Handling

Nontraditional laboratory animal species (cephalopods, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds)

Aquatic vertebrates and cephalopods, amphibians, reptiles, and birds offer unique safety and occupational health challenges for laboratory animal personnel. This paper discusses environmental, handling, and zoonotic concerns associated with these species.

Year Published: 2018Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Amphibian, Bird, Cephalopod, Crocodile & Alligator, Finch, Fish, Fowl, Frog & Toad, Invertebrate, Lizard, Other Bird, Other Fish, Parrot, Reptile, Salamander, Salmon, Snake, Tilapia, Trout, Turtle & Tortoise, Zebrafish

Citation: O'Rourke, D. P., Baccanale, C. L., Stoskopf, M. K. 2018. Nontraditional laboratory animal species (cephalopods, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds). ILAR Journal 59(2), 168-176.

Animal handling in containment

As Animal Technologists we are constantly looking at refining and enriching the environmental conditions of all our animals to give them both physical exercise and mental stimulation regardless of their size. However, animals can still experience stress when being moved...

Year Published: 2019Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Zvarev, C., Baker, S., Patel, D. 2019. Animal handling in containment. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(2), 140-142. (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation)

The effect of gentle handling on depressive-like behavior in adult male mice: Considerations for human and rodent interactions in the laboratory

Environmental factors play a significant role in well-being of laboratory animals. Regulations and guidelines recommend, if not require, that stressors such as bright lighting, smells, and noises are eliminated or reduced to maximize animal well-being. A factor that is often...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Handling, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Neely, C., Lane, C., Torres, J. et al. 2018. The effect of gentle handling on depressive-like behavior in adult male mice: Considerations for human and rodent interactions in the laboratory. Behavioural Neurology 2018, 2976014.

Testing two behavioural paradigms for measuring post-handling cat aversion behaviour

Owned, shelter, and laboratory cats undergo handling and restraint throughout their lifetime for routine health examinations and necessary procedures. Many cats display fear and aggressive behaviour during health examinations, and there is potential for these behaviours to result in incomplete...

Year Published: 2019Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Moody, C. M., Mason, G. J., Dewey, C. E. et al. 2019. Testing two behavioural paradigms for measuring post-handling cat aversion behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 210, 73-80.

An evaluation of two different broiler catching methods

Catching is the first step in the pre-slaughter chain for broiler chickens. The process may be detrimental for animal welfare due to the associated handling. The aim of this pilot study was to compare two different methods to manually catch...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Euthanasia, HandlingAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Kittelsen, K. E., Granquist, E. G., Aunsmo, A. L. et al. 2018. An evaluation of two different broiler catching methods. Animals 8(8), 141.

Effects of three non-confrontational handling techniques on the behavior of horses during a simulated mildly aversive veterinary procedure

In a randomized between-subjects design, we evaluated the effectiveness of each of three non-confrontational handling interventions compared to no intervention control on the behavior of horses during a single-trial simulated mildly aversive health care scenario. These handling interventions included withers...

Year Published: 2018Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Watson, J. C., McDonnell, S. M. 2018. Effects of three non-confrontational handling techniques on the behavior of horses during a simulated mildly aversive veterinary procedure. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 19-23.

Can the way pigs are handled alter behavioural and physiological measures of affective state?

Research on human-animal relationship in animal production has been mainly focused on its effect on stress, productivity and meat quality. Only few studies have assessed its effects on the animals' affective state. In the present study, the influence of positive...

Year Published: 2017Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Carreras, R., Arroyo, L., Mainau, E. et al. 2017. Can the way pigs are handled alter behavioural and physiological measures of affective state? Behavioural Processes 142, 91-98.

Time for change? Practicalities of implementing non-aversive methods for handling mice

Recent studies have shown that the method choice for handling laboratory mice is important to animal welfare. In 2015, 60% of all animals used in Home Office procedures were laboratory mice. Given the large number of mice within global facilities,...

Year Published: 2017Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Waters, J. 2017. Time for change? Practicalities of implementing non-aversive methods for handling mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(1), 47-56.

Refining mouse handling – do we or don’t we? An animal technologist’s perspective

Recent research in the industry identified that picking up mice in a tunnel or cupping them in the hand significantly reduces their stress levels. As Animal Tecgnologists, we could see advantages and disadvantages with this change for the animals, staff...

Year Published: 2018Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Swan, A. 2018. Refining mouse handling - do we or don't we? An animal technologist's perspective. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 130-131.

Handling method alters the hedonic value of reward in laboratory mice

Mice are the most widely used model species for drug discovery and scientific research. Consequently, it is important to refine laboratory procedures and practices to ensure high standards of welfare and scientific data quality. Recent studies have identified that the...

Year Published: 2018Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Clarkson, J. M., Dwyer, D. M., Flecknell, P. A. et al. 2019. Handling method alters the hedonic value of reward in laboratory mice. Scientific Reports 8, 2448.