How does the MRC support animal welfare?
The MRC is strongly committed to animal welfare. That means housing animals well, ensuring their environment provides them with opportunities to exhibit natural behaviours, looking after their psychological well-being, and keeping them in good physical health. For research procedures, it means regularly refining techniques so that they cause the minimum discomfort, and using anaesthetic and painkillers for the small percentage of invasive procedures like surgery so that animals do not experience pain.
Environment
Animals are accommodated to a high standard in a pathogen-free environment. The physical environment of the cages is monitored on a regular basis, analysing the sound, ultrasound, light intensity and air exchanges.
The quality of housing and husbandry has a major impact on laboratory animal health and welfare. The MRC ensures that housing allows animals to perform the widest possible range of normal, species-typical behaviour. Consideration is given not only to the quality of accommodation but also the quantity of space provided.
Different species have different requirements, and an animal’s natural history and behaviour is taken into consideration in order to provide appropriate accommodation.
Where appropriate, all animals are housed in compatible social groups and provided with extensive environmental enrichment, from containers and tubes made of cardboard and plastic, to gnawing wood, to nesting material.
The Mouse House |
All mice like to create nests for sleeping in, giving birth and as somewhere feel safe and secure from predators. However, animal technicians and scientists also need to check and observe the animals with the least amount of disturbance. Following work carried out by the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), the Medical Research Council (MRC) developed a red tinted plastic shelter as a means of providing an environmental enrichment strategy for mice.
Mice lack the ability to distinguish red from black, behaving the same in red light as they do in darkness (Spalding, J. (1969). Influence of the Visible Colour Spectrum on Activity in Mice. Laboratory Animal Care. Vol 19, No1, 50-54).
Photographic filters are available in a range of reds, so a study was conducted to discover which red mice prefer. Clear plastic prototype mouse houses were coated in photographic paper of various wavelengths and placed in different cages. Mice were then observed to see how they interacted with that particular house. At the end of the study it was clear that the mice preferred one shade of red more than others, with increased interest and activity observed – this was the one coated with photographic paper of 593 nanometers. Light at 600 nanometers wavelength is seen as red to man, but as black to mice - so it was interesting that this house was not favoured by the mice. The suggestion made was that mice benefit from having a retreat that offers some ability to detect the presence of an external predator, a natural behaviour expressed even in the laboratory environment. The final mouse house, launched in 2001, was made from red tinted plastic that has a wavelength of 593nm and a 50% transmission rate meaning that it allows the mice to see some light through it and perceive shadows and movement. To date, over 120,000 mouse houses have been manufactured and used in many different countries improving the welfare of many thousands of laboratory mice.
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Highly trained animal technicians
The day-to-day care of animals at the MRC is provided by highly trained animal technicians who take their responsibilities to the animals, the scientists and the Home Office very seriously. We are committed to ensuring a high standard of training and education for animal technicians and support staff at all stages of their careers.
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for Biological Services staff includes various formal and informal learning, training and experiences: competency based qualifications allow training specific to the individual and their work while Open University and Institute of Animal Technology (IAT) qualifications deliver a wide knowledge of laboratory animal science and a good background in biological sciences.
Technicians are also encouraged to spend time in research labs in order to gain hands-on experience of experimental procedures, and attend workshops and seminars held regularly on a variety of laboratory animal science related subjects. Visits to other scientific establishments, symposiums and international meetings are also organised which enable technicians to gain experience in more varied aspects of laboratory animal husbandry and science.
Apprenticeship Development Scheme |
Since October 2011, the MRC has led a project to scope out the possibilities for the creation of a specific animal technology apprenticeship. The MRC employs approximately 400 animal technicians, at various levels, who provide an essential and specialised animal care and procedural service. The MRC leads the way in setting the highest possible standards in animal welfare. In addition, it has organised its facilities so that the best possible scientific results are gained from our work with animals. Our animal technologists are therefore required not only to train in basic husbandry skills but to also receive scientific training.
As an organisation with a Royal Charter remit to train those working in science in the UK we have, on our own initiative, with support from the Institute of Animal Technology, put together a level 2 Apprenticeship in Animal Technology. Along the way we have gained support from other major employers in this field who share our aims and objectives. The Apprenticeship framework has been developed by the MRC and IAT to meet the needs of the industry. The level and size of the Apprenticeship is appropriate to existing qualifications, and allows for the development of skills and knowledge which are transferable across the industry sectors.
It will allow progression onto other existing recognised professional qualifications without the need to repeat any learning and will keep the number of qualifications at a reasonable and manageable level. This helps employers to understand the pathway for professional development, and also to manage training costs. In addition, with added emphasis on training and supervision, the scheme will also help compliance with the amended Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act following transposition of EU directive 2010/63/EU. The apprenticeship scheme should be finalised by the summer of 2013 |
Named Veterinary Surgeon (NVS) and Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer (NACWOs)
Animals at the MRC are inspected at least once daily in compliance with the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), and no animal is allowed to suffer needlessly.
It is a legal requirement under the act for designated establishments to have a Named Veterinary Surgeon (NVS), on call 24 hours a day, to provide advice and ensure the well-being of individual animals and whole colonies. Every designated establishment must also have a Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer (NACWO) who must ensure that the husbandry and care of animals are practiced to the highest standards. The NVS works closely with the (NACWO), authorised by the Home Office and independent from the scientific research, to make certain that the care and welfare of animals is monitored in accordance with ASPA.
Replacement, refinement and reduction
The MRC plays an active role in developing and disseminating the principles of the 3Rs (replacement, refinement and reduction):
Replacement refers to methods that avoid or replace the use of animals defined as 'protected' under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) in an area where they would otherwise have been used. 'Protected' animals are all living vertebrates -except man - including some immature forms, and one invertebrate, Octopus vulgaris.
Replacement methods can be absolute replacements - techniques which do not involve animals at any point, such as computer modelling, in vitro methodologies (e.g. tissue engineering), or human volunteers - or relative replacements, which avoid or replace the use of 'protected' animals.
Refinement refers to improvements to scientific procedures and husbandry which minimise actual or potential pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm and/or improve animal welfare in situations where the use of animals is unavoidable. It applies to the lifetime experience of the animal. There is evidence that refinement not only benefits animals, but can also improve the quality of research findings.
Reduction refers to methods which minimise animal use and enable researchers to obtain comparable levels of information from fewer animals or to obtain more information from the same number of animals, thereby reducing the future use of animals.
Funding
The MRC funds a number of organisations committed to animal welfare.
The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
The NC3Rs is a scientific organisation which leads the discovery, development and promotion of new ways to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research and testing (the 3Rs).
The MRC is a major funder of the NC3Rs, which has annual budget of approximately £5.5 million and is the UK’s major sponsor of 3Rs research.
The Centre has issued various guidance documents, which have been adopted by the MRC. These include guidelines on the responsible use of animals in bioscience research, to ensure best practice and optimise animal welfare, and the ARRIVE guidelines to improve the reporting of animal experiments.
Further information can be found on the NC3Rs website.
Understanding Animal Research
Understanding Animal Research (UAR) provides information and educational materials based on thorough research and understanding of the facts, historical and scientific.
Understanding Animal Research seeks to engage with and inform many sectors to bring about its vision. Key stakeholders include members of the public, the media, policy makers, schools and the scientific research community.
The organisation is funded by its 110 member organisations, of which the MRC is one. Organisational members are drawn from various sectors including academic, pharmaceutical, charities, research funders, professional and learned societies.
Further information can be found on the UAR website.