Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals
National Research Council, 2009
Scientists rely on animals as one component of research to understand, treat, and cure diseases that plague both humans and the animals themselves.
In most situations, laboratory animals need not experience pain.
The alleviation and prevention of animal pain is both an ethical and moral imperative; minimizing animal pain is also scientifically and practically beneficial. For these and many other reasons, proper care and use of laboratory animals is a priority for the scientific community.
This report, written by a committee convened by the National Research Council at the request of the New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research, is an update of the 1992 National Research Council report
Recognition and Alleviation of Pain and Distress in Laboratory Animals. Since that report was published, significant scientific progress has been made in the areas of animal welfare, stress, distress, and pain. Because the concepts of pain and distress are two distinct concepts from a scientific perspective, the update was issued in two separate documents. The first,
Recognition and Alleviation of Distress in Laboratory Animals, was published in March 2008.
About this Report
This report's conclusions and recommendations are intended to help scientists, veterinarians, research administrators, institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) members, and animal care staff to understand the basis of animal pain, recognize and evaluate its presence and severity, and appreciate the means by which pain can be minimized or abolished.
Statement of Task [top]
The...report will update information based on the current
scientific literature on recognizing and alleviating pain in laboratory
animals. The report will discuss the physiology of pain in commonly
used laboratory species. Specific emphasis will be placed on the
identification of humane endpoints, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic
principles to control pain, and principles to utilize in
minimizing pain associated with experimental procedures. As with the
first report [on Distress], general guidelines and examples will be given
to aid IACUC members, investigators and animal care staff in making
decisions about protocols using laboratory animals under current
federal regulations and policies.
Committee Roster [top]
Committee on Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in
Laboratory Animals
Gerald F. Gebhart (Chair)
University of Pittsburgh
Allan I. Basbaum
University of California
Stephanie J. Bird
Waltham, Massachusetts
Paul Flecknell
Newcastle University
Lyndon Goodly
University of Illinois
Alicia Z. Karas
Tufts University
Stephen T. Kelley
University of Washington
Jane Lacher
The Dow Chemical Company
Georgia Mason
University of Guelph
Lynne U. Sneddon
University of Liverpool
Sulpicio G. Soriano
Harvard University
Consultant:
Heidi L. Shafford, Veterinary Anesthesia Specialists, LLC
This study was supported by the American Veterinary Medical Association; Aventis Pharmaceuticals; the Bosack-Kruger
Foundation; Bristol-Myers Squibb; GlaxoSmithKline; Humane Society of the United States; Scientists Center for Animal
Welfare; Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals; Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; and
Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. The content of this publication
does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the National Institutes of Health, nor does mention of trade names,
commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US government.
