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Case 4a :

The 3Rs?

"Reduction, Replacement and Refinement". In large, bold, letters, these three words pasted to the walls of the animal care and use facility. Looming large over hundreds of rodent cages, no one can fail to see these words as they work. However, that the words are readily visible doesn't mean they are easily understood or agreed upon.

Tonica is considering quitting the laboratory in which she works. Her supervisor, Dr Anja, advocates a strict "euthanize" policy for all animals post-procedure. Dr Anja sometimes requests an undergraduate student train their dissection skills upon animals due to be euthanized. Tonica nominally agrees with the notion of euthanasia as few of the animal models could be used again in a valid scientific study, particularly as their research addresses post-surgical recovery. Imagine trying to reuse rats with thoracic surgical scars in an animal behavior study where time to completion of task is a key variable! Yet, she is certain that using live animals to improve one's dissections skills violates the Hong Kong protection of animals ordinances and sometimes they do not use anaesthetic as well as not being licensed under the Department of Health!

Further, their recent research trajectory, to study the effects of a high fat, high protein, liquid diet on 72 hours post-operative tissue regrowth, seems not to require euthanasia. The procedure at hand requires that the rats' flanks be cut, to the fascia, then sutured shut, under anaesthesia and within a normal sterile field. Following the injury, the rats' wounds be photographed every three hours, sliver skin samples would be taken every 12 hours for analysis, and the temperature of the skin surrounding the wound site be measured with a simple infrared camera set up to monitor their cages continuously.

In the early cluster of 100 rats, there were no mortalities, only a single minor infection related to that rats' pathological rubbing of its wound site against its cage wall, and no indicators that the rats had any compromise of mobility, morbidity, or mortality. So, Tonica was very surprised that this cluster of rats was due to be euthanized. Having lost a plea to her supervisor to give the rats to the animal behavior laboratory on the next floor up, Tonica is now considering reporting her laboratory to the Committee on the Use of Animals in Teaching and Research (CULATR) for a violation of the principles of animal welfare. If she does this, she will subsequently leave the lab.

• What are the key problems you see in this case?
• What are the problems that Tonica might be obligated to report to the CULATR?
   

Imagine you are Professor Anja:

• What might be the basis of your strict euthanasia policy?
• How could you explain this to Tonica?
• Is there any precedent that you can refer to?
   

Imagine you are a member of the CULATR and receive an ethical complaint from Tonica against her laboratory:

• Under the requirements of CULATR and AAALAC International, how are you obligated to respond to this report?