Mark J. Prescott

Training Nonhuman Primates Using Positive Reinforcement Techniques

Training nonhuman primates to cooperate with routine scientific, husbandry, and veterinary procedures is recommended as good practice by many legislative and professional guidelines (Home Office, 1989; International Primatological Society, 1989). Despite this, the scientific literature on this topic is sparse and disparate, and training is not used as widely as it might be. This may be due to the paucity of information on how to train and its potential benefits, together with the lack of reliable assessment of the potential costs of training. Whatever the reason, it is unfortunate because training can reduce the fear, anxiety, and distress known to be caused to primates by many traditional methods of carrying out procedures (Reinhardt, Liss, & Stevens, 1995). Primates in the laboratory may experience a plethora of potential stressors including physical and chemical restraint, venipuncture, injection, and participation in other husbandry routines such as catching, cage change, and weighing. Training them to cooperate voluntarily, using positive reinforcement training (PRT) techniques, is one means of significantly reducing the adverse impact of such procedures and husbandry routines on them and, therefore, is a refinement. Refinement JOURNAL OF APPLIED ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE, 6(3), 157–161 Copyright

Refinements in husbandry, care and common procedures for non-human primates Ninth report of the BVAAWF/FRAME/RSPCA/UFAW Joint Working Group on Refinement

Preface Whenever animals are used in research, minimizing pain and distress and promoting good welfare should be as important an objective as achieving the experimental results. This is important for humanitarian reasons, for good science, for economic reasons and in order to satisfy the broad legal principles in international legislation. It is possible to refine both husbandry and procedures to minimize suffering and improve welfare in a number of ways, and this can be greatly facilitated by ensuring that up-to-date information is readily available. The need to provide such information led the British Veterinary Association Animal Welfare Foundation (BVAAWF), the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME), the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) to establish a Joint Working Group on Refinement (JWGR) in the UK. The chair is Professor David Morton and the secretariat is provided by the RSPCA. This report is the ninth in the JWGR series. The RSPCA is opposed to the use of animals in experiments that cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm and together with FRAME has particular concerns about the continued use of non-human primates. The replacement of primate experiments is a primary goal for the RSPCA and FRAME. However, both organizations share with others in the Working Group, the common aim of replacing primate experiments wherever possible, reducing suffering and improving welfare while primate use continues. The reports of the refinement workshops are intended to help achieve these aims. This report produced by the British Veterinary Association Animal Welfare Foundation (BVAAWF)/Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME)/Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)/Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) Joint Working Group on Refinement (JWGR) sets out practical guidance on refining the husbandry and care of non-human primates (hereinafter primates) and on minimizing the adverse effects of some common procedures. It provides a valuable resource to help understand the physical, social and behavioural characteristics and needs of individual primates, and is intended to develop and complement the existing literature and legislative guidelines. Topics covered include refinements in housing, husbandry and common procedures such as restraint, identification and sampling, with comprehensive advice on issues such as primate communication, assessing and facilitating primate wellbeing, establishing and maintaining social groups, environmental and nutritional enrichment and animal passports. The most commonly used species are the key focus of this resource, but its information and recommendations are generally applicable to other species, provided that relevant individual species characteristics are taken into account.

Guidance on the transport of laboratory animals

Report of the Transport Working Group established by the Laboratory Animal Science Association (LASA)

Effect of colour vision status on insect prey capture efficiency of captive and wild tamarins (Saguinus spp.)

The colour vision polymorphism of most New World primates is a model system to study the function of colour vision. Theories for the evolution of primate trichromacy focus on the efficient detection and selection of ripe fruits and young leaves among mature leaves, when trichromats are likely to be better than dichromats. We examined whether colour vision status affected insect capture in groups of tamarins (Saguinus spp.) in captivity and in the field. Trichromatic tamarins caught more prey than dichromats, but dichromats caught a greater proportion of camouflaged prey than trichromats. The prey caught did not differ in size between the two visual phenotypes. Thus two factors may contribute to the maintenance of the genetic polymorphism of middle- to long-wavelength photopigments in platyrrhines: the advantage in finding fruit and leaves, which supports the maintenance of the polymorphism through a heterozygote advantage, and the dichromats’ exploitation of different (e.g. camouflaged) food, which results in frequency-dependent selection on the different colour vision phenotypes.

Distribution and Forest Utilization of Saguinus and Other Primates of the Pando Department, Northern Bolivia

We carried out a 4-month census of primates in the Pando Department of northern Bolivia with special emphasis on Saguinus species. Contrary to a previous report by Izawa and Bejarano (1981), there was no evidence for the presence of the two populations of Saguinus mystax that they reported, or that Lagothrix occurs in the Pando. In addition, we found the distribution of Saguinus imperator to be more restricted than they suggested. We confirm the presence of Cebuella south of the Río Tahuamanu (cf. Brown and Rumiz, 1986) and report two new locations for Callimico goeldii. We present data on group sizes, habitat utilization, and locomotor behavior of the primates and compare them with previous studies in the Pando. Differences in body size, diet, foraging techniques, and vertical use of the forest appear to be key factors in both sympatry and in the formation of polyspecific associations.

Training of laboratory-housed non-human primates in the UK

Abstract Laboratory-housed non-human primates may experience a range of potential stressors, including physical and chemical restraint, venepuncture, injection, catching and cage-change. Training them to co-operate, using positive reinforcement techniques, is one means of significantly reducing the adverse impact of such procedures upon them and, therefore, is a refinement. Furthermore, the additional time that staff spend with the primates, and the need for individual recognition and close observation of animal behavior, mean that the trainer develops a relationship with each individual animal which can be beneficial for animal welfare (e.g., by reducing the occurrence of abnormal behavior and fear of humans). We surveyed use of training in thirteen UK establishments using and breeding primates, utilizing a mixed-mode questionnaire. The survey demonstrated that there is widespread awareness of training as a refinement and appreciation of its diverse benefits, but training is not used as widely or as fully as it might be. This is largely due to real constraints (principally staff and time and a lack of confidence in ability to train), and perceived constraints (such as a supposed lack of information on how to train and assessment of the benefits, and an overestimation of the time investment needed). There is also considerable variation between establishments in the purposes of training and techniques used, with a reliance on negative reinforcement in three. We conclude that there is considerable scope for refinement of common scientific, veterinary and husbandry procedures, and refer to some resources designed to help establishments take action (e.g., Prescott and Buchanan-Smith 2003).

A Good Death? Report of the Second Newcastle Meeting on Laboratory Animal Euthanasia

Simple Summary Millions of laboratory animals are killed each year worldwide. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding what methods of killing are humane for many species and stages of development. This report summarises research findings and discussions from an international meeting of experts and stakeholders, with recommendations to inform good practice for humane killing of mice, rats and zebrafish. It provides additional guidance and perspectives for researchers designing projects that involve euthanasing animals, researchers studying aspects of humane killing, euthanasia device manufacturers, regulators, and institutional ethics or animal care and use committees that wish to review local practice. Abstract Millions of laboratory animals are killed each year worldwide. There is an ethical, and in many countries also a legal, imperative to ensure those deaths cause minimal suffering. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding what methods of killing are humane for many species and stages of development. In 2013, an international group of researchers and stakeholders met at Newcastle University, United Kingdom to discuss the latest research and which methods could currently be considered most humane for the most commonly used laboratory species (mice, rats and zebrafish). They also discussed factors to consider when making decisions about appropriate techniques for particular species and projects, and priorities for further research. This report summarises the research findings and discussions, with recommendations to help inform good practice for humane killing.

Guidelines for the Human Transportation of Research Animals

Transportation of research animals is a major component of the research enterprise but one that can have a substantial negative impact on animal well-being. Both environmental conditions and the novelty of the transportation experience can cause stress, which can result in short-term changes in the physiological and psychological condition of the animals and thus affect subsequent research outcomes, especially if the animals are utilized immediately after transportation. Therefore, the primary goal for all individuals involved in animal transport should be to move them in a manner that does not jeopardize their well-being and ensures their safe arrival at their destination in good health and with minimal distress. While shipments from breeders to research institutions are generally well executed through the use of company-owned fleets of environmentally controlled vehicles, arranging humane transport from vendors without established transport systems, or between research institutions, can be challenging for research facility staff without extensive experience. International transport of nonhuman primates (hereafter primates) is particularly challenging because their shipment and quarantine require adherence to the legislation of each country involved and because few airlines are willing to carry them. What is needed to meet these challenges is comprehensive guidance detailing the potential negative effects of the transportation process on research animal well-being and the steps necessary to minimize adverse effects for the main species transported, as well as the relevant local, national and international regulations and the various organizations involved. Although a working group of the United Kingdom’s Laboratory Animal Science Association (LASA) has recently considered these issues and developed guidance for Europe (Swallow et al. 2005), no single source of such information existed for the United States of America (USA) until publication of this book from the National Research Council’s Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR).