Guidelines for the Humane Transportation of Research Animals, NRC, 2006. 
Chapter 3 Good Practices in the Transportation of Research Animals, pp. 33-63

QUESTIONS
1.	Define acute and chronic stress.
2.	Name the three phases or periods that animals experience during transportation.
3.	TRUE OR FALSE: Plasma corticosterone is elevated in rats during transportation.
4.	Define allometric scaling.
5.	What is the definition of thermoneutral zone?
6.	Name a few animals species that cannot sweat to dissipate heat.
7.	TRUE OR FALSE: Livestock have a narrower thermoneutral zone when compared to rodents, cats, dogs, and nonhuman primates.
8.	Stacked animal containers reduce airflow into or around them, so temperatures can _______.
9.	Biocontainment filters on rodent transportation containers may restrict airflow, and temperatures can _______.
10.	TRUE OR FALSE: Autoclaving rodent transportation containers may damage the filters and restrict airflow.  The reuse of containers is not recommended.
11.	Animals use both ___________ and _________ mechanisms to maintain a homeothermic state.
12.	 When animals cannot be transported in environmentally controlled vehicles, the committee recommends
a.	not to ship the animals
b.	frequent visual inspection
c.	extra bedding in cold weather or less bedding in hot weather
13.	When shipping of animals is necessary in extreme weather conditions, animals may be ________ by exposing the animals to the extreme temperature for a period of time for several days before the shipment.
14.	TRUE OR FALSE: Space needs for animals are the same for shipping as they are for resident housing.
15.	TRUE OR FALSE: The largest amount of space possible is the best for shipping animals.  
16.	TRUE OR FALSE: 10 1kg animals need the same amount of space as one 10kg animal.
17.	Stocking density during transport should take into consideration 
a.	Weather conditions
b.	Physical characteristics of the species (e.g. horns, heavy coat)
c.	Preferred posture
d.	All of the above
18.	Food and water intake are usually (decreased or increased) during transport.
19.	TRUE OR FALSE: Food and water must always be provided to animals during shipment.
20.	TRUE OR FALSE: Animals should be shipped individually whenever possible.
21.	Frequent human handling (preconditioning) prior to the handling required during shipping will (help or hinder) the transportation experience.
22.	Monitoring of transportation companies or facilities should include: (name 3 outcome measures).
23.	In the case of emergencies, shipping agencies must have (1, 2, 5) plan(s) available for each phase of the trip.
24.	Training of key personnel should include which of the following:
a.	Shipper and carrier responsibilities
b.	Operator and government regulations
c.	Emergency procedures
d.	Species-specific husbandry
e.	Knowledge of how to contact emergency personnel
f.	All of the above 

ANSWERS
1.	Acute stress is defined as stress that lasts for minutes, hours, or a few days; and chronic stress as stress that persists for months or years.
2.	Transportation of animals involves three phases or periods: pretrip, intermodal, and post-trip.  During the intermodal period, trip time has a large effect on the stressfulness of the experience.
3.	TRUE: The level of plasma corticosterone, increases substantially after transportation.
4.	Allometric scaling is the principle that small animals occupy more space per unit of body weight than larger animals.
5.	The thermoneutral zone (TNZ) is the range of ambient temperatures within which an animal’s metabolic rate is at a minimum and body temperature is maintained solely through autonomic responses (piloerection and peripheral vasomotor tone) and behavioral responses (adjusting posture to bring limbs close to or away from body.
6.	Non sweating species—such as rodents, cats, dogs, rabbits, swine, sheep, cattle, most nonhuman primates (rhesus macaques are an exception).
7.	FALSE: The TNZ for the more common research animals (rodents, cats and dogs, and nonhuman primates) is narrower than in livestock.
8.	Increase
9.	Increase
10.	TRUE
11.	physiological and behavioral
12.	b
13.	acclimated
14.	FALSE
15.	FALSE: if animals are provide with too much space, they can fall, injure themselves, or even be killed.
16.	FALSE
17.	d
18.	decreased
19.	FALSE: During short trips, animals are unlikely to eat and drink, so food and water may not need to be provided (depending on species, weather, etc.)
20.	FALSE: Social animals may do better shipped in groups.  Other species may need to be in sensory, but not physical contact.
21.	 help
22.	mortality, morbidity, and injury during transportation
23.	2- a primary plan and a backup plan
24.	f

Outline OF CHAPTER 3 PP. 33-50
1)	Good Practices in the Transportation of Research Animals pp.33
Animals are transported to facilitate research, teaching, and training, and for breeding-colony establishment and maintenance.  Stress during transportation is unavoidable and can affect the quality of ensuing research activities.  Publications and articles that discuss common practices for the transportation of research animals.
i)	AATA Manual for the Transportation of Live Animals (AATA, 2000), the IATA Live Animals Regulations (IATA, 2005)

ii)	Report of the Transport Working Group Established by the Laboratory Animal Science Association (Swallow et al.,2005) 

iii)	Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Agricultural Research and Teaching (FASS, 1999).

2)	STRESS DURING TRANSPORTATION pp. 34
Stress can be harmful when it is long-lasting and animals are unable to adapt successfully to it.  Acute stress is defined as stress that lasts for minutes, hours, or a few days; and chronic stress as stress that persists for months or years.  Most transportation events last only a few days and are considered acute stress events.

Transportation of animals involves three phases or periods: pretrip, intermodal, and post-trip.  During the intermodal period, trip time has a large effect on the stressfulness of the experience.  Animals experience a sudden and large stress response at the initiation of transportation. 

i)	A main issue of concern during transportation is an animal’s psychological experience. 

ii)	Normally, animals live in a uniform, familiar environment; during transport, almost every aspect of their environment changes.

iii)	Stress during transportation is unavoidable.

iv)	Acute stress from successful transportation is not likely to affect the long-term health of an animal adversely, but it can substantially change important psycho physiological measures in ways that could alter the outcome of research if it is performed before these measures normalize.

v)	Many investigators allow 2 to 3 days to a week or more for animals to recover after transportation and to acclimate to their new environment.

a)	Rodents pp. 36
The level of plasma corticosterone increases substantially after transportation.  Decreases in splenic natural killer cell activity, total white cell numbers, lymphocyte counts, thymus weight, and humoral immunity.  Body weight also decreases, even in rodents that have access to food and water during transportation. 

b)	Nonhuman Primates pp. 37
There are only sparse data on the effects of transportation in nonhuman primates.  To date, pregnancy outcome and reproduction rates after transportation have not been adversely affected.

c)	Livestock pp. 37
In cattle, as in other farm species, body temperature rises, heart and respiration rates increase, the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) activates, and there is an increase in levels of nonesterified fatty acids, blood cortisol, glucocortoid, and glucose after transportation.  Creatine kinase, albumin, and total plasma protein concentrations also tend to increase with the duration of transport.

3)	ALLOMETRIC SCALING AND IMPLICATION FOR TRANSPORTATION PRACTICES pp. 38
i)	Transported research animals vary greatly in size, as the size of animals varies, so do the biological processes that affect transportation practices.

ii)	Allometric scaling is used to describe methods of quantifying the dependence of biological processes on body mass.

iii)	Allometric scaling is the principle that small animals occupy more space per unit of body weight than larger animals.  Smaller animals also produce more heat per unit of body weight than larger animals.

iv)	The relationships between surface area, metabolic rate, and space required by mammals are defined by the following allometric equations:

Surface area (m2) = 0.1 x  weight2/3
Basal metabolic rate (kcal/hr) = 3.0 x weight3/4 
Floor area (lateral recumbency, m2) = 0.1 x  weight1/3 

v)	Smaller animals (increased surface area, increased respirations) also become dehydrated more quickly than larger animals and cannot live without water as long.

vi)	Some species have special adaptations to conserve water, but even among these species, the general relationships between young (smaller) and older (larger) animals apply.

vii)	Smaller animals generally have higher metabolic rates per unit of body weight than larger animals.

viii)	Smaller animals can go without food for less time than larger animals, which, because they are larger, have relatively greater nutrient reserves.

4)	THERMAL ENVIRONMENT pp. 39
Provision of a proper thermal environment is the most important element of safe and humane animal transportation.  

a)	Principles of Thermoregulation pp.39
The average body temperatures of the most common research animal species are listed in Table 3-1. pp.42

i)	The thermoneutral zone (TNZ) is the range of ambient temperatures within which an animal’s metabolic rate is at a minimum and body temperature is maintained solely through autonomic responses (piloerection and peripheral vasomotor tone) and behavioral responses (adjusting posture to bring limbs close to or away from body. See Figure 3-1 pp.42, Figure 3-3. pp.44

ii)	Sweating provides the largest capacity for heat dissipation in homeotherms, so it is important to recognize that most common research animals are non sweating species and do not have the same capacity to dissipate heat as profusely sweating species such as humans and horses.

iii)	Non sweating species—such as rodents, cats, dogs, rabbits, swine, sheep, cattle, most nonhuman primates (rhesus macaques are an exception).

iv)	Animal handlers must be aware that temperatures well within human tolerance zones can be deadly to many species of research.

5)	Safe Temperature Ranges During Transport pp. 46
An animal must be transported in an environment in which it can maintain its body temperature, becoming neither hyperthermic nor hypothermic.

i)	The range of the TNZ for most agricultural animals is large, allowing for safe transportation over a relatively wide range of ambient temperatures (see Table 3-1). National Institute for Animal Agriculture website:
http://animalagriculture.org/

ii)	The TNZ for the more common research animals (rodents, cats and dogs, and nonhuman primates) is narrower than in livestock.  Table 3-2 should be considered only as a general guideline.

iii)	The committee recommends that professional judgment be considered the final determinant of whether the ambient temperatures that animals will be exposed to during transportation are safe.  

iv)	The phenotypes of some animal strains and transgenic animals must also be considered when the animals have abnormal metabolic characteristics.

v)	Safe temperature ranges for transportation are more difficult to establish for poikilotherms such as reptiles and amphibians.  In poikilotherms, a decrease or increase in body temperature of a few degrees is not a cause for concern.  Animal activity and alertness may be better indicators of comfort temperature.