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Date: December 2004
Reference: Administrative Panel on Laboratory Animal Care


Plan to Promote the Psychological Well-Being of Nonhuman Primates


STANFORD UNIVERSITY
The Administrative Panel on Laboratory Animal Care (A-PLAC)
___________________________

PLAN TO PROMOTE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF NONHUMAN PRIMATES

Introduction

On February 15, 1991, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the final rule revising the regulations contained in 9 CFR, Part 3, Subparts A and D. Included in the amendments was the provision for environmental enhancement to promote "psychological well-being" of nonhuman primates. The amendment states that "...research facilities must develop, document, and follow an appropriate plan for environmental enhancement to promote psychological well-being of nonhuman primates." In addition, the plan must:
  • "be in accordance with the currently accepted professional standards as cited in appropriate professional journals or reference guides, as directed by the attending veterinarian";
  • be available upon request to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APH1S);
  • be available to appropriate Federal agencies if the institution receives federal funds.
At a minimum, the plan must address each of the following: 1) social grouping; 2) environmental enrichment; 3) special considerations; 4) restraint devices; and 5) exemptions.

1. Social groupings

The regulations require that the enrichment plan must include specific provisions to address the social needs of nonhuman primates of species known to exist in social groups in nature. Provisions must be in accordance with currently accepted professional standards, as cited in professional journals and reference guides. Compatibility of nonhuman primates must be determined in accordance with generally accepted professional practices and actual observations, as directed by the attending veterinarian, to ensure that the animals are in fact compatible. Individually housed nonhuman primates must be able to hear and see primates of their own or compatible species unless the attending veterinarian determines that it would endanger their health, safety, and well-being.

Nonhuman primates exempt from social grouping requirements in the regulations include the following:
  1. Primates exhibiting vicious or abusive behavior.
  2. Primates that are debilitated as a result of age or other conditions (e.g., arthritis)
  3. Primates that have or are suspected to have contagious diseases.
  4. Primates that may be incompatible when housed together.
  5. Primates on research protocols in which exemptions from social grouping have been scientifically justified and approved by the Administrative Panel for Laboratory Animal Care (APLAC).
2. Environmental Enrichment

The regulations require that the physical environment in the primary enclosure must be enriched by providing means of expressing noninjurious species-typical activities. Species should be considered when selecting type of methods of enrichment. Examples of environmental enrichment include: perches, swings, mirrors, objects for food foraging, task oriented feeding methods, interaction with caretaker or other familiar individuals.

3. Special Considerations

The regulations require that special environment enrichment considerations should be given to the following groups of nonhuman primates:
  1. Infants and young juveniles.
  2. Primates showing signs of being in psychological distress through behavior or appearance.
  3. Primates used in research for which IACUC (APLAC) approved protocols require restricted activity.
  4. Individually housed primates that can not see or hear other nonhuman primates of their own species.
  5. Great apes weighing over 110 lbs.
4. Restraint devices

The regulations state that nonhuman primates must not be maintained in restraint devices unless required: 1) for health reasons as determined by the attending veterinarian; or 2) by an approved protocol. Primates in restraint devices must be kept for the shortest duration possible. For long-term restraint (more than 12 hours), the animal must receive the opportunity of one continuous hour of unrestrained activity during the time period of the restraint.

5. Exemptions

The attending veterinarian and the Administrative Panel for Laboratory Animal Care (APLAC) may exempt an individual nonhuman primate from the environmental enrichment plan because of health or condition, or in consideration of its well-being, or for scientific reasons. In the case of scientific reasons, exemption to the plan will be documented in the research protocol. Full documentation must be provided in the animal's personal record by the attending veterinarian for each nonhuman primate exempt due to health or condition or in consideration of its well-being. Unless the basis for exemption is permanent, the exemption must be reviewed every 30 days by the attending veterinarian.

Implementation - General Objectives

Stanford's goal is to provide the optimum environment for its research animals. Stanford will continue to modify its current plan to provide any possible changes that are scientifically proven to benefit the animals.

This written plan has been prepared to document our program for meeting the requirements contained in 9 CFR Part 3, Section 3.8.1 which was published in the Federal Register on February 15, 1991.

Each use of nonhuman primates must be reviewed and approved by the Administrative Panel on Laboratory Animal Care (APLAC). The APLAC is responsible for determining that each use of nonhuman primates complies with the provisions of this plan. Investigators proposing to utilize nonhuman primates in the conduct of their research are provided with a copy of the "Plan to Promote the Psychological Well-Being of Nonhuman Primates" and must agree to abide by the plan and provide scientific justification in their research protocols for any special considerations, use of restraint devices, or exemptions from the program.

Upon arrival at Stanford, all nonhuman primates are quarantined according to federal and state requirements. Stanford¹s attending veterinarian has determined that it is necessary to singly house nonhuman primates during quarantine in order to perform daily individual health assessments, observation, and treatments.

For safety related reasons, nonhuman primates that have been surgically implanted for experimental purposes with exposed instrumentation (e.g., catheters) would be considered poor candidates for social housing and should be individually housed. Exceptions to this policy should be reviewed and approved by the attending veterinarian prior to pairing attempts.

Nonhuman primates are housed such that they will have olfactory, visual, and auditory contact with other nonhuman primates. Stanford maintains an inventory of environment enhancement devices and provides for the training of animal care staff who have daily contact with nonhuman primates. Please refer to the section entitled "Implementation - Species Specific" below for further details with regard to the implementation of Stanford's plan.

Nonhuman primates housed at Stanford are not to be maintained in restraint devices unless scientifically justified in an approved research protocol that specifies, at a minimum, type of restraint device utilized, need for use of restraint device, and average and maximum duration of stay in the restraint device.

The attending veterinarian and/or the APLAC may exempt an individual nonhuman primate from the enrichment plan because of health or condition, or in consideration of its well-being, or for scientific reasons. In the case of scientific reasons, exemption to the plan will be documented in the research protocol. Full documentation must be provided in the animal's personal record by the attending veterinarian or their designee for each nonhuman primate exempt due to health or condition or in consideration of its well-being. Unless the basis for exemption is permanent, the exemption must be reviewed every 30 days by the attending veterinarian or their designee.

A bibliography of selected references on nonhuman primates and environmental enhancement is available from the Veterinary Service Center (VSC).

Implementation - Species Specific

Nonhuman primates that are currently used at Stanford for research are maintained as follows:

Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

1. Housing. Squirrel monkeys are housed in pairs or in social groups unless exempt for health or well-being reasons as determined by the attending veterinarian. Prudent breeding colony management will require certain steps being taken to avoid predictable stress and trauma withing the colony. For example, breeding age males may need to be removed from social groups and housed singly for approximately 6 months each year due to their aggressive tendencies during the breeding and/or birthing season. Geriatric animals whose health and well-being are no longer compatible with a social grouping may also be singly housed. Females with newborn infants may be removed from their normal social group and housed singly for periods up to 2 weeks if it is determined that the health and/or well-being of the infant and/or dam is compromised within the social group. Determination for the separation of quarantine animals, aggressive breeding males, and mother-infant pairs will be made by the veterinary staff and/or research colony manager, who will document the separations in an appropriate written record.

2. Caging. The PI will ensure that all cages are provided with perches and at least one durable manipulable object (e.g. toy). This responsibility may be temporarily delegated to the VSC staff by providing a written request to the animal care supervisor responsible for the care of the squirrel monkeys.

3. Room environment. All animals are housed such that nonhuman primates will have olfactory, visual, and auditory contact with other squirrel monkeys.

4. Feed. Animals are fed a standard nutritionally balanced nonhuman primate diet, and they are offered various food treats including fruits, and vegetables to promote their psychological well-being. These supplemental food treats are provided a minimum of two times per week by the VSC. Additionally, the PI is expected to provide food treats in a location or method that will stimulate foraging behavior to each enclosure at least once a week.

5. Human contact. Animals receive routine, daily contact with trained Stanford investigative staff and/or animal care personnel. Training for animal care personnel includes general biology and behavior of squirrel monkeys, intent of regulations with regard to the "psychological well-being" of nonhuman primates, and implementation of the institutional environmental enrichment program.

Old World Monkeys (Cercopithecids)

1. Housing. Social interaction is an important factor influencing the psychological well-being of nonhuman primates. However, forming stable pairs or groups of animals must be done carefully to avoid injurious aggression. Various published strategies have been used to identify compatible pairs or groups of monkeys. The PI is encouraged to review these publications with the goal of increasing social interaction within the group. Attempts should be made to identify and establish compatible pairs or groups where such efforts appear to have a chance for success. The A-PLAC will review the social housing status of subcolonies during semi-annual inspections of primate areas to assure that good faith efforts have been made. Even if full pairing is not possible, social-type caging can be used to allow social contact across grooming grids, etc. so investigators should specify this type of caging when new equipment is obtained. PLEASE NOTE: The probability of being able to establish a compatible, long-lasting pair bond is highest when the subcolony in question is composed of a large primate group of various ages and sexes that are being kept on long-term studies. Most subcolonies at Stanford are either relatively small or are composed of predominately mature male animals. It is unlikely that a high percentage of macaques will ever be pair-housed on campus.

2. Caging. The Veterinary Service Center (VSC) will provide one durable manipulable cage enhancement device per cage. These are sanitized and replaced during routine and non-routine cage exchange, which normally occurs a minimum of once every two weeks. Examples of cage enhancement devices may include:
  • Mirrors
  • Knobby Dummies ®
  • Nylaball Wolf ®
  • Gumaball Wolf ®
  • Space Ball ®
  • Other toys as approved by Veterinary Service Center (VSC) veterinarians.
The PI will provide at least one additional durable or novel cage enhancement device. Novel cage enhancement devices include products that are designed to be used once (e.g. cardboard/paper products) or for short periods of time (< 2 weeks). The same kind or style of cage enhancement device may be introduced at alternating time points (e.g. every month) and still be considered novel. In the latter case the devices must be sanitized between uses.

The PI will provide one perch or perch-equivalent per cage. The VSC will provide one perch or perch-equivalent per cage for animals in quarantine.

3. Room environment. All animals are housed such that nonhuman primates will have olfactory, visual, and auditory contact with other monkeys of the same species. If during quarantine, however, only one animal is received in the import shipment, then additional cage enhancement devices shall be placed in the animal's cage.

The PI will provide audio or visual enrichment in the form of audio or video media at least once a week. During quarantine this form of enrichment will be provided by the VSC.

4. Feed. Animals are fed a standard nutritionally balanced nonhuman primate diet, and are offered a variety of food treats including fruits (dried or fresh), vegetables, and grains to promote their psychological well-being. These supplemental foods are provided a minimum of two times per week by the VSC. If the PI needs to control when food supplement are provided because of experimental reasons, then his or her laboratory shall provide these supplemental foods with the same frequency (2x per week) unless an exemption has been approved by the A-PLAC. Additionally, the PI is expected to provide food treats delivered using devices that are manipulated to expose food (e.g. puzzle feeders or foraging devices) to each animal at least once per week. During quarantine, novel food presentation will be provided by the VSC, but at every other week intervals.

5. Human contact. Animals receive routine, daily contact with trained animal care personnel. Training for animal care personnel includes general biology and behavior of macaques, intent of regulations with regard to the "psychological well-being" of nonhuman primates, and implementation of the institutional environmental enrichment program.