Animal welfare to have impact on scientific results
As the European Commission prepares to draw up a proposal on ways to improve conditions for laboratory animals, new research has shown that improved conditions for these animals leads to changes in their behaviour and physiology, which, in turn, impacts on the outcome of scientific experiments. While nobody has yet argued that this should be used as a reason not to improve the quality of life of laboratory animals, researchers will have to be aware of this relatively new effect on research results, and interpret their experiments accordingly. Under the EU guidelines, different animals will require different forms of enrichment. For example, mice will have to be supplied with nesting material, whereas guinea pigs will need places to hide. 'The environment should show more complexity - that's enrichment,' said Vera Baumans of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, who is also a member of the European working group drawing up recommendations for rodents and rabbits. Emma Hockly of Oxford University in the UK studied the effect of enrichment on mice that carried a gene for a form of Huntington's disease. The mice were kept under three conditions: in standard cages, in cages with a cardboard tube and in the company of other mice in a large cage equipped with a running wheel, toys, a tube and food. In a test of motor coordination, the mice in the enriched cages did much better than those in standard cages. 'In all experiments where you are measuring behaviour, you want very stringent standardisation of conditions,' said Ms Hockly. 'Even a very, very small change in environment can have a massive effect.'