Collaborating for the Successful Retirement and End-of-Life Care of Non-Human Primates in Biomedical Research
Date
2024-11-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Veterinary Sciences
Abstract
Research facilities have established animal adoption programs for laboratory animals. However, adoption to private owners is not an option for non-human primates (NHPs), so their post-research life presents a unique challenge. Here, we describe a collaborative effort between laboratory animal veterinarians and behavioral management staff in retiring NHPs in place to ensure their quality of life after the completion of research projects. The success of our retirement program hinges on our collaborative efforts to manage clinical diseases such as arthritis, amyloidosis, and diarrhea; to surgically ex-plant previous research hardware; and to evaluate the animals’ behavior and temperament to ensure each individual is placed in a new group or living situation in which they are likely to be successful and to have good welfare. Implementation of a quality-of-life assessment tool for all retired animals allows all staff involved in the animals’ care to proactively and periodically assess the quality of life of these animals. The successful retirement of NHPs living in social groups is rewarding for all personnel and promotes a culture of caring. Research animal retirement is an important way for us to give back and honor the contributions these animals have made to advancing medicine.
Simple Summary
Some scientific research necessitates the use of animal models, including monkeys. To honor the animals used in research, when possible, institutions seek opportunities to adopt out or retire their animals at the conclusion of studies. Primates, including macaque monkeys, are socially and psychologically complex animals and require specialized care from experts. Therefore, they cannot be adopted out to private owners and must only be retired to accredited facilities. However, retiring former research monkeys to sanctuaries can be costly to the institution and it may be stressful for the animals to move to an entirely new environment. Therefore, we developed a program to provide life-long care for retired macaques at our institution. Here, we describe how veterinarians, researchers, and behavioral managers collaborate to provide individualized care for primates in retirement. Our monkey retirement program allows for continuity of care for our monkeys, allows them to live with other macaques, and guarantees them individualized treatment plans for their clinical and behavioral needs. All retired animals are monitored closely to ensure they have continued quality of life into retirement.
Description
This article was originally published in Veterinary Sciences. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11110560.
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords
Macaca mulatta, Macaca nemestrina, quality of life, veterinary care, behavioral management
Citation
Maxwell, Amanda R., Eric K. Hutchinson, Jaclyn V. Allen, Melissa C. Painter, and Lydia M. Hopper. 2024. "Collaborating for the Successful Retirement and End-of-Life Care of Non-Human Primates in Biomedical Research" Veterinary Sciences 11, no. 11: 560. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11110560