Louisa Tasker

BBSRC Industrial Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering (CASE) sponsored by Covance Laboratories Ltd., 2007 – :

The link between good welfare and good science in laboratory-housed cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis)

Principal supervisor: Professor Hannah Buchanan-Smith

Second supervisor: Dr Christine Caldwell

Industrial CASE supervisor: Janet Kelly, Covance Laboratories Ltd

Previous Jobs and Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Animal Nutrition and Physiology, University of Leeds.

MSc Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare, University of Edinburgh.

Animal Behaviourist, working closely with private veterinary practices and animal shelters seeing pet behaviour referrals.

Companion and Working Animals Unit, World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). Supporting programmes of work improving companion animal welfare in developing countries.

Membership

International Companion Animal Management Coalition (ICAM). Working group producing guidance on humane companion animal control. 

I am particularly interested in research that may lead to practicable, feasible, applications for improving the welfare of animals.

Synopsis of Current Research

This project seeks to examine the relationship between good welfare and the quality of scientific output. Whilst the link between good welfare and good science is often made there are few quantitative data to support this statement. The guidelines and legislation that regulate research conducted on animals in Europe are underpinned by the principles of the Three R’s (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) for humane experimental technique (Russell and Burch 1959). A harmonised definition of Refinement has recently been proposed:

“any approach which avoids or minimises the actual or potential pain, distress and other adverse effects experienced at any time during the life of the animals involved, and which enhances their well-being”

(Buchanan-Smith et al 2005, p 379 - 380).

Of critical importance to this definition is being able to recognise if animal well-being is affected positively or negatively by planned changes in the animals’ care. Validation of welfare indicators from behaviour, physiology and physical health will be the first step in this project. Those indicators found to be reliable will be incorporated into a practical assessment framework to evaluate the success of planned Refinements. Subsequent studies will examine the effects of positive reinforcement training on welfare and the quality of science. This project seeks to address the gap in our scientific understanding of the relationship between good animal welfare and good science

Presentations and Publications

Tasker L, Kelly J and Buchanan-Smith HM 2009. Assessing the welfare of cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) for evaluating planned Refinements. Poster presentation given at the NC3Rs parlimentary event entitled “The Three R’s Today” London, UK, March.

Tasker L and Buchanan-Smith HM 2009 The effects of Refinements on experimental outcomes in macaques. Invited presentation in a symposium entitled “Enrichment, Animals and Experimental Outcomes” organised by the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare /Laboratory Animal Science Association, Stevenage, UK, February.

Kelly J, Tasker L, Buchanan-Smith HM 2009. Assessing the welfare of primates for evaluating Refinements in regulatory toxicology. Poster presentation given at the European Parliamentary  Poster Reception on the 3Rs hosted by the BioSciences Federation, Brussels,  Belgium, February.

Tasker L 2008 Macaca fascicularis – Handling and Animal Welfare. Oral presentation given on the IAT, CPD Training workshop, Stirling, UK, October.

Tasker L, Smith T, Kelly J, Buchanan-Smith HM 2008 A tool to assess the welfare of cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fasicularis) for use in evaluating planned refinements in the laboratory. Poster presentation given at the International Primatological Society Conference, Edinburgh, UK, August.

Tasker L and Buchanan-Smith HM 2008 Identifying behavioural indicators for laboratory-housed cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Poster presentation given at the Scottish Conference on Animal Behaviour, Stirling, UK, April. 

Companion Animals

Tasker L 2008 Stray animal control practices (Europe). A report in to the strategies for controlling stray dog and cat populations adopted in thirty-one countries. World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) International. UK

Tasker L 2008 Euthanasia of companion animals: comparisons and recommendations. World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), London, UK.

Tasker L, Hiby E, Rogers S, Vallentine S. 2008. Methods for the euthanasia of companion animals: comparisons and recommendations. Poster presentation given at conference entitled “Recent Advances in Animal Welfare” organised by Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW), Birmingham, UK, July.

Tasker L, Hiby EF, Bowles D, 2007 A survey of stray dog population control practices in Europe. 11th International Conference on Human-Animal Interactions. International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organisations (IAHAIO). Tokyo, Japan, October.

Tasker L 2005 Dog housing and welfare. A research report into animal shelters on four continents. Report for the World Society for the Protection of Animals, London, UK.

Tasker L 2004 Behaviour modification (Module 7). In Distance Learning Package in Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare CR ROM. Seaman S and Waran NK (eds). Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK.

Tasker L 2004 Dogs (Module 8). In Distance Learning Package in Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare CR ROM. Seaman S and Waran NK (eds). Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK.

Tasker L 2004 Cats (Module 9). In Distance Learning Package in Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare CR ROM. Seaman S and Waran NK (eds). Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK.