Guidelines for the Care and Welfare of Cephalopods in Research -A consensus based on an initiative by CephRes, FELASA and the Boyd Group.
This paper is the result of an international initiative and is a first attempt to develop guidelines for the care and welfare of cephalopods (i.e. nautilus, cuttlefish, squid and octopus) following the inclusion of this Class of ∼700 known living invertebrate species in Directive 2010/63/EU. It aims to provide information for investigators, animal care committees, facility managers and animal care staff which will assist in improving both the care given to cephalopods, and the manner in which experimental procedures are carried out. Topics covered include: implications of the Directive for cephalopod research; project application requirements and the authorisation process; the application of the 3Rs principles; the need for harm-benefit assessment and severity classification. Guidelines and species-specific requirements are provided on: i. supply, capture and transport; ii. environmental characteristics and design of facilities (e.g. water quality control, lighting requirements, vibration/noise sensitivity); iii. accommodation and care (including tank design), animal handling, feeding and environmental enrichment; iv. assessment of health and welfare (e.g. monitoring biomarkers, physical and behavioural signs); v. approaches to severity assessment; vi. disease (causes, prevention and treatment); vii. scientific procedures, general anaesthesia and analgesia, methods of humane killing and confirmation of death. Sections covering risk assessment for operators and education and training requirements for carers, researchers and veterinarians are also included. Detailed aspects of care and welfare requirements for the main laboratory species currently used are summarised in Appendices. Knowledge gaps are highlighted to prompt research to enhance the evidence base for future revision of these guidelines.
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli, Italy Association for Cephalopod Research 'CephRes', Italy cephres@cephalopodresearch.org.
Graziano
G
Fiorito
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli, Italy Animal Model Facility - BIOGEM S.C.A.R.L., Ariano Irpino (AV), Italy.
Andrea
A
Affuso
Biology Department, Brooklyn College - CUNY Graduate Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Jennifer
J
Basil
Association for Cephalopod Research 'CephRes', Italy.
Alison
A
Cole
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions - University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy AISAL - Associazione Italiana per le Scienze degli Animali da Laboratorio, Milano, Italy.
Paolo
P
de Girolamo
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions - University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy AISAL - Associazione Italiana per le Scienze degli Animali da Laboratorio, Milano, Italy.
Livia
L
D'Angelo
Groupe mémoire et Plasticité comportementale, University of Caen Basse-Normandy, Caen, France.
Ludovic
L
Dickel
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (IIM-CSIC), Vigo, Spain.
Camino
C
Gestal
BioMimetic and Cognitive Robotics, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College - CUNY, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Frank
F
Grasso
Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany.
Michael
M
Kuba
Integrative Ecophysiology, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany.
Felix
F
Mark
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli, Italy.
Daniela
D
Melillo
School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK.
Daniel
D
Osorio
School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK.
Kerry
K
Perkins
Association for Cephalopod Research 'CephRes', Italy.
Giovanna
G
Ponte
Department of Life Sciences, Eilat Campus, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer, Sheva, Israel.
Nadav
N
Shashar
FELASA, Federation for Laboratory Animal Science Associations.
David
D
Smith
The Boyd Group, Hereford, UK.
Jane
J
Smith
Division of Biomedical Sciences, St George's University of London, London, UK Association for Cephalopod Research 'CephRes', Italy.
Paul L R
PL
Andrews
D035661:Animal Care Committees / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000827:Animal Welfare / Q000592:standards*; D000818:Animals; D049830:Cephalopoda; D032921:Consensus; D005062:European Union; D012107:Research Design / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States; D018634:Veterinarians / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*
3Rs; Cephalopods; Directive 2010/63/EU; animal welfare; invertebrates