Animal-centric Care and Management: Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research

The concept of the 3Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) has been used as a framework for improving the welfare of laboratory animals for the last half century. By establishing an animal-centric view on housing and management, Animal-centric Care and Management: Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research takes Russell and Burch’s definition of Refinement as "elimination of inhumanities" and goes further. Rather than fitting animals into experimental conditions, it encourages readers to adjust conditions to better meet the behavioral, emotional, physical, and physiological needs and preferences of the animals. The team of expert authors, from the fields of laboratory animal science, ethology, biology as well as animal training, provide ideas for creating housing conditions and handling procedures that induce, to the best of current abilities and knowledge, a long-term positive state of mind in the animals under our care.

This book is written for animal caretakers, animal health technicians, researchers, animal facility managers, laboratory animal veterinarians, and anyone who engages in work with living experimental animals or is interested in the continuous improvement of laboratory animal welfare. This interdisciplinary guide will act as a catalyst, resulting in multiple viewpoints and fields collaborating to optimize laboratory animal welfare.

Dorte Bratbo Sørensen is a veterinarian and PhD in ethology and animal welfare. Currently, she is an associated professor in laboratory animal science at the University of Copenhagen, where she is teaching laboratory animal ethics, welfare and behavior. Dorte Bratbo Sørensen’s research interests evolve around animal behavior and animal welfare and her main research areas are evaluating the impact on different housing systems and various environmental enrichment or handling techniques on animal welfare and data quality. Another important area of interest is the implementation of training and socializing - especially the use of positive reinforcement training - as a way to enhance animal welfare and optimize the collection of physiological data. Together with Copenhagen Zoo, she arranges courses and seminars in laboratory animal positive reinforcement training and handling, and she is the founder of Centre for Laboratory Animal Training CeLAT.

Co-editor Dr. Sylvie Cloutier currently works at the Canadian Council on Animal Care. Sylvie’s research interest is on factors affecting the behaviour and well-being of farm and laboratory animals, and the quality of human-animal interactions. She was a leader in introducing 'rat tickling' as a method to improve handling of laboratory rats.

Co-editor Dr. Brianna N. Gaskill leads a research program focusing on welfare assessment of laboratory animals. She utilizes natural behavior, physiology, and affective state to assess an animal’s overall well-being. She is especially interested how better welfare can translate into better and more robust science. Her research interests include: applied ethology, enrichment design and application, improving husbandry techniques, and how environment can affect scientific results when not tailored to the animal’s needs and motivations.