Animal welfare check
Check of animal welfare in research animals
It is important that we maintain good animal welfare for all animals. Animal welfare is checked daily and deviations require follow-up. It is necessary that everyone who works with laboratory animals can recognize signs of disease and poor animal welfare - so that the necessary measures can be taken to restore good welfare.
Main content
The Animal Reserach Regulations are quite clear that animals must not be subjected to unnecessary suffering. All approved experiments are accompanied by plans for the follow-up of animals - often called score sheets. These are to be used when evaluating animal welfare - and here are also follow up actions described.
Animal Check
Some animals, and rodents in particular, are sensitive to the presence of people - and they will like to hide signs of weakness.It is therefore important that checks of animals are carried out systematically in such a way that you do not miss important information. You can read more about the procedure here.
Animal Welfare Concerns
The animal facility has procedures for reporting concerns about animals. You can read more about how to report animal welfare concerns here.
More about signs of pain and distress in rodents here
Charles Rivers Laboratories has written a good and richly illustrated book about exactly this; Handbook of Clinical Signs in Rodents and Rabbits. As this is not normally on sale, we have been given permission to reproduce it on our website, which you can read here.
Mice spend much of their awake time grooming their fur to keep it nice and shiny. Ruffled fur can be an indication that they are not feeling well - and this requires further investigation and follow-up.
Photo:
A. Brønstad
Signs of pain and distress in rodents
28.10.2022