Animals (1997), are excellent resources providing guidance for the protection of those who 
use animals in research (ILAR 1996,1997). It is essential to have an occupational health and 
safety program based on the identification of hazards and the reduction of risks. Risk 
assessment plays an important role in an effective occupational safety and health program. 
Unprotected exposure to animals carrying infectious agents can have potentially negative and 
possibly fatal consequences for researchers and staff — for example, caretaker deaths caused 
by cercopithecine herpesvirus 1 (CHV 1) transmitted by macaques and hantavirus transmitted 
by rodents. Allergies also pose substantial health risks to sensitized persons. Although the 
essential elements of an occupational health and safety program will vary across species, 
common factors include vaccination history, protective clothing, and training of all personnel 
contacting the animals. Because animals in behavioral studies generally are not anesthetized, 
management practices must protect the health and safety of both animals and staff. Handling 
methods that provide the most freedom to the animal without compromising the restraint 
objective or personnel safety are desirable. For example, the risk of bites or injury to the 
handler may be reduced by using transfer boxes rather than by relying on direct handling of 
the animals. Additional references to handling methods can be found in Chapter 5, 
Experimental Enclosures and Physical Restraint. ■ 
REFERENCES 
Academy of Surgical Research. (1989). Guidelines for training in surgical research in animals. 
Journal of Investigative Surgery, 2, 263-268. 
American Psychological Association. (1996). Guidelines for ethical conduct in the care and 
use of animals. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 
American Veterinary Medical Association. (1993). Report of the AVMA panel on euthanasia. 
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 202, 229-249. 
Arave, C.W., Lamb, R.C., Arambel, M.J., Purcell, D., and Walters, J.L. (1992). Behavior and 
maze learning ability of dairy calves as influenced by housing, sex and sire. Applied Animal 
Behaviour Science, 33, 149-163. 
Applied Research Ethics National Association (ARENA) and Office for Laboratory Animal 
Welfare (OLAW) . (2001). ARENA/OLA W institutional animal care and use committee 
guidebook (NIH Publication, No. 92-3415). Bethesda, MD. 
Federation of Animal Science Societies. (1999). Guide for the care and use of farm animals in 
research. (National Research Council). Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences. 
40 
