Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
As detailed above, PRT techniques can also be used to
address the balance between the psychological needs of
primates and the needs of the research protocol. Training
can reduce stress and fear associated with some experi-
mental manipulations and can facilitate access to animals
for research procedures. Other forms of training can also be
beneficial. Simple desensitization can be used to reduce the
stress or fear primates experience in relation to certain
handling and research procedures ( Clay et al., 2009 ). Other
training processes that do not necessarily rely exclusively
on positive reinforcement have been used to train primates
to briefly leave their large social groups for biological
sampling ( Blank et al., 1983 ). In this case, research
procedures can be conducted while trained subjects are
benefiting from living in large, complex social groups.
The research protocol review process conducted by the
IACUC is an important component in the process of
balancing the psychological well-being and welfare needs
of primates with their participation in biomedical research
studies. Behavioral scientists with expertise in the
management of primates are often members of the IACUC
( Baker et al., 2007 ) and can objectively evaluate protocols
in terms of issues related to psychological well-being and
welfare, including enrichment, social housing, and animal
training.
investigative staff) should receive training in the behavior
of the species with which they work ( National Research
Council, 2011 ). Such training should minimally include
behaviors that are normal for the species, behaviors that are
abnormal for the species, and how humans can influence
those behaviors (e.g. how to work with monkeys). Care
staff should also receive information about how to identify
pain or distress in their animals ( Coleman, 2011 ). This
training should be repeated periodically. The Office of
Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) through the NIH has
freely available downloads about primate behavior ( http://
grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/Enrichment_for_Nonhuman_
Primates.pdf ).
Behavioral Management and the
Institutional Animal Care and Use
Committee (IACUC)
As mentioned previously, the behavioral management plan
(or environmental enrichment plan) and the IACUC at
a facility housing NHPs should be strongly integrated. The
IACUC is empowered to exempt, for scientific reasons, an
individual primate from a specific part of a facility's
behavioral management plan. It is therefore, the responsi-
bility of the IACUC to determine whether or not requests for
exemptions are scientifically valid (e.g. Thom and Crockett,
2008 ). For example, requests to exempt animals from social
housing simply for convenience should not be approved.
Further, the IACUC is responsible for keeping up with
currently accepted practices. IACUCs should promote the
use of PRT and other beneficial refinements whenever
appropriate.
Another role of the IACUC is to evaluate the enrichment
program. The Animal Welfare regulations mandate that the
IACUC review the institution's program for humane care
and use of animals at least once every 6 months ( USDA,
1991 ). This evaluation should include the enrichment
program. This is echoed in the 2011 revisions to the Guide,
which also states that the IACUC is “responsible for over-
sight and evaluation of the entire [animal care] Program”
( National Research Council, 2011 ). These IACUC reviews
should ensure that enrichment programs are beneficial to
animal well-being ( National Research Council, 2011 ).
MANAGING BEHAVIORAL
MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
Roles
The majority of behavioral management programs in larger
primate facilities are overseen by a behavioral scientist
with an advanced degree. At smaller facilities, enrichment
is often managed by veterinarians or colony managers.
Regardless of who is overseeing the program, everyone
working with the NHPs has a role in the behavioral
management process. Behavioral staff, if present, typically
administer the program ( Baker et al., 2007 ). They may: (1)
provide enrichment; (2) be responsible for training the staff
to understand behavior and to interact appropriately with
the NHPs; and (3) be responsible for evaluating the
program. The caregiving staff also play an important role in
the behavioral management program. Because caregivers
often spend more time with the animals than other
employees, they provide important feedback on the way in
which animals are responding to enrichment, a social
partner, or another type of behavioral management
manipulation. Caregivers are often the first to notice subtle
changes in animal behavior that might indicate compro-
mised well-being and/or health. Caregivers may also
participate in positive reinforcement training ( Prescott and
Buchanan-Smith, 2007 ). Therefore, anyone involved
in animal care (including veterinary, husbandry and
CONCLUSIONS
The passage of the 1985 amendment to the Animal Welfare
Act in the USA and similar regulations in other countries
have resulted in significant refinements in the ways that
NHPs are handled and treated in captivity. Many of these
improvements have occurred within the context of behav-
ioral management. Prior to the implementation of the
Animal Welfare
regulations
in
1991,
behavioral
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