Scand-LAS 2026 · Abstract Book

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections worldwide, posing a considerable healthcare and economic burden. They account for extensive antibiotic use, contributing to antimicrobial resistance and urge the development of non-antibiotic alternatives. The development of such alternatives is challenged by high failure rates in clinical trials, reflecting a gap between bench research and clinical application. Bridging this gap requires infection models that accurately mimic human disease.

In 2019, we introduced a porcine model for UTI designed to bridge the translational gap between rodent models and human disease. While murine models have provided fundamental insights into UTI pathogenesis, important physiological and immunological differences limit their translational value. Pigs share key similarities with humans in urinary tract anatomy, urine composition, and immune responses. These features make pigs a highly relevant large-animal model for studying UTI pathogenesis and evaluating novel therapies.

The original model demonstrated that a single transurethral inoculation with uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) establishes a persistent bladder infection characterized by sustained bacteriuria, epithelial colonization of the bladder mucosa, and host inflammatory response resembling human cystitis.

Since then, efforts to refine the experimental protocol has focused on improving translational relevance and implementing the principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement (3Rs). Key updates include significant reduction of the bacterial inoculum (from 1x10¹⁰ CFU to 1x10⁴ CFU), shortening bladder inoculum dwell time from six hours to one hour, and implementation of a non-invasive clean-catch method for urine collection. These refinements reduce procedural burden and animal handling while maintaining reliable establishment and monitoring of infection.

The refined porcine UTI model provides a reliable system for studying host–pathogen interactions and evaluating novel therapies. The model is currently being applied to assess efficacy of vaccine candidates targeting UPEC. Development of the porcine model continues and aims to support more translational preclinical research.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Nielsen, T. K., Petersen, N. A., Stærk, K., Grønnemose, R. B., Palarasah, Y., Nielsen, L. F., ... & Lund, L. (2019). A porcine model for urinary tract infection. Frontiers in microbiology, 10, 2564.

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): Stærk, K., Langhorn, L., & Andersen, T. E. (2023). Clean-catching urine from pigs: a method for collecting quality specimens for urinalysis and microbiological culturing in a laboratory environment. Laboratory Animals, 57(3), 293-303.

The A/J APC Min/+ mouse is a well-established genetic model of intestinal tumorigenesis based on mutation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene, a key driver of human colorectal cancer (1). At the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) the model is used within interdisciplinary research at the interface of laboratory animal science, nutrition, and cancer biology. The A/J genetic background confers a high and reproducible susceptibility to intestinal adenoma formation, making this model particularly suitable to investigate molecular mechanisms underlying tumor development and progression in response to dietary and environmental factors. At NMBU, the model is mainly applied to investigate how meat-related dietary factors influence cancer-associated biological responses (2-4). Concurrently, we strive to focus on animal welfare measures, experimental standardization, and model robustness. Refinement through standardized and careful health monitoring and the use of defined humane experimental endpoints allows for early assessment of disease progression minimizing animal burden. The tumor phenotype enables efficient study designs and reliable endpoint assessment, including tumor burden, intestinal morphology, and systemic responses. Use of the A/J APC Min/+ mouse thus supports refinement and translational relevance in laboratory animal research, while providing valuable insights into host-diet–cancer interactions within a well-characterized and ethically responsible experimental framework.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): 1) Sødring M, Gunnes G, Paulsen JE. Spontaneous initiation, promotion and progression of colorectal cancer in the novel A/J Min/+ mouse. Int J Cancer. 2016 Apr 15;138(8):1936-46. doi: 10.1002/ijc.29928. Epub 2015 Nov 28. PMID: 26566853.

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): 2) Johanson SM, Kleiven TH, Ivanova L, Rangel-Huerta OD, Åkesson CP, Niklas AA, Granby K, Ropstad E, Paulsen JE, Müller MHB. Colorectal cancer initiation by benzo[a]pyrene and N-nitroso compounds in A/J Min/+ mice. Food Chem Toxicol. 2026 Mar;209:115902. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2025.115902. Epub 2025 Dec 16. PMID: 41412542.

Objective
We have contributed to the development and evaluation of a cage-compatible, heated, transparent shelter (NestLabTM) to address an unmet post-surgical welfare need in laboratory rodents. The shelter is designed to improve recovery conditions by mitigating post-anaesthesia hypothermia, enabling visual monitoring, and is robust, portable, and easy to disinfect for use in standard and individually ventilated cages (IVCs). 

Methods
As sponsors within the NC3Rs CRACK IT challenge framework, essential and optional device features were defined by AstraZeneca and the University of Gothenburg (essentials were adjustable warmth, chew resistance, see-through material; optional were wireless charging and telemetry). The challenge was awarded to Malsen Medical AS and model development, and prototype testing has been conducted over the year 2025 together with AstraZeneca and the University of Gothenburg. AstraZeneca conducted initial safety and robustness studies in three settings: group-housed female mice, single-housed male mice, and group-housed male rats. Twice-daily checks assessed animal safety (movement/posture, fur condition, other observations) and device integrity (gnawing/scratching, tilting, internal damage, soiling). Secondary measures conducted at University of Gothenburg concluded thermal preference (Unheated vs degree intervals of 26-34°C), occupancy, and nesting quality/location in different strains. The design process explored larger shelters for social housing and introduced an angled configuration.  

Results
The shelter was safe for mice and rats. The heater, electronics, and housing were robust with minimal damage. Rodents integrated the shelter with standard nesting material. Group-housed female mice preferred a larger shelter for nesting, indicating size optimization needs, while single-housed male mice showed clear preference for the heated condition at 32°C. Findings support feasibility across species and housing contexts. 

Conclusion
A compact, inexpensive, heated, transparent shelter is a practical, easy-to-use, off-the-shelf approach for improving postoperative care and reducing hypothermia risk while improving surveillance in rodents. Early studies demonstrate safety, robustness, and positive behavioural integration.

Despite M3(R2) guidelines from the ICH that encourage incorporating 24-hour safety endpoints into toxicology studies in large mammals like minipigs, many researchers still prefer using implanted telemetry in standalone studies or short "snapshot" recordings. Persistent challenges with external telemetry, such as unreliable ECG patch adhesion, complex cable management, and equipment damage, often compromise data quality and animal welfare

To address these issues, this work, conducted in the context of the EU-funded research NHPIG project (supported by the IHI JU under grant agreement No101165643), introduces an improved design for external telemetry recording, featuring an ergonomic harness and an adjustable jacket with integrated ECG electrodes and respiratory inductance bands woven directly into the jacket. This seamless integration improves animal comfort as it requires no shaving or overshirt and can fit minipigs from 10 to 35kg with only two jacket sizes.

The development was performed at Ellegaard facilities, and initial performances evaluations were conducted at Charles River Safety Assessment as part of the pretest phase of a 13-week toxicology study. This jacket demonstrated stable reproducible and robust ECG and respiratory signals. Minipigs showed excellent device acceptance and no equipment damage for 48 hours. As a result, the telemetry device captured 24-hour physiological profiles for individually housed minipigs [10kg; 5months], showing heart rate of 105±12bpm (mean+SD), respiratory rate of 19±9brpm, and activity of 17±32milli-g.

Initial trials have demonstrated the benefits of this new standard, yielding high-quality data over 48 hours with 100% animal acceptance. Next steps within the NHPIG project aims to integrate video tracking and testing during positive control and group-housed studies, to validate a comprehensive Digital Housing solution (iPig) for minipigs. This technology supports the M3(R2) recommendations, facilitating a shift from invasive or 'snapshot' methods toward continuous external telemetry that enhances both animal welfare and data relevance.

Reproducibility of scientific results depends on strict control of all experimental variables, and laboratory animals are housed in standardized conditions with strict control of many environmental factors. While it is recommended that rodents are housed at relative humidity (RH) levels between 45-65%, seasonal changes in RH outside this range are frequently observed in animal facilities. The effect of RH on rodent welfare, behavior and physiology is largely unknown. With this in mind, we aimed to examine whether home cage RH levels affect outcomes of studies using animal models and whether it impacts animal welfare in mice.

The effects of RH on experimental outcomes in animal disease models (atopic dermatitis, diet-induced obesity and anti-obesity pharmacological treatment) was studied housing mice at either stable high RH (70-75%) or low RH (35-45%) in home cages. A preference study was carried out to investigate the impact of ambient humidity on animal welfare. The results show that when given a choice, mice preferred establishing nests at higher RH levels, and housing mice at lower levels likely induced mild stress in the mice. In an atopic dermatitis mouse model, housing at a stable RH of 45%, significantly increased clinical outcomes by almost two-fold and increased IL-4 concentrations in skin lesions compared to mice housed at 70% RH. Moreover, preliminary data indicate that in the initial weeks of high fat diet feeding, housing at lower RH induces an adaptive response where mice ingest more calories and gain more weight compared to mice housed at higher RH. Overall, the results suggest that seasonal fluctuations inside rodent facilities impact both the reproducibility of experiments as well as the welfare of laboratory mice. Mitigating such home cage RH fluctuations aligns with the 3R principles by increasing refinement and reducing the number of mice needed in studies.

Reliable identification of compromised animal welfare remains a major challenge in rodent research. Current assessment strategies rely primarily on intermittent clinical observations and body weight measurements, which are subjective, low in temporal resolution, and often identify welfare concerns only after substantial impairment has occurred.
Here, we demonstrate continuous body temperature monitoring as a sensitive and objective biomarker for early detection of compromised welfare in mice. Longitudinal data reveal distinct, robust, and reproducible circadian thermoregulatory patterns in healthy mice, which are consistently disrupted in conditions associated with pain, stress, or infectious disease. Changes in body temperature in response to surgical complications or viral infection reliably precede overt clinical signs, enabling earlier identification of affected individuals. Acute hypophagia - leading to excessive weight loss - is a common downstream consequence of pain or disease in mice, and prolonged food deprivation is closely linked to hypothermia and entry into torpor. These physiological responses are sensitively captured by continuous temperature monitoring, providing an early, quantitative indicator of declining welfare. This approach facilitates timely initiation of supportive care or, where appropriate, earlier application of humane endpoints, thereby reducing animal suffering and experimental variability. Beyond welfare assessment, continuous data on body temperature adds scientific value, for example by revealing drug-induced changes in energy balance in pharmacology studies or by serving as an integrative marker of systemic toxicity in toxicology studies. Thus, continuous temperature monitoring represents a powerful refinement strategy that improves animal welfare, increases objectivity in welfare assessment, and enhances the sensitivity and translational relevance of in vivo research.

Wildling mice represent a novel mouse model created by transferring C57BL/6 embryos into wild mice surrogate mothers, resulting in offspring that combine a defined genetic background with a complex, natural microbiome. Owing to their increased biological heterogeneity and more mature immune system, Wildling mice have been proposed as a potentially more translationally relevant alternative to SPF mice in biomedical research. The present study is part of a broader effort to evaluate the suitability of Wildling mice for experimental research by comprehensively characterizing their phenotype in comparison to SPF mice.

Wildling (f = 11, m = 12) and SPF (f = 12, m = 12) mice were subjected to standardized behavioural tests, including the barrier test, dark/light test, and elevated plus maze. Faecal samples were collected to assess corticosterone metabolites. Home-cage activity was continuously recorded over 15 weeks using RFID-based tracking. From six weeks of age, half of the animals received a western diet with increased fat and sugar content, while the remaining animals were maintained on a control diet. To assess adult neurogenesis, animals were treated with bromodeoxyuridine at 16 weeks of age and perfused at 20 weeks.

Preliminary results reveal minor behavioural differences between groups, with Wildling mice displaying reduced rearing behaviour and lower corticosterone metabolite levels compared to SPF mice. The microbiome has a strong influence on the processing of food from different diets, which is reflected in the varying weight gains of the different groups during the study. As Wildling mice also showed lower body weights, differences in home-cage activity are expected.

Overall, the findings indicate that Wildling mice may be suitable for specific research areas, such as nutritional or immunologically relevant studies. Wildlings pose a hygiene challenge for animal husbandry; here we were able to show how this can be addressed in a modern facility.

Background
Pain is unavoidable in experimental surgical animal models and must always be assessed and alleviated to improve animal welfare and comply with the 3Rs. Buprenorphine has been used as a postoperative analgesic in experimental animal research for decades. The pain modulating effect of buprenorphine is long compared to most opioids and it was the most frequently used postoperative analgesic drug in porcine animal models between 2012-2014 (1). Recommended dosages to pigs are based on knowledge from various other species than the pig. Detailed information about the drug in terms of pharmacokinetic properties, adverse effects, therapeutic interval and whether a ceiling effect is observed specifically in the pig may be limited. The aim of this species-specific project was to investigate published knowledge concerning buprenorphine use in pigs.

Methods 
A systematic scoping review methodology was chosen because of the broad nature of the research question. The aim was divided into several subcategories to be able to perform an evidence-based search. It was decided to include both publications and grey literature in the search based on more than one search string. A detailed protocol was developed to maintain a transparent and thorough investigation of each research question.   
 
Results
The first part of the investigation revealed a median dose of 0.03 with an interquartile range from 0.03 to 0.1 mg/kg.  Dosing frequency was reported in ~43% of the studies. The most prevalent pain eliciting procedure reported, was a midline laparotomy. Results from investigating pharmacokinetics are pending.

Conclusion
Based on the results it is possible to improve pain-alleviation in pigs and disclose areas of missing information.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): 1. Bradbury AG, Eddleston M, Clutton RE. Pain management in pigs undergoing experimental surgery; a literature review (2012-4). Br J Anaesth. 2016;116(1):37-45.

Background
Detection of postoperative pain in rodents is challenging, partially due to reliance on imperfect stimulus-evoked measurements, e.g. von Frey testing. Such assays are typically time consuming, their results vary between experimenters, and they are prone to bias. There is a need for unbiased, automated alternatives in pain detection. Home‑cage monitoring systems are promising alternatives, but their suitability for detecting postoperative pain across different models remains unclear.

Objective
To evaluate whether activity‑based measures can be used to identify postoperative pain-related changes in the plantar incision model.

Methods
Sixty‑four C57BL/6JRj mice (32 males, 32 females) were pair‑housed and allocated to receive either anaesthesia and a 4 mm incision underneath the hind paw, or only anaesthesia (n = 8 cages for each condition and sex). Following seven days of acclimatisation, five days of baseline locomotion and voluntary wheel-running activity were recorded in the home-cages (Digital Ventilated Cage system by Tecniplast). After isoflurane anaesthesia, with or without surgery, data were collected for another four days. No other interventions or behavioural assays were used. Postoperative activity measures were compared to baseline and across sex and groups.

Results
Isoflurane anaesthesia reduced both locomotion (p = 0.019) and wheel-running (p = 0.032) when comparing the average activity per day in the postoperative period to the baseline period in a within-cage paired t-test. However, we found no significant differences between incised and anaesthesia-only mice, and no sex-related effects. Under the tested conditions, activity measures could not discriminate between the two treatment groups.

Conclusion
Home‑cage activity measures were not sensitive enough to detect any pain‑related behavioural changes, reflecting both the refined nature of the plantar incision model and the limits of current detection methods. These findings highlight the need for more sensitive behavioural measures for detecting mild postoperative pain.

Environmental enrichment is a key component of laboratory animal welfare; it increases environmental complexity, promotes natural behaviours, reduces stereotypies, and improves overall well-being in rodents.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether increased vertical habitat stratification and additional surface area influence reproductive performance in mice. The primary objectives were to assess whether cages equipped with a mezzanine (Tecniplast) differed from standard cages in fertility index (pups/dam/week), litter size, and pup body weight at weaning.

Breeding pairs were housed either in standard cages or in cages fitted with a mezzanine. Reproductive parameters were monitored across multiple litters over approximately seven months, including age of dam at first birth, total number of pups weaned per dam, litter interval. All other housing conditions were kept identical between groups to isolate the effect of the mezzanine structure. Preliminary data indicate that the presence of a mezzanine does not impact reproductive success. All calculated parameters were comparable between groups, suggesting that the additional structure does not interfere with maternal behaviour or pup survival, and that growth trajectories are unaffected by cage type. These findings suggest that mezzanines can be incorporated into breeding cages without compromising key reproductive metrics.

This indicates that not only that the use of mezzanines in breeding colonies without can be implemented without detrimental effects on productivity, but also that they may offer welfare benefits by increasing spatial complexity and promoting species‑typical behaviors, while maintaining stable reproductive outcomes.

Background
Lab animal diet choice should be considered carefully in all studies.  Complex fiber contents and other non-nutrient factors such as endotoxin and mycotoxins from grain-based diets (GBDs) may impact study outcomes, specifically the gut microbiome and immune factors.  In contrast, purified diets (PDs) contain defined fiber contents and minimal non-nutrient factors.  However, PD contents require consideration during the study design phase of microbiome studies, particularly the fiber source.

Objective
To determine various toxicological factors and fiber contents present in GBDs and how GBDs and PDs can impact the microbiome in mice.

Methods
GBDs and PDs were analyzed for endotoxin and mycotoxin contents, and fiber contents.  In vivo studies were performed in male C57BL/6 mice fed 2 – 4 weeks with different GBDs and PDs containing different fiber types to examine their influence on gut microbiota (1,2).

Results
Total and soluble fiber contents of 3 GBDs and 2 different lots of the same GBD varied (total=16.7%-21.1%; soluble=2.5-5.7%). GBDs varied greatly in endotoxin contents (992 – 57,700 EU/g) and were consistently low in PDs (<187 EU/g).  Five different mycotoxins (Fumonisin, Deoxynivalenol, Ergot Alkaloids, Zearalenone, Ochratoxin A) were detected in GBDs; not detectable in PDs.  Relative to GBDs, PDs with only cellulose reduced cecal+colonic weights while addition of soluble fiber (inulin) reversed this effect. However, regardless of fiber types, microbial community compositions in cecal and colonic niches were very different between PDs and GBDs; increases in soluble fiber contents in PDs reduced alpha-diversity.  Differences between 2 GBDs were observed for cecal weights and alpha-diversity

Conclusion
Gut microbiome impacts of GBDs are unpredictable due to lot-to-lot variance in toxin and fiber contents. Changing mice from GBDs to PDs modifies gut parameters, but reduce variables that may affect data interpretation.  Thus, careful consideration of diet choice is required when designing microbiome studies in rodents.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Griffin, LE, Radhakrishnan, S, Pellizzon, MA. Addition of soluble fiber in low-fat purified diets maintains cecal and colonic morphology, modulates bacterial populations and predicted functions, and improves glucose tolerance compared with traditional AIN diets in male mice. Curr Dev in Nutr 2022;6:nzac105

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): Glenny, EM, Liu, J, Skinner, HG, McFarlane TL, Reed, KK, Weninger, A, Djukic, Z, Pellizzon, MA, Carroll, IM. Purified diets containing high levels of soluble fiber and grain-based diets promote similar gastrointestinal morphometry yet distinct microbial communities. App Env Micro 2024;90::e01552-24

Human activity remains a significant challenge in maintaining the cleanliness and integrity of room environments in research vivariums. Despite the use of specialized suits, rigorous time-consuming protocols, multiple operator training procedures and air filtration systems, the generation of contamination from human-related factors is a persistent concern. At the same time we have the concern of allergen spread from the animals to the humans.

Scientific studies have unveiled the potential of shorter UV-C wavelengths, residing within the "Far-UVC" range, spanning at 200–230 nm. These studies have shown that these wavelengths are unable to penetrate the outer layer of mammalian skin or the ocular surface and have less material degradation. Among these, light at 222 nm, generated by excimer lamps based on krypton-chloride, presents a groundbreaking advantage: UV light at 222 nm is highly effective for inactivation of microorganisms, while being safe for human beings. This opens a new potential usage for Far-UVC, achieving continuous decontamination of areas such as animal rooms, laboratories, locker rooms or corridors.

The talk will focus on presenting Far-UVC from a scientific point of view, demonstrating different practices, and initiate a discussion of how this new technology can mitigate the risk of contaminations in laboratory vivariums.

Genetic drift is an evolutionary process involving random changes in allele frequencies within a population. Although often overlooked in colony management, genetic drift can impact the interpretation of preclinical data by introducing variability that can confound experimental results.

In this presentation, we will explore how genetic drift can affect experimental reproducibility and provide practical strategies for managing colonies to ensure reliable data.

Key topics include:

Understanding the importance of mouse nomenclature to select optimal models and control strains

The basis for genetic drift and learn how quickly substrains can diverge, influencing research outcomes

Practical steps to maintain long-term genetic and phenotypic stability in your models

By integrating awareness of genetic drift into colony management practices, researchers can enhance reproducibility, reduce experimental noise, and refine study design. Attendees will gain actionable insights to strengthen experimental approaches and improve translational relevance in laboratory animal research.

In vivo fluorescence imaging is a powerful non-invasive tool to assess whole-body distribution of fluorescent probes in diverse research models. However, a significant limitation is the background fluorescent signal of certain dietary ingredients like chlorophyll-containing alfalfa commonly found in grain-based chow diets. Purified diets made with refined ingredients eliminate this background enabling a more accurate imaging signal. This study evaluated the intensity of gastrointestinal fluorescent signals from dietary ingredients (alfalfa/dyes) and assessed age-related differences in the clearance of these signals in mice consuming alfalfa-containing chows and purified diets, using the IVIS® Spectrum2 imager. Male NU/J and C57BL/6J mice were maintained either on chows (with/without alfalfa) or purified diets to evaluate diet-derived fluorescent signals, while age-related differences in clearance of the fluorescent signal were assessed in 8 or 52 week old male UM-HET3 mice. Alfalfa-containing chows produced substantial fluorescent signals at 640/675 nm, high enough to interfere with typical probes in both NU/J and C57BL/6J mice. In contrast, alfalfa-free diets, including purified diets, with or without dyes, showed minimal fluorescent signals, making them more suitable for imaging applications. While imaging the rate of clearance of alfalfa-containing chows in UM-HET3 mice, age-related differences were observed, with younger mice clearing 90% of alfalfa-derived fluorescent signal within 4–5 days, whereas older mice needed 10–11 days. These findings underscore the importance of proper diet selection in imaging studies, particularly the use of purified diets to reduce background signal, thereby improving the accuracy and quantification of targeted fluorescent probes in vivo.

Background
Quality of injectable anesthesia protocols is paramount for the wellbeing of laboratory mice. Alpha2-adrenoceptor agonists (α₂-agonists) such as medetomidine are widely used in animals as sedatives and for pre-anaesthetic medication but may induce clinically relevant adverse cardiovascular and metabolic effects. Vatinoxan is a peripherally acting α₂-adrenoceptor antagonist that may reduce the peripheral side effects of α₂-agonists without major effects on sedation.

Objective
The aim of this study was to preliminarily evaluate the dose effects of vatinoxan on blood glucose concentrations (BG) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in mice sedated with subcutaneous medetomidine, midazolam and fentanyl (MMF).

Methods
Adult C57BL/6J mice were allocated into five subcutaneously administered treatment groups (n= 4/group): MMF (medetomidine 0.5 mg/kg, midazolam 2 mg/kg, fentanyl 0.01 mg/kg) and MMF supplemented with vatinoxan (VAT) 1.25, 2.5, 5 or 10 mg/kg. MAP and BG were assessed at 20, 30 and 40 min after drug administration. The averages of the three time points were calculated for each treatmentand reported here.

Results
All mice became sedated. MAP was 105.00 ± 11.17, 83.00 ± 13.12, 78.58 ± 10.11, 64.75 ± 6.05 and 62.33 ± 14.11 mmHg with vatinoxan doses 0, 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg, respectively. Blood glucose was 25.26 ± 4.42, 16.85 ± 4.83, 12.00 ± 2.49, 10.75 ± 1.64 and 10.01 ± 1.19 mmol/L, respectively.

Conclusions
Vatinoxan appeared to alleviate hypertension and hyperglycemia induced by subcutaneous MMF in mice in a dose-dependent degree. The dose 1.25 mg/kg seemed to be too low, because blood glucose remained higher (16.85 ± 4.83 mmol/L), whereas 10 mg/kg was too high, since it produced the lowest MAP (62.33 ± 14.11 mmHg) with higher variability. More detailed dose-confirming studies with larger groups are required.

Background
Environmental enrichment is widely recognised as an important component of laboratory animal welfare. However, inconsistent use of terminology can hinder effective implementation. In Sweden, the terms furnishings and enrichment are often used interchangeably to describe modifications to the housing environment, despite representing conceptually distinct categories. This lack of clarity may lead to inadequate fulfilment of animals’ basic needs or inconsistent welfare practices across facilities.

Objective
There is a need to clearly distinguish between furnishings and environmental enrichment and to outline ongoing efforts to translate these concepts into practical, species-specific guidance that supports improved and harmonised animal welfare practices.

Methods
The Swedish National Committee for the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific Purposes issued a formal clarification defining furnishings as resources required to meet animals’ basic biological and behavioural needs, and enrichment as resources providing additional stimulation beyond these needs. This conceptual framework is currently being developed further through collaboration between the Committee and the Swedish 3Rs Center. Practical knowledge collected during a recent meeting of Animal Welfare Bodies has guided the development of draft species-specific support materials.

Results
The clarification highlights that basic needs vary between species and include not only food, water, and resting areas, but also species-specific environmental features such as shelters or elevated structures. A single resource may function as mandatory furnishings for one species while constituting enrichment or providing limited value for another. The forthcoming guidance is expected to support informed decision-making by researchers and animal care staff and promote consistent application of the definitions across facilities.

Conclusion
Clear differentiation between furnishings and enrichment is essential for safeguarding laboratory animal welfare. By providing species-specific guidance grounded in practical experience, this initiative aims to improve consistency, support regulatory compliance, and enhance the effective implementation of welfare measures in daily practice.

Environmental enrichment for laboratory rats supports natural behaviours, reduces stress and boredom, and can improve animal welfare and study reliability. Current “high-house” cages at the AstraZeneca R&D Gothenburg site, provide generous flooring (≈0.3 m²) and vertical space (≈0.4 m) but lack complexity and show inconsistent enrichment materials across cage changes, risking welfare variation and inter-study variability.

Our aim was to enhance the existing high-house cage by introducing a standardized, rotating enrichment program that increases environmental complexity, promotes natural behaviours, and enhances welfare, while controlling costs and preserving study quality.

We designed three standardized enrichment sets to be alternated at each cage change. Each set includes a bed of shavings; a shelf or plastic box; a cardboard tube; a wooden stick; shredded paper; items for climbing (e.g., wall-fixed shelf/pipe); and items for building/nesting (e.g., cardboard house). Vertical space is utilized via hanging elements (ball, tunnel, rat cave), while floor area is used for manipulable materials (paper nesting, wooden sticks, cotton rolls, wooden balls, cardboard house). Selection prioritized items already in-house to minimize costs and ensured consistency across cages.

The standardized rotation increased environmental complexity and diversity of manipulable and climbing opportunities, promoting natural behaviours such as play, exploration, and nest construction. The approach reduced variability by replacing ad hoc staff-selected enrichment with a standardized set, strengthened control over materials, and improved operational consistency. Preliminary implementation suggests enhanced rat welfare indicators and clearer, more reliable study conditions, with cost containment achieved through leveraging existing materials.

A standardized, three-setup enrichment rotation for high-house cages effectively upgrades the environment, aligns with welfare best practices, and supports more consistent research outcomes. By utilizing both floor and vertical spaces and controlling materials and costs, the Gothenburg site establishes a practical, scalable standard for enriched housing that can reduce inter-study variability and improve animal well-being.

It was recently discovered that our laboratory mice were hypothermic at the beginning of surgery. The cause was significant heat loss during the induction of gas anesthesia in the induction chamber, which until now has been non-heated and at room temperature.

Hypothermia can lead to various complications after surgery, such as an increased risk of infection, prolonged recovery times, anesthetic overdosing, and impaired wound healing. By ensuring that the anesthesia chambers are adequately heated, surgeons can help maintain the rodents’ body temperature within a safe range, thereby reducing the risk of adverse outcomes.

Pilot studies indicate that the use of heated anesthesia chambers significantly reduces the loss of rodent body temperature. Without these chambers, rodents can lose 4-5 degrees Celsius, whereas with the heated chambers, the temperature loss is less than 2 degrees Celsius.

Implementing this procedure will refine and enhance our surgical success rate, minimize animal distress, and promote better recovery. Improved surgical outcomes can also lead to higher survival rates, thereby reducing the number of animals used.

Overall, the implementation of heated anesthesia chambers is a vital practice in modern animal research, contributing to improved rodent care and outcomes, highlighting the importance of this practice in surgical settings.

Quarantine programs aim to ensure the quality of incoming animals and protect existing colonies from potential infectious agents. Traditionally, animals are placed in a quarantine area where feces, body/oral swabs, and serum are collected for PCR, culture‑based, or serological testing. However, direct colony sampling (DCS) is time‑consuming and requires handling every animal in a cohort.

As an alternative, we previously evaluated sentinel‑free soiled bedding (SFSB) sampling as a quarantine method for detecting rodent infectious agents. Our preliminary work showed that SFSB is effective and reduces handling stress for both animals and staff. The current study aimed to determine whether extending exposure of contact media to soiled bedding could increase sensitivity and improve detection using a single time point during quarantine. This approach reflects a realistic scenario in which bedding from shipping crates is used to set up quarantine cages for new arrivals, with SFSB sampling performed after 1-2 weeks.

To compare detection performance, soiled bedding from three isolators containing non‑excluded agents and housing mice aged 4-10 weeks was used for SFSB exposure. Bedding volumes ranged from 1 to 4 quarts and were manually agitated with contact media. Fecal pellets and environmental swabs were also collected for PCR testing. Contact media were shaken for 20 or 40 seconds in triplicate and screened using a comprehensive rodent pathogen panel.

All pathogens previously identified in the health reports were detected, and additional agents not listed were also found. Variations in bedding quantity did not affect the range of agents identified or assay sensitivity. A 40‑second shaking duration improved detection sensitivity.

Overall, these results support that a single SFSB exposure during quarantine is effective for detecting infectious agents present in incoming cohorts and provides welfare and workflow benefits by reducing direct animal handling.

Background
Nude mice lack protective eyelashes, increasing ocular exposure to dust and particulate matter. Animal technicians at the Department of Experimental Biomedicine (EBM), at University of Gothenburg have observed that standard wood shaving bedding may adhere to the eyes of nude mice, potentially contributing to ocular irritation and compromised welfare.

Objective
This project aimed to identify and evaluate alternative, commercially available, bedding substrates with the potential to improve eye health and overall welfare in nude mice housed at EBM.

Methods
Commercially available bedding materials were reviewed by the Animal Welfare Group at EBM, incorporating experiences from other animal facilities and suppliers. Based on reported positive outcomes, cellulose-based and corn cob bedding materials were selected for evaluation and compared with standard wood shavings. Each substrate was assessed over a four-week period during routine cage changes and health checks. Predefined parameters included absorbency, effects on animal health and behaviour (with emphasis on ocular health), nest-building behaviour, and practical aspects of cage management.

Results
Both alternative substrates demonstrated higher absorbency and fewer ocular particles in the eyes compared to wood shavings. Cellulose bedding showed good absorbency, reduced ocular irritation, and a soft texture that allowed animals to remove particles independently. Corn cob bedding exhibited the highest absorbency but had a noticeable odour, and a rougher texture, limiting its suitability for certain experimental models, including tumour-bearing mice.

Conclusion
Cellulose-based bedding was identified as the most suitable alternative for nude mice. While it did not eliminate ocular exposure entirely, its softer properties suggest a reduced negative impact on eye health and animal welfare. Although cage-changing time increased due to manual filling, time spent managing ocular contamination was reduced. These findings support continued evaluation and potential replacement of wood shavings for nude mice at EBM.

Enrichment may support positive psychological well-being and encourage natural behaviors in captive animals. Foraging devices promote a species-typical activity that dominates the time budget of primates outside captivity and provide inherent cognitive challenges, physical activity demands and multisensory stimulation. The newly developed foraging device "feedme" has been tested in a pilot study and further observations of tests in various facilities will be presented.

The aim of the pilot study was to test the foraging device to determine its effectiveness in increasing foraging behavior and to determine its longevity in cynomolgus macaque breeding groups. Further observations have shown that several parameters like positioning, number of animals, number of devices, etc. have a considerable influence on the interaction with the device. Secondly, possible improvements to the device should be identified that would enable higher efficacy and thus more efficient enrichment. The position of the device must be well identified.

Depending on the group size, more than one device may be required. The interaction times of males, females and juveniles with the device varied. Juvenils spend the longest time. This device can circumvent food aggression, although in females did display some food aggression during behavior scans. To sum up, the device has a positive influence on animal well-being, but there are further studies ongoing. Furthermore, several studies are running in other large animals like horses, dogs and pigs. Preliminary results are showing positive effects on animals health care.

New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) aim to reduce, refine, or replace animal use by providing scientifically robust alternatives to traditional in vivo experimentation. While NAMs are often associated with in vitro or organoid-based approaches, data-driven strategies remain underexploited, despite their immediate potential for Reduction and Refinement.

We propose FAIR metadata as a NAM-enabling methodology, implemented through Metadatapp, to capture and standardize experimental context, identifiers, and provenance across the preclinical research lifecycle. By structuring experimental metadata in a machine-actionable manner, past animal experiments can be transformed into reusable scientific evidence rather than isolated results.

Building on this foundation, we outline a planned application based on Virtual Control Groups (VCGs), leveraging continuous home-cage monitoring data generated by systems such as Tecniplast Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC®) platforms. Harmonized metadata enables historical and future control datasets to be aligned on biological, environmental, and procedural parameters, allowing the construction of context-aware virtual controls that can complement or partially replace concurrent live control groups.

FAIR metadata do not replace biological experimentation; they replace unnecessary repetition. By enabling virtual controls, historical baselines, and data reuse across studies, FAIR metadata function as a practical and scalable NAM supporting Reduction and Refinement, while improving reproducibility and animal welfare in preclinical research.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Wilkinson et al; 2016, scientific data, FAIR Guidi

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): Sanz et al, 2025, NAM journal, Transitional initia

In earlier GLP study, we investigated the safety and immunogenicity of the intranasal adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccine after three doses. Despite the slight body weight reduction in females, the vaccine was well-tolerated and immunogenic. However, pulmonary findings associated with unintended deposition of the test item were observed. The vaccine was later enhanced by an excipient to boost the immunogenicity.

The objective of this study was to investigate the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine combined with the excipient. The enhanced vaccine was more concentrated enabling dosing half of previous volume while maintaining the same dose of viral particles. Based on good safety results of the vaccine in the previous study, the regulatory requirement for the dosing regimen was updated to mimic that of clinical trials, and the number of doses was reduced from three to two.

The study included a control group, excipient only group and vaccine in combination with excipient group. All 90 animals received two intranasal doses, given at two-week interval. Sixty animals were euthanised two days (main study) and 30 animals two weeks after the second dose (recovery study).

The excipient both alone and in combination with the vaccine was well-tolerated and all clinical parameters were comparable between the groups. Vaccine and excipient combination elicited immunogenic response in the rat both in the main and recovery study. In vaccine group non-adverse histological changes were observed in nasal cavity, trachea and lungs, but the findings were minimal and often transient. We did not observe similar pulmonary findings or body weight reduction as in the previous study.

The vaccine enhanced by the excipient was well-tolerated and immunogenic in the rat. The study protocol refinements agreed with the regulatory authorities included reduced dose volume and number of doses allowed to shortening the study period by two weeks without compromising scientific quality.

Good welfare, leads to good science they say. The welfare of the animals start at birth, possibly at our commercial breeding facility. It can be of importance to know what happens in the early life of your research animals at a commercial vendor, for example what the animals are used to concerning housing, enrichments, diet, but also handling.

During this presentation, you will learn the common practices of Inotiv for our rodents within Europe, including the non-aversive handling techniques that are used. Recent developments will be presented around hay and viewing windows for guinea pigs, the use of floor pens for large groups of rabbits and increase in enrichment for mice and rat.

Besides the housing refinements, also reduction of animal numbers is part of our approach to improve overall animal welfare. The difference in number of animals needed when ordered by weight or by age will be explained, providing insight in the processes behind these different types of requirements.   

High-quality handling is a central determinant of animal welfare and data reliability in laboratory animal science, as stress-associated behaviours can directly confound experimental outcomes. Human-animal relations critically influence animal welfare, cooperation, and procedural reliability [1]. While positive reinforcement-based training is an emerging refinement strategy, it remains unclear whether structured training is always necessary, or whether good habituation alone may often be sufficient [2].

To address this, we compared habituation-based handling with structured positive reinforcement training in a porcine surgical model to evaluate animal welfare and cooperation during postoperative care. Eighteen female German Landrace pigs underwent three weeks of consistent, gentle handling. Animals were assigned to either a habituation-only group, receiving gentle handling and food distraction during examinations, or a training group, following the same habituation procedures plus structured positive reinforcement training to remain still during examinations. Routine health checks were conducted twice daily over the first two postoperative weeks. Vital parameters and salivary cortisol concentrations were recorded as physiological indicators. Morning health checks during the first five postoperative days were video-recorded and analysed using predefined ethograms focusing on handling effort and behavioural indicators of wellbeing.

Habituation required a single staff member for approximately 10 minutes per day for groups of three animals, whereas training of the same group size required two employees and a daily time investment of 60–90 minutes. Postoperative vital parameters and cortisol concentrations showed minimal differences between groups, indicating comparable physiological stress levels. Perceived cooperation was high in both groups, with no substantial group differences anticipated based on ongoing video analyses.

Overall, these findings indicate that carefully implemented habituation can achieve substantial refinement benefits with markedly lower time investment than formal training. By prioritising handling quality and consistency, laboratories may achieve meaningful refinement with minimal additional resources, thereby improving animal welfare while supporting efficient routine experimental practice.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Bailey, J., Does the stress of laboratory life and experimentation on animals adversely affect research data? A critical review. Altern Lab Anim, 2018. 46(5): p. 291–305.

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): Schioler, K., M.L. Jensen, and D.B. Sorensen, Blood Sampling in Gottingen Minipigs—A Case Study of Two Standard Methods and Clicker Training as a Restraint-Free Alternative. Animals (Basel), 2025. 15(3).

Laboratory mice are essential tools in drug development, but their clinical translation success is often limited. This may be due to the highly sterile conditions in specific-pathogen-free (SPF) mice, which restrict microbial exposure and hinder early immune system development. Microbial exposure is known to promote immune maturation and improve disease model accuracy, but its role in allergy research remains unclear, having shown both protective and exacerbating effects1,2. The specific roles of pathogens and commensal gut microbiota in allergy and inflammation are yet to be fully understood; thus, we aimed to investigate this using a mouse model of allergic skin inflammation.

Ovalbumin and aluminum hydroxide were used to induce ear tissue inflammation in mice with varying microbial and pathogenic backgrounds. Neonatal SPF-compatible BALB/c mice received either wild microbiota (n=30) or SPF microbiota (n=30) and were pre-immunized with either inactivated pathogens or a vehicle. These were compared with “dirty” wildlings (n=21) exposed to diverse microbiota and live pathogens, as well as “ultra-clean” opportunist-pathogen-free C57BL/6 mice (n=22).

We hypothesized that wild-derived gut microbiota or pre-immunization with inactivated pathogens would alter ovalbumin-induced skin inflammation in a manner comparable to wildlings. Key outcome measures included cytokine levels (IL-4 and IL-5) in ear tissue.

Preliminary findings indicate that pre-immunization and wild microbiota significantly reduced ovalbumin-induced IL-4, IL-5, IL-17A, CXCL-1, eotaxin, and serum IgE levels. Additional analyses from wildlings and pathogen-free mice, including gut microbiota profiles, will be presented at the conference.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Ma, Junjie, et al. "Laboratory mice with a wild microbiota generate strong allergic immune responses." Science immunology 8.87 (2023): eadf7702.

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): Islam, Md Zohorul, et al. "Wild-Mouse-Derived Gut Microbiome Transplantation in Laboratory Mice Partly Alleviates House-Dust-Mite-Induced Allergic Airway Inflammation." Microorganisms 12.12 (2024): 2499.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) remains the most widely used method for euthanasia of laboratory mice. However, its use is associated with relevant animal welfare concerns, since it is aversive and induces respiratory distress, which may result in anxiety and pain. In our recent multisystem welfare assessment, we showed that CO₂ at a 30% volume displacement rate (VDR) produced the lowest overall distress burden, whereas CO₂ at 70% VDR induced faster loss of consciousness (LOC) but was associated with increased distress beforehand.

Building on these findings, the present study addresses a key refinement question: whether the welfare burden associated with CO₂ (30% VDR) can be further reduced by blunting the conscious phase through anesthetic induction. Although anesthesia before euthanasia has been proposed to limit aversion and distress, inhalational anesthetics itself can provoke respiratory irritation aversion and therefore distress, anxiety or even pain. It therefore remains unclear whether anesthetic LOC induction reduces the overall distress or merely shifts it to an earlier phase - compared to CO2 only.

We investigated three commonly used anesthetic agents for induction prior to CO₂ (70% VDR) euthanasia: nitrous oxide (N₂O), isoflurane, and sevoflurane. N₂O provides anxiolytic and analgesic effects, but suppression of visible distress does not necessarily indicate LOC. Isoflurane and sevoflurane reliably induce unconsciousness but have been associated with excitation and respiratory irritation during induction. Using our multisystem framework, we quantified behavioral events, respiratory and cardiovascular responses, EEG/EMG endpoints, and biochemical stress indicators in female and male C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice. This design not only complements our previous work by assessing sex- and strain-specific responses under CO₂ (30% VDR) alone, but also enables direct comparison with anesthetic-assisted protocols. By doing so, we determine whether anesthetic induction provides a measurable welfare benefit during euthanasia and identify which strategies improve mouse welfare.

The Center for Core Facilities (CCF) brings together world-class infrastructures that provide researchers with advanced technologies and expertise across health and medical sciences at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH). The center currently comprises four core facilities: the Proteomics Research Infrastructure (PRI), the Genomics Research Infrastructure (GRI), the Core Facility for Integrated Bioimaging (CFIB), including the Preclinical MRI Core Facility (MRI/NMR) and Intra Vital Imaging Facility (IVI), as well as the Animal Core Facility (ACF), including the Transgenic Core Facility (TCF).

ACF is providing housing, care and veterinary support for Health Sciences and Natural Sciences at UCPH, regional hospitals and external researchers. Within CCF, ACF provides animal services to the core facilities to ensure integrated support of biomedical research based on animal studies. As part of ACF, transgenic animal model services are provided by TCF. Future development will include the adoption of non-animal models, contributing to the UCPH ambition of a sustainable organization, including focus on the 3Rs of animal-based research projects. The development and services of CCF and integration of ACF will be presented in this poster.

Transportation and acclimatisation represent critical stressors for laboratory rabbits and can significantly affect animal welfare, physiological stability, and experimental reproducibility. Handling, confinement, environmental change, and unfamiliar access to feed and water during transport activate stress pathways, including the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, leading to metabolic alterations, dehydration risk, and body weight loss. If insufficiently managed, these effects may persist into the post-arrival period and confound scientific outcomes.

This poster describes targeted refinements implemented during rabbit transport and early acclimatisation to support welfare and promote the return to physiological baseline. A key transport refinement wasthe provision of liquid water in bottles rather than hydrogel. An internal and collaborative pilot study across 24–72 h transports suggested consistent bottle acceptance, absence of clinical dehydration, and reduced body weight loss during longer journeys compared with hydrogel systems. These findings highlight hydration continuity as a key determinant of transport resilience.

Acclimatisation refinements focused on reducing environmental disruption during the critical 7–10 days post-arrival. A standardised Rabbit Welcome Kit was developed to promote continuity of diet, encourage species typical behaviours, and support gastrointestinal health through fiber- based enrichment and objects to play with. Such measures are designed to mitigate stress-related physiological and behavioural disturbances during adaptation to new housing conditions.

Together, these refinements illustrate how evidence-based improvements in transport and acclimatisation can enhance rabbit welfare while supporting scientific validity. Optimising hydration, nutrition, and environmental continuity during these transitional phases is essential for ethical animal care and robust, reproducible research outcomes.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): De la Fuente J, et al, Animal Welfare (2007): Physiological response of rabbits to heat, cold, noise and mixing in the context of transport ; Suba Bokodi E, et al, Animals (2024): The impact of transportation on the cortisol level of dwarf rabbits ; Swallow J, et al, Laboratory Animals (2005): Guidance on the transport of laboratory animals ; Hołyńska Iwan I, et al, PLOS ONE (2021): The influence of hydration status on ion transport in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) skin ; Obernier JA, et al, ILAR Journal (2006): Establishing an appropriate period of acclimatization following transportation of laboratory animals ; V. ILAR Journal (2005): Environmental Enrichment for Laboratory Rodents and Rabbits: Requirements of Rodents, Rabbits, and Research ; El Sabrout K. et al. Animals (2024): Environmental Enrichment in Rabbit Husbandry: Comparative Impacts on Performance and Welfare

Over the last decade, we at PRI (Preclinical Research and Imaging) have seen that the number of animal experiments has decreased. The reasons are many, the outcome the same and animal facilities that once thought they were to expand are left with empty cages.
At PRI, we decided to embrace the future and to make some changes and we would like to share our experience with you who might be at the same cross-road. Our efforts can be summorised in a couple of projects:
- To reorganise our three animal facilities to one large unit
- To honestly evaluate our need of space
- To find a unique niche for each of the facilities
- To develop our most important resource - our staff and
- To be externally evaluated.
The outcome was a unified department where experience, equipment, clients and staff can be shared, a reduction of ca. 2000 m2 space, a uniqueness of the different facilities - not just a replaceale copy of each other, staff that is involved in everything from animal care to reconstructions and that look forward to new experiences as well as an AAALAC accreditation.

Buprenorphine, one of the most used opioids in rodents, have, until now, only been available in Europe in the original formulation. To have adequate coverage for pain relief, re-administration is necessary every 5-8 hours in rodents. This means that to have the animal covered for 24 hours, up to five administrations are required. This results in a lot of disturbance and handling of the animals, as well as logistic challenges.
Different formulations of long-acting buprenorphine have been available in the US, but not in Europe. Recently it became possible to acquire a compassionate use permit from the Danish authorities to prescribe long-acting buprenorphine, and an importer started to import a long-acting formulation (Ethiqa XR). This meant that it became possible to acquire long-acting buprenorphine for the use of controlling surgical pain in laboratory rodents in Denmark.

At Novo Nordisk we have used the long-acting formulation (Ethiqa XR) for a few years, and we have very good experiences, which we wish to share.

When using the long-acting formulation (Ethiqa XR) we see a continuous adequate pain relief for up to 3 days.
The animals are more active after surgery.
No pica has been observed, even though this has been described as a potential problem.
Animals may need to have a very calm and warm environment for waking up, otherwise they will be quite easily startled and over-excited. However, when combining long-acting buprenorphine with the regular formulation (both prior to surgery), the awakening is much smoother and calmer.
The liquid is very viscous, so pay attention to the needle size, and if possible, use a silicone-free syringe.
If used in obese animals, dose according to lean body weight, otherwise a too high dose will be given.

We strongly recommend the use of long-acting buprenorphine, as it is a straightforward way of increasing animal welfare, by ensuring proper, adequate, and continuous pain relief.

The bleomycin mouse model is a widely used experimental system to investigate  idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It causes an acute lung injury followed by fibrosis after 10 to 14 days. A key limitation is high inter animal variation as fibrosis may spontaneously resolve in some mice, unlike the progressive nature of human IPF, while other mice deteriorate rapidly. This variability necessitates intensive welfare monitoring that integrates multiple parameters such as body weight loss, clinical appearance, respiratory signs, activity, and hydration status, to guide timely humane endpoints.

To expand continuous surveillance of individual disease trajectories, AstraZeneca partnered with TrackPaw Scientific AB to evaluate whether 24/7 monitoring of body weight and distance travelled could strengthen early detection and oversight. TrackPaw’s RFID-enabled home-cage system, integrating an in-cage weight sensor, was deployed to quantify disease progression over 14 days and to incorporate activity-based metrics that may support earlier intervention. The system was assessed in a target-validation study using genetically modified and wild-type mice on a C57BL/6 background. Mice were challenged with bleomycin or saline, group-housed in trios, and continuously monitored for body weight and distance travelled over the 14-day period.

TrackPaw analyses demonstrated clear separations between bleomycin-treated and control groups in both distance travelled and body weight. A marked decline in activity was detected prior to study termination: animals that were euthanised upon reaching humane endpoints including 15–20% body-weight loss showed reduced distance travelled 1–3 days before meeting the endpoint criterion.

These results suggest that combining continuous body-weight monitoring with home-cage activity metrics can signal welfare-relevant deterioration early. Ongoing work aims to implement alert functionality to automatically flag anomalies indicative of impending humane endpoints, enabling closer 24/7 surveillance and earlier, targeted interventions across cages.

Background
Alpha2-adrenoceptor agonists, such as medetomidine, are pivotal drugs in laboratory rodent sedation and anesthesia. However, they induce marked systemic cardiovascular adverse effects, which can be mitigated with vatinoxan, a peripherally acting alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonist.

Objective
To investigate the impact of vatinoxan (5.0 mg/kg) and fentanyl (0.010 mg/kg), an opioid-receptor agonist, on cutaneous microcirculation in male Wistar rats sedated with medetomidine (0.25 mg/kg) and midazolam (2.0 mg/kg).

Methods
Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and pulse rate (PR) were measured and cutaneous microcirculation assessed with simultaneous quantification of laser-Doppler flow (LDF) and tissue hemoglobin saturation (T-HbO2). Data were analyzed with Dunn’s tests, Student's t-tests and Spearman’s correlation tests with Bonferroni-adjusted alpha-levels when appropriate.

Results
Overall median [range] LDF (139 [95 - 561] vs 120 [72 - 201] perfusion units) (p < 0.001) and T-HbO2 (57 [39 - 75] vs 41 [18 - 75] %) (p < 0.001) were significantly higher for the treatments with vatinoxan. MAP was lower with vatinoxan (92 ± 14 mmHg [mean ± SD]) than without it (139 ± 18 mmHg) (P < 0.001). Furthermore, MAP was moderately negatively correlated with LDF (Spearman’s rho = –0.439, p < 0.001). Pulse rates were also significantly higher with the addition of vatinoxan (323 ± 33 bpm [mean ± SD]) compared with treatments without it (281 ± 29 bpm) (p < 0.001). Fentanyl did not significantly alter any of the outcomes.

Conclusions
The results suggest, that vatinoxan improves cardiovascular function in male Wistar rats sedated with these medetomidine-based protocols.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Lindh, E., Meller, A., Alm, K., Finckenberg, P., Raekallio, M., Honkavaara, J., 2025. Peripheral alpha 2-adrenergic antagonist vatinoxan improves the quality of medetomidine–midazolam sedation in Wistar rats. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia 0. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaa.2025.04.002

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): Honkavaara, J., Ranki, J.S., 2025. Vatinoxan increases microcirculation in dogs anaesthetised with medetomidine-methadone-propofol-isoflurane for prescrotal castration - A randomized, clinical study. Vet J 314, 106454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2025.106454

In recent years, increasing emphasis has been placed on refinement strategies in animal experimentation, particularly for procedures that are performed repeatedly. Repeated blood sampling in laboratory rats is a common requirement in biomedical research, yet some sampling techniques require anesthesia (vena sublingualis or cava) while restraint and hair clipping is suggested for others (tail or saphenous vein), making all of them stressful for the animal.

To address these limitations, we developed and implemented a refined method for repeated blood collection from the dorsal digital veins. The procedure is performed by two operators and involves only mild restraint. Optionally, the rat’s foot can be briefly warmed in a water bath at a maximum temperature of 42°C to promote vasodilation, after skin disinfection, the foot is gently dried and one of the dorsal digital veins pinched with a 24G needle to allow blood collection with a Microvette 300 (Sarstedt, Germany). Hemostasis is achieved by short manual compression with a cotton swab, after which the animal is immediately returned to its home cage.

This method offers several advantages over classical techniques. No shaving or anesthesia is required, sufficient blood volumes (up to 0.2 ml) can be obtained repetitively, and serum/plasma samples are rarely hemolytic. The procedure is rapid and minimally invasive, and no hematoma formation was observed. Importantly, repeated sampling can be performed without adverse effects. Our approach represents a practical refinement of routine blood sampling that improves efficiency while reducing animal burden and supporting high welfare standards in laboratory rat studies.

Preclinical neuroscience research is complex, resource‑intensive, and demands careful planning to ensure meaningful and reproducible results. This presentation will briefly highlight best practices in model selection, study design, and strategies to enhance experimental reproducibility. We will review key considerations for choosing appropriate mouse models to study neurological disorders, using examples from preclinical research in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and neurodevelopmental conditions such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We will also discuss essential elements of robust experimental design and share practical approaches to reduce bias, minimize variability, and improve consistency across studies. Applying these principles can strengthen the reliability of preclinical findings and accelerate the development of effective treatments for neurological diseases.

Public and policy narratives in the life sciences are increasingly shaped by a strong focus on animal-free innovation and New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). While these developments represent important scientific progress, the way they are communicated often frames NAMs primarily as replacement success stories. This framing can unintentionally suggest that animal research is becoming obsolete, creating pressure on researchers who still rely on animals for answering certain research questions and actively pursue the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (3Rs).

In practice, NAMs and animal research are not opposing approaches, but complementary tools that are part of the same scientific toolkits often used by the very same researchers. Communicating innovation without acknowledging this interdependence risks oversimplifying scientific reality and can erode trust among researchers who are expected to justify continued animal use in parallel with these replacement-focused narratives. A comprehensive approach to NAMs must equally consider them as encompassing reduction and refinement methods, which remain essential tools for minimising animal use and improving welfare in cases where scientifically justified animal studies are still required.

Navigating this communication landscape requires openness about complexity, uncertainty and necessity, and is particularly challenging to tackle for individual researchers or research institutions to manage alone. Coordinated and collective approaches to transparency can provide mutual support and consistent messaging, helping to ensure more balanced public communication.

Transparency Agreements offer one such framework, bringing together research institutions and stakeholders in voluntary, collective commitments to open, proactive communication about animal research. Experiences from countries where such agreements are in place illustrate how collective transparency initiatives can support dialogue on the 3Rs, strengthen researcher confidence, and foster more balanced and credible communication about both NAMs and the continued role of animal research.

Professionals engaged in animal experimentation within laboratory animal facilities face numerous practical challenges, including emotional distress, occupational stress, ethical conflicts, and difficulties related to the work environment [1,2]. Addressing these issues requires a systematic assessment of the psychological and emotional burdens, as well as the specific stressors, experienced by individuals in this field. This study investigates ethical conflicts and compassion fatigue among personnel working with laboratory animals in Korea. An online survey was conducted with 165 participants. The results indicated that animal researchers experienced lower levels of stress and fewer ethical dilemmas than other occupational groups, including principal investigators, attending veterinarians, and animal facility managers. Female respondents reported a higher frequency of ethical dilemmas than male respondents, regardless of occupational role. Participants with less than six years of work experience reported fewer ethical dilemmas than those with longer tenure, suggesting that ethical sensitivity may increase with prolonged exposure to animal experimentation. Euthanasia and animal pain were identified as the primary sources of ethical stress. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that experiences of ethical dilemmas, years of employment, and occupational role were significantly associated with stress levels. These findings underscore the need for organizational-level interventions to mitigate ethical stress and promote a healthier research environment. Strengthening emotional resilience and supporting the overall well-being of personnel working with laboratory animals are essential goals of such efforts.
*Na Ahn and Eun-Jeong Kim contribute equally to this work.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Randall MS, Moody CM, Turner PV. Mental Wellbeing in Laboratory Animal Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Study of Compassion Fatigue, Contributing Factors, and Coping Mechanisms. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2021;60:54-63.

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): Ahn N, Park J, Roh S. Mental stress of animal researchers and suggestions for relief. J Anim Reprod Biotechnol. 2022;37:13-16.

In translational research, experimental animals remain standard for assessing the efficacy and safety of potential therapeutics. However, comprehensive longitudinal datasets are often not acquired, as manual data collection must be minimized to comply with the 3R principles. Moreover, visual observations and behavioural testing can disrupt resting periods, elevate stress levels, and introduce artificial outcomes.

We aim to tackle these unmet needs by implementing of the camera based digital monitoring system (iMouse) for animal husbandry and experimental use cases by upgrading existing laboratory equipment (retrofit). Here, we examine the impact of manual handling towards mice with no visible phenotype. Therefore, we recorded 6w of manual handling. We used 2w pre-experimental video material from 3 perspectives to train AI algorithms. Followed by a time series analysis of standard and unusual behaviours during the 4w experimental data set.   

In result, we showed that recorded video material in the pre-experimental phase was capable to train our existing models to detect behaviours for the specific strain with over 90% precision. Furthermore, we identified unusual phenotypic behaviours during the experimental phase was induced directly by manual handling.

In summary, our results demonstrate, that digital visual inspections of experimental animals are capable to identify a visible phenotype which have been overlooked by human based manual inspection for years. Thus, our findings lead to a better understanding of mouse models, reducing the bias through human handling. At the same time, we increase the data density and provide contact-free continuity of video surveillance.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Lampe M et al. (2023): The iMouse System – A Visual Method for Standardized Digital Data Acquisition Reduces Severity Levels in Animal- Based Studies. Journal of Phar macy and Pharmacology Research, 7: 256-273 (https:// doi.org/10.26502/fippr.091)

Background
Housing conditions are a central factor in the well‑being of laboratory animals. Insufficient environmental enrichment can lead to increased stress, stereotypic behaviour, and reduced experimental validity. There is therefore a growing need for systematic optimization of the housing environment for mice to promote both animal welfare and the quality of research data.

Aim
The aim of the project was to improve the housing conditions of mice through measures that reduce stress markers and promote natural, species‑typical behaviours, including foraging and nest building. The intention is that this work may serve as inspiration for how other rodent facilities can implement enrichment rotation and cage‑change routines based on subjective assessment.

Methods
The mice were handled using tunnel handling combined with guiding procedures to ensure voluntary participation and reduce handling‑related stress. A rotation system of different enrichment elements was implemented to increase activation and maintain novelty. In addition, individual assessments were made to determine the need for replacement of cage materials.
Preliminary observations: Initial observations indicate reduced panic behaviour during cage changes, and the mice generally appeared calmer during procedures. A tendency toward reduced aggression and fewer fights was observed during the transition to a clean cage, based on a scoring scheme, which is likely linked to the preservation of familiar, scent‑bearing material. Immediately after cage changes, increased activity and more frequent species typical behaviours were observed.

Conclusion
This conclusion is currently based on observational scoring; quantitative data will be collected in the next phase. Expanded environmental enrichment appears to improve both behavioural and physiological indicators of welfare in laboratory‑housed mice. The implementation of these measures is expected to be an effective strategy for improving animal welfare without negatively affecting the quality of experimental results. The findings support broader use of enriched housing environments in laboratory‑based research.

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Improved identification method on pups for our facility
The legislation on animal research requires that all animals involved in research studies are identifiable. Reliable individual identification is critical for reducing handling errors in laboratory animal research. The most common used technique for identifying mice is ear marking. However, this method is not always suitable for long-term studies therefore chip implantation was added as a compliment besides ear marking. To enable group housing of mice based on genotype, particularly for males, the correct genotype must be determined prior to sexual maturity. From a long-term perspective, for example in larger studies, this can be applied to optimize experimental planning and to reduce the risk of males being single housed.

The objective was to establish and optimize a microchipping protocol for mice, aiming to achieve high chip retention and robust procedural reliability. Initial attempts involved subcutaneous microchip implantation in the flank of two-week-old pups, performed concurrently with ear biopsy. This approach resulted in a high rate of microchip loss. Consequently, the protocol was modified, and microchipping was performed in the dorsal neck region of older mice at three weeks of age.

Between 2024 and 2025, a total of 2 349 mice were microchipped. Prior to protocol optimization, 165 cases of microchip loss were recorded, whereas only seven cases were observed after optimization. These findings demonstrate that microchipping mice at three weeks of age in the dorsal neck region significantly improves chip retention.
Performing chipping at three weeks allows sufficient time for genotyping analysis and cage reorganization of male mice can be done. Optimized protocol provides a practical and effective solution for long-term individual identification of laboratory mice and supports improved animal welfare and experimental accuracy.

Novo Nordisk is committed to accelerating the transition from animal based to human centric research practices in alignment with ethical obligations, regulatory expectations, and scientific innovation. This poster outlines the initiatives and organizational transformations established to embed New Approach Methodologies/ Non Animal Methodologies (NAMs) across R&D at Novo Nordisk.

Central to this effort is a corporate buy-in for the development and implementation of a more human centric approach and the development and use of NAM’s where possible. Complementary initiatives including investment in advanced technologies - such as Microphysiological Systems (MPS) - and participation in international collaborations (e.g., EFPIA, VICT3R, BioCelerate) to drive the development and validation of NAMs, sharing of data, regulatory dialogue, and harmonized scientific standards.

Despite ongoing effort, broad development and implementation of NAMs remains constrained by technological maturity, predictive validity concerns, internal and external capability gaps, and uncertain impact on timelines and regulatory acceptance. Barriers that may be overcome via capability building, prospective validation studies, and proactive regulatory engagement. By combining ethical considerations, scientific rigor, and organizational alignment, Novo Nordisk aims to accelerate the replacement of animal studies with NAMs while safeguarding scientific quality and regulatory compliance. The journey to replace animals in preclinical research will be long, and the roadmap will evolve as the scientific, regulatory, and technological landscape advances.

Background
Aggression among group-housed male mice poses a significant challenge in laboratory animal management and may compromise both animal welfare and scientific outcomes. The occurrence and severity of aggression vary between strains, animal rooms, and over time, and clear causal relationships are often difficult to establish. Previous observations suggest that early behavioural changes—such as altered nest building, enrichment use, or urine marking—may indicate instability and predict future aggression.

Objective
The aim of this project was to develop and implement proactive strategies for early identification and prevention of instability and aggression in group-housed male mice.

Methods
A targeted observational study across multiple animal rooms assessed the prevalence of aggression and potential associations with strain, cage location, and experimental procedures. Animal technicians documented cage setups and early behavioural indicators using shared assessment criteria. Based on these findings, training materials were developed and educational initiatives were implemented, to increase animal technicians’ awareness of aggression-related risk factors and early warning signs. A colour-coded cage-labelling system was introduced to identify groups showing signs of instability and to support systematic monitoring during routine husbandry.

Results
The visual labelling system enabled earlier identification of unstable groups and facilitated more consistent observation and intervention. Structured documentation improved recognition of early behavioural changes and supported evaluation of preventive and reactive measures. The approach also strengthened communication and consistency among staff. Ongoing implementation of a digital animal management system is expected to further enhance longitudinal data collection and analysis.

Conclusion
This proactive, low-cost approach supports early detection and management of aggression, contributes to refinement of husbandry practices, and improves welfare in group-housed male mice. The framework is readily transferable to other animal research facilities and will be presented as a practical implementation model.

The collagen antibody–induced arthritis (CAIA) mouse model is used to study rheumatoid arthritis because it induces arthritis-like joint inflammation and pain. Standard induction involves intravenous administration of antibodies targeting type II collagen, followed by an intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to activate an immune response and synchronize disease onset. However, LPS also induce systemic inflammation and sickness behavior, with a substantial negative impact on animal welfare. Hence, there is a significant need for refinement strategies that improve welfare without compromising model development.

This study investigated whether reducing the LPS dose and providing buprenorphine via voluntary ingestion could be used to limit pain and suffering in these arthritic mice. Arthritis was induced in female BALB/c mice using either standard or reduced LPS doses (25 µg or 10 µg), with or without buprenorphine delivered in nut paste for ingestion (1 mg/kg every 12 hours). Arthritis severity was assessed by paw swelling and redness, while welfare was monitored using a structured welfare protocol and behavioral tests, including the time‑to‑integrate‑to‑nest test (TINT) and activity recordings.

Results showed that lowering the LPS dose and adding buprenorphine reduced the negative welfare impact without altering arthritis onset or severity, supporting the robustness of the model. However, this reduction was not detectable in measures such as TINT, activity, and body weight, which showed limited sensitivity. Future studies should explore further LPS reductions and identify more sensitive welfare indicators to advance refinement efforts. Implementing these refined induction strategies can significantly improve animal welfare in arthritis research while maintaining the validity of experimental outcomes.

Animal experiments need to address the 3R principles, with refinement being one of them. Refinement methods are meant to reduce the animals´ burden during experiments. The realistic benefits provided to the animals by the implemented refinement methods should be judged critically based on the experiences made in practice and consequently adapted, if need be.

The present case report outlines how critical retrospective re-evaluation and adaptation of implemented refinement methods used in an established mouse model of bacterial epididymitis can lead to substantial improvement of both animal welfare and scientific output.

A thorough retrospective analysis for identifying the main experimental stressors of the bacterial epididymitis mouse model was performed. That knowledge was used to critically re-evaluate already existing and to implement new, more promising refinement methods.

Data analysis suggested that the early post-operative phase (first 48h post-infection) and the animal´s health status prior to the surgical intervention were the most important and meaningful phases. By thorough adaptation of the animals to recovery food and analgesia-supplemented drinking water prior to the bacterial infection, by subcutaneous fluid supplementation along the surgical intervention and by offering warmed cage areas during the early post-operative interval, mortality was significantly reduced and post-operative recovery and resilience improved. In accordance, the existing score sheet was re-evaluated and adapted to better represent the stage of burden and hence define more appropriate humane endpoints. Especially the parameter “body weight reduction” that was previously used as a solitary humane endpoint to exclude animals from the experiment, was adjusted to more authentically represent the animals´ prognoses. Simultaneously, the adapted refinement of the pre-, peri- and post-operative care improved the scientific output by reducing inter-individual differences in terms of disease pathogenesis, additionally addressing the 3R principle of reduction. 

Background
Testudines are increasingly being used for comparative research on nociception. They are resourceful models for studying adaptation and the evolution of sensory systems like pain pathways. However, there are limited nociceptive tests applicable while using the animals as experimental models. Accordingly, it is crucial to refine the tests to enhance the welfare of the animals in pain research.

Objectives
This study aimed to refine the formalin and hot plate tests to minimize pain, discomfort, and distress in tortoise model of pain.

Methods
Twenty-four male and female tortoises (Kinixys spekii), weighing 600 – 1000 g were used for the study. In the formalin test, animals received either saline, 10% or 12.5% subcutaneous formalin injection in the right hind paw. For the hot plate test, animals were exposed to 550C, 600C or 63.50C until a behavioural response or a cut-off time of 3 minutes was reached. Behavioural responses were recorded and analysed.

Results
In the formalin test, the mean hind paw withdrawal times were 0.4 ± 1.3 minutes (saline), 7.62 ± 1.16 (10% formalin) and 19.3 ± 0.4 minutes (12.5% formalin) with other behavioural responses such as urination, defecation and vocalization observed. In the hot plate test, the mean time latency to expressing pain behaviour in the 550C, 600C or 63.50C treatment groups was 2.78 ± 0.42, 1.58 ± 0.32 and 1.12 ± 0.30 minutes, respectively.  

Conclusion
10% formalin concentration is effective for pain assessment, with minimal distress in the Speke’s hinge back tortoise. In the hot plate test, 600C is suitable for pain assessment, with minimal risk of thermal injury. Further research on behavioural responses, such as vocalization, as alternative bioassays for tortoises pain assessment is recommended.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Makau, C. M., Towett, P. K., Kanui, T. I., & Abelson, K. S. (2023). Antinociceptive effects of nortriptyline and desipramine hydrochloride in Speke's hinge‐back tortoise (Kinixys Spekii). Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology, 37(3), 567-576.

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): Makau, C. M., Towett, P. K., Abelson, K. S. P., & Kanui, T. I. (2017). Modulation of formalin‐induced pain‐related behaviour by clonidine and yohimbine in the Speke's hinged tortoise (Kiniskys spekii). Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 40(5), 439-446.

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Background
Postoperative recovery in sheep is associated with specific risks related to their ruminant physiology. Prolonged recumbency following general anaesthesia may lead to gastrointestinal complications such as ruminal stasis and bloat. Furthermore, compromised balance and coordination during recovery increases the risk of traumatic injury associated with premature attempts to stand. Optimization of recovery procedures is therefore essential to improve animal welfare and postoperative outcomes.

Objective
The aim of this work was to refine and evaluate a postoperative recovery method designed to reduce recumbency time, minimize stress, and improve physical stability in sheep following anaesthesia.

Methods
A refined recovery protocol was implemented at the Department of Experimental Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, using a purpose-built lifting device. Following anaesthesia, sheep were positioned and, when required, suspended by the lift, which provided stable physical support in a physiological posture while allowing assisted weight bearing. This system enabled animals to be placed in standing position at an earlier stage of recovery than would be possible based solely on the return of balance and coordination.

Results
Observational assessment indicated that the use of the lifting device reduces the risk for complications associated with prolonged recumbency. The method promoted a smoother recovery by improving postural stability and controlled weight bearing, thereby reducing the risk of trauma during the recovery.

Conclusion
The lifting device is a reliable and effective tool for postoperative recovery in sheep and is routinely used in chronic studies at University of Gothenburg. No major disadvantages were identified; however, the method is not applied when the surgical site is incompatible with the device’s contact points. This approach represents a significant improvement in postoperative care and animal welfare in sheep.

Acclimatization to new housing and experimental conditions is essential in mouse studies to minimize stress related confounding effects. However, there is no general consensus on the duration required to achieve stable physiological readouts, as acclimatization depends on multiple factors including facility conditions, experimental setup, prior procedures, and animal handling.

In this study, we investigated the acclimatization process in an indirect calorimetry system with the aim of determining the time required to obtain stable metabolic measurements. Because total daily energy expenditure is strongly influenced by ambient temperature, we examined whether housing at thermoneutrality at 30°C compared to standard housing at 23°C affects acclimatization dynamics. Male and female C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice aged 15 to 16 weeks were continuously housed in the indirect calorimetry system for 14 days. During the first 7 days, animals were maintained at either 23°C or 30°C, followed by a temperature switch to the alternate condition for the remaining 7 days.

Preliminary results indicate that mice adapted to changes in housing temperature from 23°C to 30°C and from 30°C to 23°C within one day. In addition, metabolic parameters stabilized within less than two days after initial placement in the indirect calorimetry system. These findings suggest that a short acclimatization period is sufficient to obtain reliable metabolic data, enabling higher experimental throughput without compromising animal welfare.

Today’s research teams conducting in vivo studies face significant challenges regarding reproducibility, time constraints, and an ever-changing financial landscape.

When we add goals for animal welfare and the 3Rs, how do we strike the right balance?

Join our workshop to learn about innovative approaches to optimise mouse colony management, including:

Assisted Reproductive Technologies to improve efficiency, genetic stability, and timelines; fully supporting the principles of the 3Rs

Non-invasive and embryo-based genotyping methods that promote welfare & reduce animal numbers

Digital tools and technologies to improve data management and animal identification while reducing errors impacting reproducibility

Routine health notifications recorded during daily husbandry rounds are essential for monitoring laboratory rodent welfare and alerting researchers and veterinarians to emerging clinical signs. However, the patterns and specific drivers of these notifications remain poorly characterized. Although exploratory analyses suggested associations between genetic status and notification frequency, a comprehensive understanding requires multifactorial modeling. This study aims to evaluate whether routine notifications can serve as a robust, data-driven welfare surveillance tool by identifying biological, environmental, and facility-level determinants of health notifications.

Health notification records from 2019 to 2024 were retrospectively extracted from the institutional electronic record-keeping system ELLI. Notifications are classified into four alert tiers (+, 120 h; ++, 72 h; +++, 24 h; Emergency, 4 h). Multivariate analyses are in progress incorporating species (mice and rats), genetic status (genetically modified, GM; GS1: non-GM; GS2: GM without harmful phenotype; GS3: GM with possible harmful phenotype), age, sex, strain or stock (including C57BL/6, BALB/c, FVB, Nude or SCID mice, and Hsd:SD and Lewis rats), environmental parameters (temperature and relative humidity), and facility-level effects.

The dataset comprises approximately 197,000 rodents and 11,000 health notifications, with 5.1% of animals experiencing one or more notifications. Preliminary findings indicate significantly higher notification rates in GM rodents compared with non-GM animals, notably including those without documented harmful phenotypes. Most notifications were + (54.4%), followed by ++ (13.4%) and +++ (16.7%); Emergency accounted for 3.2%. Skin, ocular, and fur-related symptoms were the most frequently reported, comprising approximately 55% of all cases. Ongoing analyses aim to determine whether these patterns persist after adjusting for covariates and to identify high-risk populations, such as specific sex–strain combinations.

This longitudinal analysis provides a robust framework for interpreting routine notifications as meaningful welfare indicators. The results are expected to inform targeted monitoring strategies and facilitate earlier detection of emerging clinical concerns.

Animal models have increased our mechanistic understanding of brain development at tissue and cellular levels, but clinical translation is often uncertain. Detrimental effects of birth complications on infant neurodevelopment have been studied over 50 years, including using piglet models, but many questions remain and effective treatments are absent. This translational gap highlights the limitations of current animal models, but also raises more profound questions about how we navigate personal and communal uncertainties, commitments, trust and hope in experimental brain research. Using examples from piglet models of brain development, we argue that faith and beliefs in animal models are critical components (but often forgotten or neglected), underlying the uncertainties inherent in translational biomedicine. We distinguish here between faith, (subjective, existential commitments and worldview assumptions that may or may not involve religious inspiration) and beliefs (based partly on rational judgements and uncertainties). We propose a science-faith-belief conceptual framework that helps researchers navigate both scientific and existential uncertainties in translational brain research. This may support research design, results interpretation and the process towards translation to human infants. Equally important, our framework may stimulate personal commitment, trust, hope and meaning of researchers when encountering methodological and existential uncertainties in theory and practice. A synergistic science-faith attitude in translational brain research may foster a more humble, creative and persistent research practice. In publications, the value of objective scientific data from experiments may be combined with more subjective, uncertain faith commitments, to shape how results are translated to infants with birth-related brain damage.

Rodent models of spinal cord injury (SCI) are classified as severe and thus inflict a considerable and long-lasting burden on the animal subjects used. Hence, refinement of the procedure is essential while still ensuring the scientific validity of the model. Despite an increasing number of studies advocating for the use of both sexes within research protocols, male rats have been sparsely used due to difficulties of micturition with high morbidity in this model. To address the imbalance between males and females in this model, we investigated sex-related welfare outcomes and overall model performance of a thoracic SCI rat model to identify potential refinement strategies.

Adult male and female Wistar rats underwent laminectomy (conventional or dental burr-assisted) followed by a contusion spinal cord injury (SCI) at the thoracic level. Welfare implications were assessed by clinical parameters, weight gain, Rat Grimace Scale (RGS) scoring, faecal corticosterone metabolites, and locomotor recovery. Furthermore, histopathological examination of spinal cords and urinary bladders was performed after 28 days.

In male rats, serious welfare issues such as urinary dysfunction, evidence of pain and/or stress, poor body condition, and delays in recovery were observed post-surgery, despite refinement efforts. The dental burr-assisted laminectomy produced some benefit from an injury perspective, but no conclusive evidence of improvement in the males' post-injury welfare. Consequently, a large number of male animals reached the humane endpoint and were euthanised prematurely. Female rats generally recovered better in terms of locomotor function and welfare parameters. Histopathology demonstrated sex-related differences in secondary bladder pathology, as expected, but also in spinal cord lesion characteristics. This indicates potential sex-related differences in the etiology of spinal cord injuries, which calls for further investigation. To allow this, however, further refinement strategies must be developed in order to reduce the welfare burden in male rats.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Stewart, A.N., MacLean, S.M., Stromberg, A.J., Whelan, J.P., Bailey, W.M. and Gensel, J.C. (2020) ‘Considerations for studying sex as a biological variable in spinal cord injury’, Frontiers in Neurology, 11, p. 802.

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): Harikrishnan, V. S., Palekkodan, H., Fasaludeen, A., Krishnan, L. K., & Abelson, K. S. P. (2021). Refinement of the spinal cord injury rat model and validation of its applicability as a model for memory loss and chronic pain. Heliyon, 7(7), e07500.

Background
Animal welfare assessment is core to in vivo research and required by EU Directive 2010/63/EU, Swedish law, and AAALAC. In routine work, applying these requirements consistently can be difficult, leading to variation across studies. We introduced a standardized, study‑specific Animal Welfare Monitoring (AWM) approach embedded in every ethically approved protocol.

Objective
To implement a single AWM framework that ensures consistent, traceable welfare oversight, and to explore supportive digital tools that streamline documentation without replacing professional judgment.

Methods
AWM specifies how and when welfare is assessed, anticipated findings, humane endpoints, and weighing schedules where relevant. Technicians follow clear guidance with predefined escalation to veterinarians. In parallel, we are exploring different AI‑enabled tools focused on facilitating record keeping, improving completeness and timeliness of welfare records.

Results
Implementation has reduced documentation gaps and strengthened traceability and audit readiness, with more consistent welfare assessments across studies. Implementation emphasized clarity of roles, timely escalation to veterinarians, and alignment with regulatory expectations, supporting a more reliable and auditable process.

Conclusion
A standardized AWM workflow, complemented by practical, transparent documentation support, aligns practice with legislation and accreditation, strengthens scientific robustness, and supports a culture of care. The approach is repeatable and auditable, reducing variability and promoting continuous improvement in animal care and data quality.

This presentation evaluates the critical role of sterilization methods in maintaining high-standard stabling conditions within research centers, specifically focusing on the comparative performance of saturated steam (autoclaving) and dry heat. Saturated steam is established as an exceptionally effective method for achieving total microbial lethality, including the elimination of highly resistant spores, typically within 20/30-minute cycles at 121°C.

While dry heat sterilization remains a proven solution for moisture-sensitive materials or specific metal instruments where corrosion must be avoided, steam sterilization offers a superior operational versatility that is essential for modern vivarium management. Unlike specialized heat ovens, a single steam autoclave can effectively process a diverse range of laboratory materials beyond cages, such as animal bedding, water bottles, feed, textiles, and surgical instruments. This multi-functional capability is particularly vital in biocontainment environments (BSL-3/BSL-4), where the technology is uniquely designed to sterilize all outgoing materials, including effluents and contaminated solids, ensuring total environmental safety.

From a regulatory and quality assurance perspective, steam sterilization provides a robust framework for validation. Compliance with robust international standards, such as EN ISO 17665 'Requirements for the development, validation and routine control of a sterilization process', ensures that processes are consistently reproducible and scientifically verified. Furthermore, modern steam systems provide essential data integrity, traceability, and audit trails for electronic records. By prioritizing steam sterilization, facilities achieve an optimal balance between rapid throughput, environmental safety, and strict alignment with global biosafety regulations, ultimately safeguarding both the research integrity and public health.

Since the end of the 1970’s, the Panum Institute has housed the central animal facilities for the Faculty of Health Sciences and Copenhagen University Hospital. Although ongoing development of the centralized animal care and use program has taken place throughout the years, it currently faces worn-down buildings and inefficient workflows. For this reason, a development program was started to transform the central animal facilities into an Animal Core Facility as part of the Center for Core Facilities at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH). Apart from reorganization into a core facility, renovation of buildings and digitalization of management are the key elements of the project. This presentation will touch upon the background of the program, the animal facility as a core facility, renovation plans and digitalization of the management of an animal core facility. 
   

Carotid artery (CA) catheterization in mice is a widely used technique for repeated blood sampling and physiological measurements. Current recommendations advise advancing the catheter tip approximately 0.5 mm into the aortic arch. These guidelines originate from an era when polyethylene (PE) tubing was the standard catheter material; due to its rigidity, excessive insertion depth was associated with acute vascular injury and fatal rupture of the aortic arch. The introduction of softer polyurethane (PU) catheters has largely eliminated such acute complications, enabled longer experimental protocols and improved surgical recovery.

However, in a recent long-term study requiring CA catheterization for at least five weeks, we observed a high incidence of late-onset vascular complications. From three weeks post-surgery onward, more than 30% of the catheterized mice developed extensive aortic aneurysms, leading to premature humane endpoints. Detailed post-mortem examinations combined with analysis of in vivo ultrasound imaging revealed that aneurysm formation was associated with prolonged contact between the catheter tip and the aortic wall. While the PU catheters did not induce acute injury, the sustained mechanical interaction over time appeared to progressively compromise the structural integrity of the aortic wall.

To address this issue, we refined the surgical technique by increasing the insertion depth and positioning the catheter tip centrally within the ascending aorta, away from the vessel wall. This modification resolved the formation of aneurysms and associated complications and allowed successful completion of the five-week blood sampling protocol.

These findings demonstrate that long-term vascular complications can arise despite the use of softer catheter materials and highlight the critical importance of catheter tip positioning. Our work has important implications for animal welfare and refinement of long-term catheterization protocols and provides evidence supporting an adjustment of the best-practice recommendations for the use of PU catheters in mice.

Blood glucose is one of the most essential parameters in metabolic research. Yet, accurate blood glucose monitoring in mouse models of diabetes is challenging due to the substantial stress associated with the measurements and the variability in diabetes development among experimental mouse models. This variability requires frequent blood glucose measurements, which only provide intermittent data and may not accurately reflect continuous metabolic changes. 

To address these issues, we have utilized the Tecniplast DVC® system to monitor bedding moisture, enabling the detection of increased urination (polyuria) in mice, a primary symptom of diabetes. Polyuria is a hallmark of (undiagnosed/untreated) diabetes, and we revealed high correlations between bedding moisture and blood glucose during hyperglycemia. Thus, our developed algorithm enhances animal welfare by reducing the need for invasive blood glucose tests and enabling non-invasive, continuous assessment of hyperglycemia onset, progression, and severity directly within the mice's home cage. Continuous monitoring of polyuria allows detailed analysis of temporal and circadian urination patterns and enables assessment of the efficacy of glucose-lowering interventions, which is critical in developing new pharmacological treatments. We propose that this innovative approach of a novel digital biomarker, the Urination Index (UI), offers a substantial advance in the methodology for diabetes research in mouse models, improves animal welfare by reducing the need for invasive blood glucose tests, and enhances the reliability of data and the quality of life for the animals involved.

A main concern repeatedly raised by the general public relates to the housing conditions of laboratory rodents. Although in line with minimal standards given by legislation, standard rat housing conditions do not fully meet the species-specific needs of these animals. Therefore, laboratory rats often face monotony to limited space and stimulation. Due to the small cage size, playing and chasing behavior can be rarely observed but signs of boredom or even apathy instead.

So far, most efforts have focused on providing taller multi-level cage designs (often rabbit cages), however, with the drawback of not being compatible with standard rodent housing and cage processing regimes. To address this issue, we developed a 3D-printed cage connector system that enables the modular (inter)linking of standard rat cages. The implementation of this connector system resulted in the housing of larger group sizes with an increased total available space per animal. In addition, it allowed us to use a variety of enrichment configurations including diverse elements like hammocks, hemp ropes, nesting and burrowing materials, gnawing items, cognitive challenges and different shelters, providing the animals with a larger variety of options for exploration and social interaction. For the first time we observed playing and chasing behavior in our 6 – 12 weeks old male and female Wistar and Sprague Dawley rats and the rats appeared to be more curious and less cautious.

To integrate this system into our regular housing structure, we designed it (connectors as well as enrichment materials) in way to ensure full compatibility with existing hygienic and procedural standards in our experimental housing facility (all items are washable and autoclavable). With our system we demonstrate that refined housing conditions can be successfully implemented within standard infrastructure while offering substantial welfare benefits for laboratory rats.

The Scand-LAS Visitors Programme aims to enhance the professional development of animal technicians across the main Scand-LAS countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden) through short-term internships at host institutions with relevant expertise. The programme enables technicians to strengthen hands-on skills in specific species, procedures, or general handling by participating in ongoing work at the host facility. The initiative is based on a successful pilot visit in 2023, where both the visiting technician and the host institution reported strong benefits. A subsequent poll at a Scand-LAS conference indicated high member-interest in such a programme. The program includes financial support of up to €750 per participant, and aims to support one participant per country annually.

Metabolic cages (MCs) are often used to collect feces and urine samples. However, the housing of mice in MCs can be stressful, potentially affecting parameters of interest. We compared our standard protocol for individual MC housing (4 days at 23°C: 3 days of permanent acclimatization followed by 24h sampling (MC23)) with a short-term intermittent acclimatization protocol (3h of MC housing for 3 days plus 24h sampling (accMC23)), the provision of a nest (4 days at 23°C in MC (nest-MC23)) and MC housing at thermoneutrality (4 days at 30°C, MC30)). C57BL6/N mice were implanted with telemetric transmitters to collect ECG, blood pressure, core body temperature and activity data. Single-housed mice in the MC at 23°C had lower core body temperatures and higher heart and respiratory rates than mice in the MC30 group. Mice housed in MCs at 23°C exhibited increased food consumption and weight loss, combined with significantly increased expression of mRNAs of key molecules in brown fat compared to mice housed in MCs at 30°C. They also showed increased corticosterone levels. Some male mice of the MC23 and accMC23 groups exhibited episodes of reduced core body temperature, and reduced blood pressure and heart rate. Our study demonstrates that housing mice in MCs at 23°C has a substantial impact on their physiology and welfare due to a substantial cold stress. MC housing at thermoneutrality (30°C) provides a simple solution to improve mouse welfare. Furthermore, the results showed that a single acclimatization period had the same effect as repeated exposure to the MCs, and therefore provided no additional benefit.

Reliable welfare assessment is essential for ethical and reproducible research, particularly in high-severity disease models with varying animal burden. However, assessing welfare at the level of the individual animal remains challenging, as no single parameter reliably reflects stress and wellbeing across contexts [1]. Case-based analyses of trained behaviours therefore offer a valuable complementary approach [2].

This pilot study investigated whether performance in trained behavioural tasks can serve as non-invasive indicators of stress and wellbeing in a rat model of diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular carcinoma. Six male Wistar rats were trained prior to tumour induction to perform two tasks – lockbox solving and scale climbing – allowing repeated behavioural assessment throughout disease progression. Hepatocellular carcinoma was induced via diethylnitrosamine supplementation in drinking water for up to 122 days. Task performance was recorded daily as time to completion (maximum 60 seconds; trials exceeding this limit recorded as ‘time over’) and evaluated alongside physiological indicators, including hair corticosterone and testosterone, salivary corticosterone and immunoglobulin A (IgA), body weight, and clinical observations. Selected findings are presented as case reports supporting individual-level welfare assessment.

One case showed a pronounced decline in task performance during the terminal phase, coinciding with clinical signs of respiratory disease, elevated Grimace Scale scores, and clinical deterioration, while salivary biomarkers and body weight displayed limited change.

In contrast, two animals with early tumour development exhibited elevated hair steroid concentrations, extreme IgA values, and persistently impaired lockbox-solving performance, whereas scale-climbing performance remained largely unaffected, suggesting task-specific sensitivity to distress.

Overall, these case reports demonstrate that trained behavioural tasks can reveal individual welfare alterations that are not consistently detected by physiological or clinical parameters alone. Incorporating trained behavioural assessment supports refinement, strengthens individualised welfare monitoring, and supports the core objectives of laboratory animal science, the 3R principles, and an institutional culture of care.

Reference 1 (Max 50 words): Babington, S., et al., Finding biomarkers of experience in animals. J Anim Sci Biotechnol, 2024. 15(1): p. 28.

Reference 2 (Max 50 words): 2. Wemelsfelder, F. and S. Mullan, Applying ethological and health indicators to practical animal welfare assessment. Rev Sci Tech, 2014. 33(1): p. 111–120.

Preclinical behavioural research increasingly relies on AI generated insights to reduce observer bias and improve reproducibility. However, the validity of such AI models depends heavily on the alignment, quality and consistency of behavior definitions. The iMouse Community is a group of researchers, veterinarians, and technologists who aim co-development and validation of standardised mouse behaviours for machine learning and to validate AI-driven reports. Our effort will build the foundation for robust, interpretable analyses across use cases.

By aligning behavioural definitions and fostering open, iterative validation across datasets and institutions, the iMouse Community ensures that machine learning models capture biologically relevant patterns rather than lab- or observer-specific artefacts. The community-driven approach accelerates development while supporting increased data density as well as ethical refinement (3Rs) through better detection of stress, welfare changes, and disease-specific phenotypes.

Here we showcase the community’s structure, methodology, and examples of AI model development and validation to show the possibilities and motivate you to establish your own case.

Optimizing Bedding Deprivation Protocols for Experimental Procedures using Göttingen Minipigs with permanent Intestinal-Port.

Objective
To optimize bedding-deprivation protocols for female miniature pigs (18–22 kg) used in intestinal port implantation and subsequent intestinal dosing studies, aiming to improve welfare and natural behaviours while meeting procedural requirements.

Methods
Pigs undergo ~4 weeks of acclimatization with intensive socialization and training, including introduction to varied rewards (raisins, apple pieces, yoghurt, juice) to facilitate restrain/force free handling. After acclimatization, a central venous catheter is implanted, followed by a surgically implanted intestinal port in the small intestine ~2 weeks later. For both port implantation and intestinal dosing procedures, pigs are bedding-deprived for at least 48 hours (and up to 2–7 days for some study protocols) and provided a liquid diet (Yoghurt, juice, protein drink) divided into two daily feeds, matched for caloric content to their regular diet. Boxes are cleaned and all bedding removed and different types of enrichment are provided to promote foraging behavior and exercise; pigs receive a mattress placed under a shelter. Environmental enrichment during deprivation includes canvas cloths for nesting, an overhead Porci chew, existing toys (chains, balls, plastic chew bones, foraging balls), and, where permitted, suspended feed containers with holes.

Results
Prior to enhanced enrichment, bedding-deprived pigs exhibited reduced activity, increased vocalization and frustration, and spent more time inactive on concrete floors. Implementation of expanded enrichment, resulted in increased daytime activity, more natural feeding behavior (prolonged manipulation of feed containers), greater social vocalizations, and improved resting behavior (huddling on mattresses rather than lying on concrete).
Conclusion: Enhanced, targeted enrichment during bedding deprivation appears to improve welfare indicators and natural behaviors in miniature pigs undergoing perioperative and intestinal-dosing procedures. These refinements may enhance data quality and ethical standards in experimental protocols involving intestinal ports

Background
At Novo Nordisk, our animal care team implemented a structured environmental enrichment program for laboratory rabbits with the aim of increasing voluntary activity, reducing stress, and promoting natural behavior.

Methods
Rabbits are group housed in platform cages lifted from the floor with plexiglass sides going to the ceiling with a maximum of six rabbits per cage. Standard housing included chewing items, and different types of hides and shelters, Diet comprised two types of hay  provided daily in hay racks, adequate ration of rabbit pellets, and fresh greens added three times weekly. Additional food enrichment and treats are provided on a 4-week rotation schedule to maintain novelty. During cage cleaning, rabbits were encouraged to move into a mobile ‘‘rabbit hotel’’ offering shelters, hay, and treats to minimize disturbance. Handling protocols prioritized low-stress techniques for weighing and transfer.

Results
The multi-modal program fostered calmer animals that approached caregivers during feeding and handling. Voluntary use of familiar transport boxes for weighing increased, reducing manual restraint. Rotation of enrichment maintained interest and engagement. Dietary adjustments—providing two types of hay and reducing pellet quantities—were associated with decreased tendencies toward obesity, with rabbits using more cage space for foraging and movement.

Conclusion
A structured, rotating enrichment and feeding strategy combined with low-disturbance husbandry and in-situ ‘‘rabbit hotel’’ procedures can enhance rabbit welfare in a laboratory setting. These practical measures promote natural behaviors, reduce stress during routine procedures, and may contribute to healthier body condition, supporting both welfare and scientific quality.

Accurate pain recognition is of utmost importance to ensure good animal welfare. We cannot treat pain that we are not aware of, and unrecognized pain causes unnecessary suffering as well as compromising the ethical foundation of animal research. This foundation rests on our responsibility to minimize pain and discomfort for the animals we choose to work with.

The Rat Grimace Scale (RGS) has been introduced as a simple method for detecting pain by studying rats’ facial expressions. It was developed for assessing acute pain within the first 48 hours after its onset. If pain persists for a long time, however, an individual adapts their behavior and signs of pain may become more difficult to recognize. Therefore, it is concerning that the RGS is often used for far longer periods, and for types of pain that it was not originally validated for. This raises an important question: Is there a risk that treatable pain in our laboratory rats may go unnoticed?

We have systematically assessed how and when the RGS is used in both preclinical pain research and for studies of laboratory animal welfare. To shed light on how long the RGS is reliable for detecting pain, we compared its performance to other methods for measuring pain. Through this method we assessed how long the RGS outcome is consistent with other pain assays.

These findings can be used to guide the practical application of the Rat Grimace Scale. Knowing when it can be relied upon allows for more accurate welfare monitoring and the ability to apply interventions for treating pain, when needed. In the end, we hope that our findings will be used to diminish prolonged distress while supporting ethical standards across preclinical protocols that may cause pain.