Humane endpoints can become relevant when moral, scientific or legal considerations have to be taken into account.
- Moral considerations:
- the laboratory animal is experiencing more pain, suffering, or chronic distress than can be justified;
- the animal is no longer able to perform important activities and behaviors due to pain or distressDistress Veelgebruikte Engelse term. Bedoeld wordt een nadelige situatie waarin het dier niet meer in staat is om zich biologisch succesvol aan te passen aan de stressoren waaraan hij wordt blootgesteld. Distress is aan de orde wanneer de stress zo heftig of langdurig is, dat er aanzienlijke veranderingen in de biologische functies noodzakelijk zijn om te kunnen overleven..
- Scientific considerations:
- the scientific objectives of the experiment have been met and keeping the animal in experiment has no additional value to the results of the study, or may even interfere with the results;
- it is clear that the objectives of the experiment cannot be met;
- keeping the animal alive may lead to loss of data (for instance, when the animal dies in the cage it may be autolytic when going for pathology or it may be cannibalized by cage mates).
- Legal considerations:
- ‘Member States shall ensure refinement of breeding, accommodation and care, and of methods used in procedures, eliminating or reducing to the minimum any possible pain, sufferingSuffering A negative emotional state which derives from adverse physical, physiological and psychological circumstances, in accordance with the cognitive capacity of the species and of the individual being, and its life experience., distress or lasting harm to the animals’ (Council Directive 2010/63/EU, art.4.3.);
- ‘Death as an endpoint to a procedure shall be avoided as far as possible and replaced by earlier and humane endpoints. Where death as the endpoint is unavoidable, the procedure shall be designed so as to:
- result in the death of as few animals as possible; and
- reduce the duration and intensity of suffering to the animals to the minimum possible and, as far as possible, ensure a painless death‘ (Council Directive 2010-63-EU, art.13.3).
