Handling

Using cage ladders as a handling device reduces aversion and anxiety in laboratory mice, similar to tunnel handling

Handling laboratory animals for husbandry and other procedures can be an important source of anxiety and stress, compromising animal welfare as well as the reliability of research that is sensitive to background stressors. Studies have revealed that picking up laboratory...

Year Published: 2021Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Sandgren, R., Grims, C., Waters, J. et al. 2021. Using cage ladders as a handling device reduces aversion and anxiety in laboratory mice, similar to tunnel handling. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 47(5), 31-41.

Outside the box: Working with wildlife in biocontainment

Research with captive wildlife in Animal Biosafety Level 2 (ABSL2) and 3 (ABSL3) facilities is becoming increasingly necessary as emerging and re-emerging diseases involving wildlife have increasing impacts on human, animal, and environmental health. Utilizing wildlife species in a research...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, RestraintAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate, Other Animal

Citation: Falendysz, E. A., Calhoun, D. M., Smith, C. A. et al. 2020. Outside the box: Working with wildlife in biocontainment. ILAR Journal 61(1), 72-85.

Thinking outside of the tunnel for non-aversive mouse handling

The key to non-aversive methods of handling lies in understanding what capture method creates the least anxiety in mice: be this tunnel or cupping or another method. It is important that we do not get so focussed on tunnel handling,...

Year Published: 2021Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Moore, J., Wickert, M. 2021. Thinking outside of the tunnel for non-aversive mouse handling. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(2), 161-163.

Routine handling does not lead to chronic stress in captive green anole (Anolis carolinensis)

Routine handling has been shown to affect stress levels in a variety of animal species. This could result in a general decrease in welfare and may confound the results of scientific experiments or observations on captive study animals. In reptiles,...

Year Published: 2021Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Lizard, Reptile

Citation: Borgmans, G., Palme, R., Sannen, A. et al. 2021. Routine handling does not lead to chronic stress in captive green anole (Anolis carolinensis). Animal Welfare 30(2), 145-154.

Habituation protocols improve behavioral and physiological responses of beef cattle exposed to students in an animal handling class

Our objective was to determine the impact of different habituation protocols on beef cattle behavior, physiology, and temperament in response to human handling. Beef heifers were exposed to three habituation strategies: (1) tactile stimulation (brushing) in the working chute for...

Year Published: 2021Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Ujita, A., Seekford, Z., Kott, M. et al. 2021. Habituation protocols improve behavioral and physiological responses of beef cattle exposed to students in an animal handling class. Animals 11(8), 2159.

The impact of a stress-reducing protocol on the quality of pre-anaesthesia in cats

Introduction: Transport to the clinic is a major source of stress for cats. The process involves being put into a carrier, driven in a car and handled. Cats are therefore removed from the safe-haven of their territory and experience many...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Anesthesia & Sedation, Handling, Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Argüelles, J., Echaniz, M., Bowen, J. et al. 2021. The impact of a stress-reducing protocol on the quality of pre-anaesthesia in cats. Veterinary Record 188(12), e138.

Effect of chronic handling and social isolation on emotion and cognition in adolescent rats

Adolescence is a critical period of establishing social relations through social interactions that affect the emotional development associated with stress responses, anxiety, depression, and cognitive development. We investigated the behavioral and neurobiological changes induced by handling and social isolation in...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, HandlingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Song, M. K., Lee, J. H., Kim, Y.-J. 2021. Effect of chronic handling and social isolation on emotion and cognition in adolescent rats. Physiology & Behavior 237, 113440.

Gently handled foals generalize responses to humans

Equines perform tasks along humans, and there are evidences and controversies that they are able to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar humans. This study assessed whether foals can discriminate between humans in terms of familiarity and human experience in equine...

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

Citation: Schmidek, A., Nogueira de Oliveira, B., Trindade, P. et al. 2018. Gently handled foals generalize responses to humans. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 6(1), 1-5.

Crying with laughter: Adapting the tickling protocol to address individual differences among rats in their response to playful handling

In this Opinion paper, we consider whether current methods of tickling overemphasize the use of pinning (Figure 1) to which there may be a wider response variation than commonly acknowledged. We do not dispute that tickling can be a positive...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Handling, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Bombail, V., Brown, S. M., Hammond, T. J. et al. 2021. Crying with laughter: Adapting the tickling protocol to address individual differences among rats in their response to playful handling. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 677872.

A good life for laboratory rodents?

Most would agree that animals in research should be spared “unnecessary” harm, pain, or distress, and there is also growing interest in providing animals with some form of environmental enrichment. But is this the standard of care that we should...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, RestraintAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Makowska, I. J., Weary, D. M. 2019. A good life for laboratory rodents? ILAR Journal 60(3), 373-388.