The Role of Behavioral Management in Enhancing Clinical Care and Efficiency, Minimizing Social Disruption, and Promoting Welfare in Captive Primates

Abstract

Medical procedures necessary for routine care can induce stress in both the veterinary and human clinical situations. In the research environment, nonhuman primates undergo procedures like physical examination, blood sampling, and intravenous drug or fluid administration either as a part of routine veterinary care or during the modeling of clinical disease and interventions under study. Behavioral management techniques, such as training for cooperation, allow caregivers to train primates to voluntarily engage in various medical procedures. This approach reduces stress and anxiety associated with necessary procedures, thereby enhancing efficiency and minimizing the invasiveness of medical care. Consequently, veterinary evaluation and care can be provided without compromise, resulting in enhanced clinical outcomes and overall better health. In this study, we explored the impact of the behavioral management program implemented at our center on a subset of animals undergoing routine veterinary care, focusing on the overall experience, including animal welfare, scientific rigor, and efficiency in terms of economics and time. We investigated its impact on key factors, such as the total procedure and recovery time, incidence of side effects, and welfare indicators, revealing a significant positive influence on animal care. Furthermore, through case studies, we illustrate how behavioral management facilitates timely medical care and monitoring, effectively mitigating stressors that could otherwise impair health and welfare, enabling the provision of care that would have otherwise been unachievable. A thoughtfully designed primate behavioral management program, integrating cooperation and participation with veterinary care, forms the cornerstone of superior animal welfare, enhanced clinical care, and more accurate scientific outcomes.

Keywords: behavioral management; clinical care; nonhuman primate; training; welfare.

Figure 1

Illustration displaying the process of blood collection from participatory and sedated sampled NHPs. (A) Demonstrates the process of cooperative, participatory blood sampling from NHPs with VAPs. (B) Demonstrates the process of blood sampling from sedated NHPs. The vertical dotted line marks the completion of sample acquisition during handling and blood collection, indicating the “total sampling time” measured for both participatory and sedated NHPs.

Figure 2

Total sampling time of blood collection for a complete blood count and blood chemistry from participatory sampled macaques compared to sedated sampled macaques. The total sampling time of blood collection from sedated animals was significantly longer than that from participatory animals (p < 0.0001). Lines represent standard deviation, **** = p < 0.0001.

Figure 3

Total sampling time and time to return to normal activity. Blood collection for a complete blood count and blood chemistry compared between participatory and sedated NHPs. The total time of blood collection and return to normal activity for sedated animals was significantly longer than that for participatory sampled animals (p < 0.0001). Lines represent standard deviation, **** = p < 0.0001.

Figure 4

Frequency of side effects related to blood collection of sedated and participatory NHPs.

Figure 5

Illustration depicting the difference in burden between animals trained for cooperative IV access compared to those requiring sedation. Blood sampling and drug administration are crucial procedures in NHPs used for translational research applications in our program. In 2023, IV access was performed 1223 times. We used this programmatic scale to extrapolate the broad impact of refined techniques on the program efficiency and animal burden, based on the average times for participatory and sedated IV observed in this study. Based on these data, if animals are involved in their own care, the total time burden for IV access and sample acquisition is 116 h, with no recovery of loss of social opportunity. In contrast, for sedated animals, the total time burden for IV access and sample acquisition is 287 h, which increases to 5699 h when including both sampling and recovery. Our behavioral management program ensures that NHPs are trained to actively participate in their medical care, significantly reducing the time animals are engaged with or affected by medical procedures by nearly 50-fold.