A refinement to Schedule 1 (2018)

Read, H., Perry, R.

Abstract

There are varying methods used for animal restraint and angle of injection. It remains unclear whether one method is more accurate than others. The primary objectives were to examine whether inverted restraint of rats resulted in more effective outcomes and whether this depended on the angle of injection. We also examined the stress effects of the manipulation. We examined upright, level and inverted restraint, as well as perpendicular and shallow injection angles. We observed that restraining rats upright reduces the stress of an IP injection and therefore strongly recommend using this technique. There was little difference in the timings of loss of consciousness and death for all of the IP injection methods used. Unexpectedly, changing the angle of animal restraint and injection did not appear to have an effect on Euthatal intake.