of these attachments. Assisting coworkers in
difficult tasks such as euthanasia,
maintaining a favoured "mascot" or "pet", and using ruituals for certain
events such as euthanizing animals. The implementation of this
additional "R"-remembering the animals -can be an invaluable and rewarding
endeavor. The article describes examples of various memorials throughtout
the world to honour animals in many services besides research. It describes
monuments, poems, inscriptions, stones, services, and prayers that are
used. The article then makes suggestions like a granite stone with inlaid
plaque, reading of poetry, listing of species and numbers used in the past
year, artwork, group activites like planting a tree, photographs of favourite
animals, making a video, and various ceremonies. They suggest that sponsorship
be organized to ensure the annual event will continue in the institution
beyond the initial ceremony. They also suggest that it is important when
planning a service to focus on the specific objectives and goals of the
planned event, and more importantly clarify those objectives and goals
that are not. A plan must include a means to accomplish the desirable and
to avoid the ndesirable.
No questions