Animals in Research

Texas Biomedical Research Institute’s Southwest National Primate Research Center has a long-standing commitment to treating its animals humanely and with the highest regard for their well-being. SNPRC works closely with regulatory agencies to determine best practices to enhance care provided to the primates, for the sake of the animals and the quality of the research programs.

Although less than 0.5 percent of all animals used in research are primates, work with these animals is important to scientific understanding of human health and disease. Future medical progress depends on this continued research.

Dedicated Veterinary Staff

Seven full-time veterinarians, assisted by more than 130 combined veterinary technicians and animal care staff at the Southwest National Primate Research Center, provide for the humane care and treatment of primates. The Primate Center also ensures that the institution complies with all federal regulations and national guidelines that apply to the care and use of animals in research. Both physical and emotional stress can negatively affect the quality of scientific data derived from animals. Thus, humane animal care and good science go hand in hand.

The care of animals at Texas Biomed is guided by the following principles.

  1. Animals deserve high-quality care and state-of-the-art preventive medicine
  2. High-quality scientific data can be derived only from animals that are treated humanely and provided with proper care.

SNPRC has excellent accredited facilities and equipment, including treatment rooms, surgical suites, radiology facilities, ultrasound facilities, and clinical pathology and histopathology laboratories.

Registered with the USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conducts unannounced inspections of SNPRC animal facilities at least once per year. The USDA enforces the Animal Welfare Act, the main federal law that mandates standards and guidelines for the care and use of animals in all research facilities. Texas Biomed and SNPRC operate under this law’s standards and guidelines specific to nonhuman primates.

Accredited by AAALAC, International
Texas Biomed has been accredited since 1973 by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International (AAALAC). This organization conducts a site visit every three years to ensure that the highest standards of animal care are maintained.

The NIH recognizes AAALAC accreditation as a means of achieving and maintaining stringent standards for all aspects of the care and use of research animals.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
Federal law requires that every facility conducting research on animals have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. This internal committee, which includes Texas Biomed scientists and veterinarians, also includes outside members of the community. The committee must approve each protocol before an experiment is initiated. It also must inspect the animal facilities twice a year. The committee requires justification of the choice of animal to be used, the numbers of animals to be used, and the proposed treatment of the animals.

The IACUC has the authority to prevent a research program from being initiated or to stop a research program if the committee determines that an investigator is not complying with the regulations or guidelines for the care and use of animals.

Adherence to Federal Policies
Texas Biomedical Research Institute receives 70 percent of its research funding from the National Institutes of Health and other funding agencies through competitive grants and contracts. All institutions that receive NIH support are required to file an Animal Welfare Assurance Statement with the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) of the NIH. Texas Biomed and SNPRC are in compliance with the “Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.”

Under the Animal Welfare Act, the USDA issues and enforces regulations regarding humane care, handling, treatment and transportation of nonhuman primates in addition to general husbandry standards related to housing, separation of species, cleanliness, feeding, quarantine procedures and veterinary care. The law also contains provisions for the use of anesthesia or pain-killing drugs for procedures and for the post-operative care of laboratory animals.

Adherence to National Academy of Science Guidelines
Texas Biomed and SNPRC maintain strict adherence to the guidelines provided in the “Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals,” which is prepared by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences through the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research.

Animal Enrichment

Ensuring the psychological wellbeing of the nonhuman primates at Texas Biomed is a top priority. To address this need, the Institute has an active environmental enrichment program managed by a team of dedicated animal behavior specialists and caretakers.

The enrichment programs aim to encourage species-typical behaviors and promote psychological well-being using social, physical, occupational, feeding and sensory enrichment opportunities. We also want to prevent or limit the occurrence of abnormal behaviors, which may result from the stress or boredom that sometimes occurs in a captive environment. We use enrichment devices to invite and encourage a wide range of species-typical behaviors that primates living in the wild express. Foraging, locomotion and socializing are all examples of species-typical behaviors.

SNPRC has developed an Enhancement Plan that codifies these principles.

Nearly all of the primates at SNPRC are housed in groups. They spend much of their time interacting socially, including grooming each other. For primates housed indoors for research, the primates are paired when possible and can see, hear and sometimes touch other primates with which they are not directly housed.

Monkeys are very agile. They can jump great distances and like to rest in areas above the ground, where they can get away from others in their group if they wish, or just get a better view of the surroundings. SNPRC enclosures are equipped with some form of structural enrichment, such as climbing mechanisms, perches or swings, as well as tunnels to allow for movement between structure and outdoor shade.

SNPRC provides a stable, nutritionally complete diet with additional fruits, grains and vegetables for all primates. The feeding enrichment program also includes seasonal foods and occasional treats.

Occupational enrichment includes devices to stimulate problem-solving behavior, motor skills and coordination. For example, foods are placed in special devices so that the animal has to spend some time extracting it. Working to acquire food in this manner is similar to foraging for food in the wild.

All primates are good at manipulating their environments. They have opposable thumbs and are strong and persistent. SNPRC provides a wide variety of toys and other objects for primates to manipulate, such as hard plastic balls and other durable toys they can hold, sit on, carry and of course, chew on.

Many of our enrichment items increase sensory stimuli. Some items are given specifically to elicit particular sensations. For example, mirrors can be attached to the wall so the animals can view their neighbors, radios are placed in indoor areas for extra auditory stimuli and televisions are located in indoor areas for viewing videos.