Excerpt

The purpose of this workshop is to talk to representatives of the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) about principles and definitions pertaining to the recognition and alleviation of pain and distress in laboratory animals. Several questions are related:

• Can we compose a definition?
• Can we produce language that will inform both the people who will carry out the regulations and the people who will inspect the process to determine whether, indeed, the institution is responding to the regulations appropriately?

An underlying question is:

• Can we come up with language or words that go across all species or should we choose language that is somewhat dependent on the species we are describing?

This workshop provides an opportunity for the speakers and members of the audience to engage in a discussion of the definitions of pain, distress, and how one can recognize and alleviate the pain and distress that can occur in the course of using animals in biomedical research as well as in education and testing. The purpose of the workshop is to focus on the proposed wording for the USDA to use in writing regulations that will implement the Animal Welfare Act. Because the Animal Welfare Act contains the phrase “pain and distress,” the USDA must define those terms to implement the act.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE ON REGULATORY ISSUES IN ANIMAL CARE AND USE
• INSTITUTE FOR LABORATORY ANIMAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
• COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES
• Preface
• Introduction
  Ralph B. Dell.
• Pain and Distress: USDA Perspective
  W. Ron DeHaven.
  • POLICY 12
  • POLICY 11
  • EXPLANATION OF CATEGORIES
  • DISCUSSION
• Pain, Distress, and Reporting Requirements: PHS Policy Perspective
  Nelson Garnett.
  • INTERRELATED ISSUES
  • RATS, MICE, AND BIRDS
  • HSUS PAIN AND DISTRESS INITIATIVE
  • CONCLUSION
  • REFERENCE
• Assessing Pain and Distress: A Veterinary Behaviorist’s Perspective
  Kathryn Bayne.
  • ASSESSING PAIN AND DISTRESS
  • REFERENCES
  • QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• Scientific Issues of Pain and Distress
  G. F. Gebhart.
  • PAIN VERSUS NOCICEPTION
  • CLASSIFICATIONS OF PAIN
  • TISSUE INJURY
  • STRESS AND DISTRESS
  • CONCLUSION
  • REFERENCES
  • QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• The Humane Society of the United States Pain and Distress Initiative
  Andrew N. Rowan.
  • CONTEXT OF THE INITIATIVE
  • DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
  • ASSESSING DISTRESS
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
  • QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• Pain and Distress Caused by Experimental Procedures— Is It Time for a Reality Check?
  Alicia Karas.
  • UP-FRONT REPORTING
  • CATEGORY D
  • PLANNING EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
  • SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL REPORTING
  • SUMMARY
  • REFERENCES
• A View from the Trenches
  B. Taylor Bennett.
  • WHO I AM
  • HOW I GOT HERE
  • WHY I CANNOT SUPPORT CHANGES IN THE EXISTING POLICY
  • WASTING OUR FISCAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES
  • REFERENCE
  • QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• AALAS Position Paper on the “Recognition and Alleviation of Pain and Distress in Laboratory Animals”
  Marcelo Couto.
  • EVALUATING PAIN AND DISTRESS
  • REPORTING ANIMAL USE
  • ALLEVIATING PAIN AND DISTRESS
  • TRAINING OF PERSONNEL
  • ROLES OF THE VETERINARIAN, IACUC, AND INVESTIGATOR
  • REFINEMENT
  • CONCLUSION
  • QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• On Regulating Pain and Distress
  J. R. Haywood and Molly Greene.
  • BENEFIT THE ANIMALS
  • KEEP IT SIMPLE
  • ETHICAL ISSUES
  • QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• An Industrial Perspective
  Lynn C. Anderson.
  • SOURCES OF PAIN
  • ASSESSMENT
  • SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
  • PAIN AND DISTRESS INITIATIVES
  • REPORTING
  • CONCLUSION
  • REFERENCES
  • QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• Corners Still Unswept
  John E. Harkness.
  • INTRODUCTIONS
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• Personal Experiences with Clinical Pain Management, Study Design, Mitigation of Scientific Confounders, and Long-term Gains to the Researchers and Public
  Victoria Hampshire.
  • EXPERIMENTAL EFFECTS ON ANIMALS
  • PROVISION OF NECESSARY IMPROVEMENT
  • ESTABLISHMENT OF PREREVIEW
  • SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AS FACILITATORS
  • CONCLUSION
  • REFERENCES
• Use of Laboratory Animals in the Postgenome Era
  Robert R. Rich.
  • PREDICTABLE TRENDS IN RESEARCH
  • PREDICTABLE CONSEQUENCES OF GENETIC BREEDING
  • CONCLUSION
  • QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• The History and Histrionics of Pain and Distress in Laboratory Animals
  Christian E. Newcomer.
  • HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
  • ANTICIPATED CHANGES
  • RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE
  • CONCLUSION
  • REFERENCES
• Panel Discussion with All Speakers
• Appendix A APHIS/USDA Policy 11 and Policy 12
• Appendix B Proposed Rulemaking
• Appendix C Glossary of Abbreviations
• Appendix D Meeting Participants
• Appendix E Meeting Agenda
• Appendix F Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

This study was supported by Grant No. N01-OD-4-2139 between the National Academies and the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of these proceedings was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the project were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.