HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS USED IN RESEARCH 49 
The same authors in a second paper (ibid) state of the time following the 
5 to 6 hour period after the burn of about one-third of the dog’s body : “After 
this time blood pressure usually shows a gradual decline until death finally 
ensues.” Apparently, the animals were not put out of their misery but allowed 
to die of the bums without sedation of any kind even after the last (5 to 6 
hour) measurements were made. 
An example of burning with no anesthetic may be found in the American 
Journal of Physiology, October 1957, in which the authors state: “In order to 
obtain plasma from burned rats, unanesthetized animals were strapped by the 
legs to a wooden board and dipped into boiling water up to the rib cage for 
5 seconds. They were removed from the board immediately after burning. 
After a 15-minute interval, the rats were lightly anesthetized with ether and 
bled in the same manner as described for the control animals.” 
The authors make these comments : “Due to evidence of the protective 
action of anesthesia against burn, the animals were not anesthetized * * 
Another kind of burning with microwaves is described in the American Journal 
of Physiology (August 1961) : “Adult mongrels of either sex 1 to 5 years of age, 
were exposed to 2,800 megacycles per second pulsed microwaves * * *. 
“To study thermal regulation, dogs were maintained in an environment of 
120 F. 50-percent humidity or 103.5-105 F. 20 percent humidity for varying 
periods of time. Some dogs were exposed to 2.800 magacycles per second micro- 
waves while in the 103.5-105 F. environment * * *. 
“Clinical response : The dog pants as soon as irradiation starts. As exposure 
continues, the rate of panting increases and may stabilize only to increase again 
as the rectal temperature rises. Salivation occurs in many dogs, the amount 
increasing with the duration of exposure. Most animals display increased 
activity, varying from restlessness to extreme agitation. In all but terminal 
cases the dogs are alert throughout the exposure. Marked vasodilation of the 
skin and mucous membranes is observed. Terminally (4—6 hours at 100 
mw./cm. 2 or 2-3 hours at 165 mw./cm. 2 ) weakness develops and, in extreme 
cases, the dog becomes prostrate. Recovery, when it occurs, is gradual. Except 
in extreme cases where water is ignored, thirst is increased. 
“Exposure of rabbits at 165 mw./cm. 2 produces an extremely violent reaction. 
Within 5 minutes, desperate attempts are made to escape from the cage. Pe- 
ripheral engorgement of all vessels yields an acrocyanotic picture. The ears 
develop a fried or cooked appearance. Forty minutes of exposure results in 
death. When rabbits are exposed at 100 mw./cm. 2 for 1 hour they become 
prostrate. * * * 
“Temperature response : * * * in the dog * * *. In phase III, period of ther- 
mal breakdown : the temperature rises above 106° F., continues increasing rapidly 
until a critical temperature of 107° F„ or greater, is reached. If exposure is 
not stopped, death will occur. * * * 
“Burns : Dogs may develop superficial burns on various portions of the body, 
but particularly on the thoracic cage (fig. 3). Five to six days following 
exposure, the affected skin sloughs, leaving a deep, clean, noninfected area 
identical in appearance with a third-degree burn. The central portion appears 
to devitalize with development of a process not unlike dry gangrene. * * * 
“Exposure of the head with continuous wave 2,800 megacycles per second, 
invariably resulted in marked swelling of the tongue, with production of numer- 
ous vesicles containing serous fluid. There were burns of the skin, subcutaneous 
tissue, and muscles of the exposed area.” 
STRESS 
Stress has become a popular term, and it has invited mistreatment of animals 
in order to induce it. For example, in order to stimulate lactation in 60 virgin 
female rats, groups of the animals were subjected to “severe cold (0° C.) 24 hours 
per day; intense light and heat (35° C.) produced by placing two 150-watt 
reflector floodlights over the cage containing the rats for 12 hours per day ; 
restraint produced by wrapping the tails or hind legs of the rats with several 
turns of masking tape, and then taping the tails or hind legs of 5 of the animals 
together for 12 hours per day. This procedure greatly hindered the movement 
of each animal and resulted in considerable fighting among the rats. Preliminary 
trials with simple restraint, produced by securing the forelegs of the rats to 
their thorax by several turns of masking tape, showed that this was not a 
severe enough stress to initiate lactatiog; therefore the more severe method 
was adopted : starvation, with no food or water for 5 days ; subcutaneous 
