Review of the Third Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching

Abstract

The third edition (January 2010) of the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching (the Ag Guide) was the collaborative effort of a group of 64 authors and provides a science-based reference and performance-based guidelines for institutions that use agricultural species in research and teaching. The adoption of the Ag Guide by the AAALAC Board of Trustees as a primary standard signifies its importance in the AAALAC accreditation process.

This review summarizes the third edition (January 2010) of the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching³ (the Ag Guide) and suggests how this publication might be used in association with other references to assist institutions in caring for and using agricultural animals. The committee to revise the Guide was cochaired by John McGlone, PhD (Texas Tech University), and Janice Swanson, PhD (Michigan State University). The 64 authors were all specialists in their species or fields and included animal scientists, veterinarians, teachers, and engineers. To prepare the third edition of the Ag Guide, the authors reviewed the current scientific literature, which has evolved greatly since previous editions, particularly in the areas of environmental enrichment, handling and transport, biosecurity, and genetically engineered and cloned farm animals. The change in the full name of the Ag Guide to omit the word ‘Agricultural’ before the phrase ‘Research and Teaching’ reflects the current belief of the Federation of Animal Science Societies that farm animals have certain needs and requirements that do not necessarily change because of their use in research or teaching.

Content of the Third Edition of the Ag Guide

The third edition of the Ag Guide is divided into 11 chapters, 2 appendices, and an index (Figure 1). Unlike earlier editions, the current version of the Ag Guide is available at no cost to readers at http://www.fass.org. Chapters on beef and dairy cattle, horses, poultry, sheep and goats, and swine and discussions of environmental enrichment, handling and transport, and biosecurity have been updated and broadened. The information on calf care has been reorganized and is now incorporated into the beef and dairy cattle chapters. Extensive references are available at the end of each chapter.

Figure 1.

Chapters and appendices in the third edition of the Ag Guide.

The Ag Guide is written in general terms so that its recommendations can be applied across the diverse institutions that use agricultural animals. The verb ‘must’ is used for practices that are viewed as imperatives, whereas ‘should’ indicates a strong recommendation but one for which alternative strategies might be justified after careful consideration. ‘Recommendation’ connotes a practice or policy that is generally preferred but for which there are acceptable alternatives.

The US Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training (found in Appendix 1 of the Ag Guide) is endorsed as a basis for professional judgments about the appropriate treatment and use of agricultural animals in research and teaching activities. Chapter 1 of the third edition of the Ag Guide strengthens the expectation of institutional responsibility for collaborative work: “Institutions must develop policies for animal care and use related to research conducted offsite as well as research using privately owned animals onsite and offsite. The fact that research is conducted offsite does not lessen the responsibility of the institution to assure appropriate and humane animal care and use.”

Chapter 2 of the Ag Guide clarifies the role of the attending veterinarian as the person responsible for the animal health care program and the adequacy of animal husbandry and nutrition, sanitation practices, zoonosis control, and hazard containment. This person does not have to be the sole provider of veterinary care and can delegate authority to another qualified veterinarian, but the institution must provide access to a veterinarian experienced in the care of agricultural animals. The eighth edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals⁴ (the ILAR Guide) also strengthens the responsibilities of the attending veterinarian by endorsing the creation of this role for all animal care and use programs in the United States and abroad. Chapter 2 also discusses modern technologies such as genetically engineered and cloned farm animals.

Chapter 3, titled Husbandry, Housing, and Environment, contains a new major section on biosecurity and biocontainment. ‘Biosecurity’ is used in the context of preventing the unintentional transfer of pathogens to animals and humans through appropriate facility design, training, and precautions (for example, immunizations). Links to published references from the US Department of Agriculture—Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and NIH relating to guidelines, regulations, and recommendations on construction, design, and operation of facilities to contain high-consequence livestock pathogens and recombinant DNA molecules are a valuable addition to this chapter.

Chapter 4 of the Ag Guide is now dedicated to environmental enrichment. This subject increasingly is viewed as an important method of refinement in research and teaching. Discussed are goals of enrichment programs, categorizations of enrichment types, and specific information for relevant agricultural species on social, occupational, nutritional, and sensory enrichment. A section on general considerations asserts the importance of assessing the outcomes of enrichment strategies and training those involved in the program.

Chapter 5 addresses the handling and transporting of animals. Specific topics relevant to handling animals include requirements of biomedical versus agricultural research, flight zone and behavioral principles, aids for moving animals, general principles of restraint and handling, principles to prevent behavioral agitation during restraint, and specific recommendations for each species. The section on transporting animals includes discussion of vehicle thermal environment, vehicle recommendations, loading and unloading ramps, horse transport, poultry transport, distance and duration considerations, regulatory requirements for transport, lairage recommendations before slaughter, and emergency procedures.

Beef cattle and their associated housing facilities and environment, feed and water, husbandry, standard agricultural practices, special considerations, and euthanasia are the focus of Chapter 6. The subdivision that addresses facilities and environment contains a discussion on ideal thermal conditions and thermal indices to help manage heat stress. The chapter also includes information on managing beef cattle in intensive laboratory facilities, the care of genetically engineered and cloned beef cattle, and the use of beef cattle in biomedical research.

Chapter 7, focused on dairy cattle, is organized much like the chapter on beef cattle. Disbudding, dehorning, tail docking, and foot care are detailed in the part on standard agricultural practices. The topics of milking machine and udder sanitation, stray voltage, and bulls are discussed as special considerations.

Chapter 8 focuses on horses and is structured much like the 2 cattle chapters. Detailed information is presented on indoor and outdoor housing, pastures, fencing and gates, digestive physiology, feeding recommendations and social environment. Also included is material on exercise, grooming, hoof care, teeth floating, preventive health care, parasite control, foaling and breeding management, restraint, identification, castration, and general signs of pain and distress.

Considerations regarding poultry comprise Chapter 9. The chapter includes a detailed discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of conventional and alternative housing systems for egg-laying strains of chickens, meat-type chickens, turkeys, and ducks. The husbandry section addresses social environment, floor-area and space utilization, flooring, perches, nests, brooding temperatures and ventilation, and semen collection and artificial insemination. Information on beak trimming, toe-trimming, snood removal, partial comb or wattle removal, pinioning, and induced molting is given in the special considerations subdivision. Included in the euthanasia section is thorough discussion of poultry slaughter practices for birds entering the human food chain and methods of euthanasia for embryonated eggs.

Sheep and goats are the subjects of Chapter 10. Fencing, lighting, space recommendations, social environment, parasite control, shearing, tail- docking, castration, acute discomfort and pain after tail docking, disbudding, dehorning, mulesing, dairy sheep and goats, zoonosis, predator control, intensive laboratory environments, transgenics and cloning, and allergens are all topics of this chapter.

Chapter 11 is dedicated to swine. The section on facilities and environment discusses microenvironment management critical to pigs of different ages and includes a table (Table 11.1) that summarizes recommendations regarding thermal conditions for swine used in agricultural research and teaching. The husbandry section has details on social environment, farrowing systems, confinement before farrowing, farrowing stalls, indoor farrowing pens, farrowing huts, litter management, nursery systems, growing and finishing systems, breeding and gestation systems, environment for breeding and gestation buildings, individual stall management, group housing management, floor space allocation and group size, mating facilities, and metabolism stalls. Housing of swine on biomedical protocols in agricultural facilities, pigs with small mature body size (such as mini, micro, and potbellied pigs), genetically engineered and cloned pigs, castration, nose rings, and euthanasia are discussed.

Appendix 2 contains a table (Table A1) that lists zoonotic diseases of agricultural animals.

Which Guide to Use for Agricultural Animals?

AAALAC International announced that accreditation assessments will be based on 3 primary standards—the eighth edition of the ILAR Guide, the Ag Guide, and the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes, Council of Europe (ETS 123).² The following guidance was posted by AAALAC in July 2011: “AAALAC International recognizes that the biomedical or agricultural research, testing or teaching objectives, as well as the health and welfare of the animals will dictate when application of the recommendations of the Ag Guide, ILAR Guide, or ETS 123 is most appropriate. The collective professional judgment of the responsible oversight body (that is, IACUC, Ethics Committee), principal investigator, and veterinarian should determine which standard(s) applies best with regard to the care and welfare of agricultural animals, based on a performance approach in the context of the requirements of the study and the species used. The rationale for making this determination should be documented. For institutions that also hold a US Public Health Service Assurance, see additional information regarding this topic at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/faqs.htm#g7.”¹

The Ag Guide is used with the ILAR Guide to provide general parameters for the use of agricultural animals. For animals in an agricultural setting, AAALAC International takes the position that, in accredited facilities, the housing and care for farm animals should meet the standards that prevail on a high-quality, well-managed farm.

AAALAC's Rules of Accreditation state, “The accreditable unit shall observe any and all statutes and governmental regulations which bear upon animal care and use including, but not limited to, the prevailing standards of sanitation, health, labor, and safety of the jurisdiction(s) in which it is located.”¹ The scope of applicability of ETS 123 is limited to the member countries of the Council of Europe that have voluntarily ratified the Convention.

Decisions relating to cage or pen space should consider AAALAC's collation of performance standards excerpted from the ILAR Guide, the Ag Guide, and Appendix A of ETS 123, because each guidance document provides sound recommendations regarding housing environments for a variety of species. ETS 123 may also be used for assessments of programs located outside of Europe that have established an institutional policy to follow this standard in addition to local regulations and guidelines. AAALAC encourages institutions to make animal care and use determinations based on regulatory and funding requirements, overlaid with a performance approach that enhances animal welfare and quality science. For example, making research results relevant to commercial agriculture may require animals to be housed in conditions similar to those on well-managed commercial farms. For agricultural animals used in biomedical research, a more standard indoor laboratory animal housing environment may be more appropriate.

There may be differences in the information presented in the primary standards used by AAALAC. For example, an IACUC or oversight body debating appropriate temperatures for young poultry or swine may first refer to the ILAR Guide, which states that “young birds of some species generally require a thermal gradient in their primary enclosure to meet basic physiological processes” and “Animals should be provided with adequate resources for thermoregulation (nesting material, shelter) to avoid cold stress.”⁴ For detailed information, the IACUC (or comparable oversight body) can refer to the Ag Guide. For chicks, the Ag Guide recommends an ambient temperature of 32 to 35 °C (90 to 95 °F) initially, decreasing by 2.5 °C (4.5 °F) weekly to 20 °C (68 °F). However, for some well-feathered strains, supplemental heat may be discontinued at 3 wk if room temperature is 22 to 24 °C (72 to 75 °F). For a lactating sow and her litter, the Ag Guide states that the preferred thermal range for the piglets is 32 °C (90 °F), with a lower extreme of 25 °C (77 °F) and no practical upper extreme. For prenursery piglets weighing 3 to 15 kg (7 to 33 lbs), the Ag Guide states that the preferred range is 26 to 32 °C (79 to 90 °F), with a lower extreme of 15 °C (59 °F) and an upper extreme of 35 °C (95 °F).

The Ag Guide underscores the importance of facilitating and monitoring behavioral mechanisms of thermoregulation, noting that “Within limits, birds can maintain appropriate body temperatures by moving away from or toward sources of heat when that is possible and by seeking or avoiding contact with other individuals” and that “Pig behavioral thermoregulatory behaviors are better indicators of the appropriate air temperature than a thermometer.”³ Similar performance-based language is offered in Appendix A of ETS 123. In farm settings, animals may experience air temperatures below or above preferred air temperatures. Consideration of supplemental heat or cooling should be given when temperatures are cool or warm. The amount of heating or cooling provided should be based on animal thermoregulatory behavior and physiology. Therefore, in keeping with both the ILAR Guide and Ag Guide, a performance-based approach that ensures the optimal welfare of the animals should be applied.

Conclusion

The third edition of the Ag Guide provides a science-based reference to those institutions providing oversight for the use of agricultural animals in research and teaching. The adoption of the third edition of the Ag Guide by AAALAC's Board of Trustees as a primary standard signifies its importance in the institutional accreditation process. When used in concert with other the other primary standards, the Ag Guide can assist institutions with agricultural animals in caring for and using these animals in ways judged to be scientifically, technically, and humanely appropriate. In addition, the Ag Guide can assist investigators in planning and conducting experiments in accordance with scientific, ethical, and humane principles.