In December 2005, the UK-based Laboratory Animal Science Association (LASA), and the Animal Procedures Committee (APC), completed a pilot study to “assess the feasibility of collecting and reporting data on the sesverity of adverse effects caused to animals used in procedures regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ref. 1).”

If the group's recommendations are implemented, UK investigators will be required to provide retrospective reports detailing the severity of pain and distress experienced by their laboratory animals. This information could be published in annual reports and used to refine future experiments.

The working group developed an intensity-duration severity grid, in which the two parameters are considered independently. They found that the grid system “works well with procedures that have relatively simple severity profiles but again is less successful in providing a meaningful reflection of severity in more complex, longer-term procedures1.” Therefore, they went on to propose the use of a two-grid system that describes both the maximum severity and the severity over the remainder of the procedure.

The working group is proposing to extend their work to accomplish the following:

  • “[C]onsider simplification of the proposed reporting scheme;

  • “[A]ssess its appropriateness across a wider range of establishments;

  • “[E]valuate the consistency of response to the scoring system;

  • “[I]dentify a process for developing a glossary of severity codes for a range of protocols and outcomes;

  • “[C]larify a number of unresolved issues in the application of the coding scheme;

  • “[C]onduct a detailed impact assessment; and

  • “[A]ssess the value of the scheme in generating data that can assist public understanding of the severity of effects caused to animals used in regulated scientific procedures1.”