176 • Alternatives to Animal Use in Research, Testing, and Education 
modest because the control group should be larger 
if it is being used in several simultaneous experi- 
ments (34). 
The use of historical data for control groups is 
constrained by the difficulty of exactly duplicat- 
ing the conditions of a study. However , the size 
of the groups and other controlled variables can 
be better planned if historical data are used to dis- 
cover the background incidence of specific tumors 
or other diseases before testing begins. This use 
of historic controls has been recognized by the 
National Cancer Institute, the World Health Orga- 
nization, the Canadian Government, and the now- 
defunct Interagency Regulatory Liaison Group 
(104). The Federation of American Societies for 
Experimental Biology has developed a data book 
containing such information based on the Labora- 
tory Animal Data Bank (see ch. 10) (2). 
Avoiding Duplicative Testing 
Animal use in testing can and has been reduced 
by industry and others through improved commu- 
nication and cooperation in the planning and exe- 
cution of testing, thereby avoiding unintentional 
duplication. Trade groups such as the Chemical 
Manufacturers Association, the Pharmaceutical 
Manufacturers Association, and the Soap and De- 
tergent Association play important roles in this co- 
ordination. 
The sharing of data after testing has occurred 
is often done for pesticides (see chs. 10 and 11). 
And in 1978, the Food and Drug Administration 
implemented a policy of permitting approval of 
new drug applications solely on the basis of pub- 
lished scientific papers (113). The possibility of an 
unintentional repetition of an experiment is also 
avoided through the work of organizations such 
as the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology 
(CUT) (Research Triangle Park, NC). Using contri- 
butions from member companies, CUT conducts 
toxicological tests and distributes the results 
widely. 
Governments contribute greatly to information 
sharing, which allows duplicative testing to be 
avoided, by providing both access to test results 
and information about their own planned and on- 
going tests. The International Agency for Research 
on Cancer makes it easy for duplicative carcinoge- 
nicity testing to be avoided by informing testing 
facilities and governments about planned and on- 
going testing. Federal and international databases 
and publications also contain information about 
planned tests and those under way (see ch. 10). 
Reducing Pain and Distress 
As with research, testing can be modified to re- 
duce animal pain or distress in two ways: by pro- 
viding relief with drugs or by changing the proce- 
dures so that less pain or distress is produced (see 
ch. 6). A third alternative might be to use a less 
sensitive species, but there is no method by which 
relative distress among species can be discerned. 
Relief from pain and distress is accomplished through 
analgesics, anesthetics, tranquilizers, or sedatives 
and modification of the test itself. 
Few pain-relieving drugs have been developed 
and marketed for animals. Little information is 
available on recommended doses (122) or on the 
likely effect on test results. Thus, before pain re- 
lief could be incorporated into a test, it would be 
necessary to determine the needed dose and the 
effect on the toxic response, thus using additional 
animals as well as subjecting them to pain. 
Several small changes that do not interfere with 
the experimental design can be made by an inves- 
tigator. Small needles can be substituted for large. 
Animals can be comforted by petting. Social ani- 
mals can be caged in groups, although there are 
often reasons that multiple housing cannot be used . 
Smaller doses can be used and tests can be ended 
at the earliest feasible time. Sometimes, smaller 
doses will actually result in increased sensitivity 
of the test (38). Making such changes sometimes 
depends on the attitude and expertise of individ- 
ual researchers rather than the contents of test- 
ing guidelines, which may not be sufficiently 
detailed. 
