New Report: Animal Experiments More Stressful
Than Previously Thought
 A
new study by PCRM research consultant Jonathan
Balcombe, Ph.D., shows that mice, rats, and other animals in
laboratories experience enormous and quantifiable stress from routine
laboratory procedures.
Dr. Balcombe analyzed the physiological reactions experienced by
a wide variety of animals undergoing routine laboratory procedures
in 80 previously published studies. He found that even the most
benign procedure—such as a researcher picking up a mouse—can
cause the animal to suffer blood pressure spikes, elevated hormones,
and impaired immune responses. He also analyzed the animals’
response to blood draws and gavage, two other routine procedures.
“In essence, there is no such thing as a humane animal experiment,”
says Dr. Balcombe.
The findings appear in the November issue of Contemporary Topics
in Laboratory Animal Science. Dr. Balcombe will present his
paper at an international scientific meeting in Buenos Aires this
month. The paper has important implications for certain types of
research, such as studies of tumor development, where changes in
an animal’s physiological status can seriously skew data collection.
|
PCRM to Help Sponsor 5th World Congress
on Alternatives
PCRM is helping sponsor the Fifth
World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life
Sciences, one of the primary international scientific
conferences on the use of animals in research and testing.
Scheduled for April 2005 in Berlin, the congress draws together
scientists from industry, government agencies, academia, and
animal protection organizations. PCRM scientists will share
their experience in promoting alternatives to the use of animals
in medical education, toxicity testing, and diagnostic testing.
|
PCRM Online, November
2004
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