RESEARCH Open Access
Wo king wi h labo a o y oden s in Spain: a
su ey on wel a e and wellbeing
Ola z Goñi-Balen ziaga
1
, I án O ega-Saez
2
, Se gi Vila
2
and Ga ikoi z Azkona
3*
Abs ac
Backg ound: Replacemen , educ ion and e inemen , he 3R p inciples, p o ide a amewo k o minimize he use
and su e ing o animals in science. In his con ex , we aimed o de e mine he ac ual pe cep ion ha indi iduals
wo king wi h labo a o y oden s in biomedical esea ch ha e on animal wel a e and on hei in e ac ion wi h he
animals, as well as how hey pe cei e i s impac on hei social ela ions. To his end, we designed an anonymous
on-line su ey o people wo king wi h oden s, a h ee esponsibili y le els, in Spain.
Resul s: O he 356 pa icipan s, 239 we e women (67 %); 263 we e esea che s (74 %), and 93 animal acili y s a (26 %), o
which 55 we e ca e ake s/ echnicians (15 %), and 38 wel a e o ice / e e ina ians (11 %). Animal acili y s a indica ed
en i onmen al en ichmen o be a uni e salp ac ice.Abou hal o hepa icipan s epo ed ha , in hei opinion, animals
su e “li le o none”o “mino ”s ess and pain. Animal ca e ake s/ echnicians and esea che s pe cei ed highe le els o
s ess and pain han wel a e o ice s/ e e ina ians. Pa icipan s judged decapi a ion he mos unpleasan me hod o kill
oden s, whe eas anaes he ic o e dose was he leas one. A sizable p opo ion −21 % o animal ca e ake s/ echnicians and
11.4 % o esea che s - s a ed ha hey we e ne e gi en he choice no o eu hanize he oden s hey wo k wi h. O e all,
women epo ed highe in e ac ions wi h animals han men. Ne e heless, we could de ec a signi ican co ela ion be ween
ime spen wi h he animals and in e ac ion sco es. No ably, 80 % o animal acili y s a and 92 % o esea che s a ely alked
abou hei wo k wi h labo a o y oden s wi h people ou side hei inne social ci cle.
Conclusions: O e all, he pa icipan s showed high awa eness and sensi i i y o oden wellbeing; animal acili y s a
epo ed a simila pe cep ion on wel a e ques ions, independen ly o hei ca ego y, while esea che s, who spen less ime
wi h he animals, showed less awa eness and mani es ed lowe human-animal in e ac ion and less social suppo . Rega ding
he pe cep ion on social accep ance o labo a o y animal wo k, all g oups we e cau ious and a ely alked abou hei job,
sugges ing ha i is conside ed a sensi i e issue in Spain.
Keywo ds: En i onmen al en ichmen , Analgesia, Anes hesia, Eu hanasia, Human-animal in e ac ion, Social suppo ,
Labo a o y oden
Backg ound
The Animal Wel a e Commi ee es ablished he i e ee-
doms as gene al indica o s o animal wel a e. These ee-
doms e e o he ac ha all animals mus be kep ee
om hunge and hi s , om discom o , om pain, in-
ju y o disease, ee o exp ess he na u al beha io s o
he species, and om ea o su e ing [1]. Un o una ely,
scien i ic esea ch di ec ly a ec s each o hem. Tha is
why one impo an challenge o biomedical esea ch is
o y o educe he ension be ween he po en ial bene-
i o scien i ic esul s and he wel a e o he animals
used. Eu opean (Di ec i e 2010/63/UE) and Spanish leg-
isla ions (RD53/2013) a e based on eplacemen , educ-
ion and e inemen (3Rs). These p inciples s a e ha i
animals ha e o be used in expe imen s, esea che s
should made e e y e o o eplace hem wi h non-
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* Co espondence: [email p o ec ed]
3
Depa men o Basic Psychological P ocesses and hei De elopmen , Euskal
He iko Unibe si a ea (UPV/EHU), Donos ia, Spain
Full lis o au ho in o ma ion is a ailable a he end o he a icle
L
abo a o y Animal Resea c
h
Goñi-Balen ziaga e al. Labo a o y Animal Resea ch (2021) 37:18
h ps://doi.o g/10.1186/s42826-021-00098-w
sen ien al e na i es, o educe hem o a minimum, and
o e ine expe imen s and housing condi ions causing
he minimum pain o dis ess [2].
Resea ch animals can expe ience dis ess due o poo
husband y, handling echniques, ine ec i e eu hanasia
me hods, o as an una oidable consequence o he p o-
cedu e employed, o example, un elie ed pain in an ex-
pe imen designed o es he e ec i eness o a pain-
killing d ug [2,3]. E o s o e ine and op imize he ca e
and use o animals in esea ch ha e been ongoing o
many yea s and ha e led o gene al s anda diza ion o
oden models, pa icula ly wi h ega d o animal hous-
ing, gene ics, and heal h s a us. Concu en ly, di e en
ecommenda ions ha e been published wi h he in en
o p omo ing gene al animal wellbeing h ough he en-
ichmen o hei home cage en i onmen [4–7]. In he
same way, guides o labo a o y oden analgesia and
anes hesia a e eadily a ailable [8]. Al hough i has been
epo ed ha cu en scien i ic li e a u e does no p o-
ide su icien de ails on his ega d [9], an inc ease in
he epo ed adminis a ion o analgesia and anes hesia
o labo a o y oden s unde going su gical p ocedu es
was obse ed in he pas decade [10,11]. In line wi h
his, ou p e ious wo k showed ha esea che s wo king
wi h labo a o y oden s in Spain a e ully awa e o he
pain ha a su gical p ocedu e in ol es and ha he use
o analgesia and inhala ion anes hesia is a common p ac-
ice in Spain [12].
The as majo i y o people who wo k wi h labo a o y o-
den s mus some imes eu hanize hem o scien i ic o e h-
ical easons. The op imal choice o eu hanasia me hod
depends on a numbe o ac o s, including he scien i ic goals
o he s udy, he need o minimize animal pain and/o dis-
ess, applicable guidelines and laws, he aining and p o i-
ciency o pe sonnel, and he sa e y and emo ional needs o
he pe sonnel pe o ming he eu hanasia [13]. Killing an ani-
mal is physicologically s ess ul o he pe son who pe o ms
i [14] and people can de elop eu hanasia s ess, a concep o
being awa e and psychologically challenged when aced wi h
he ask o eu hanizing animals [15]. In Spain, wo s udies
ha e explo ed he unpleasan ness o he killing me hods o
oden s desc ibed in he Spanish legisla ion, and pa icipan s
in bo h su eys epo ed ha d ug o e dose is he leas un-
pleasan me hod [12,16].
Cu en ly, in many ins i u ions a eam o animal ca e-
ake s, echnicians, wel a e o ice s and e e ina ians (animal
acili y s a ) p o ide he husband y and ca e o he labo a-
o y animals. The e o e, i is no unusual ha ca e ake s and
echnicians assume esponsibili y o speci ic g oups o ani-
mals, o e seeing hem o long pe iods o ime and es ablish-
ing ela ionships wi h hem. Resea che s, on he o he hand,
o en in e ac wi h animals only when conduc ing a speci ic
p ocedu e [17]. Human-animal in e ac ion is impo an in
animal expe imen a ion bo h o he wel a e o he animal
and o he ou come o he expe imen , since i has been
shown ha , o example, gen le handling acili a es beha -
io al es ing and good da a collec ion, and imp o es animal
wel a e [18,19]. In he same way, he in e ac ion wi h labo a-
o y animals has an o e whelming impac on he emo ional
heal h o he s a . This emo ional impac is exace ba ed by
he esponsibili ies o wo king wi h o he sen ien beings and
de e mining how bes o ensu e hei wellbeing, pa icula ly
ollowing in e en ions ha cause a ce ain deg ee o ha m
o dis ess [20]. A ecen s udy showed ha he p o essional
quali y o li e o labo a o y animal pe sonnel is associa ed
wi h animal s ess/pain, en ichmen di e si y/ equency, eu-
hanasia me hod and con ol, and social suppo [21].
Public opinion on he use o labo a o y animals depends
on a my iad o biological and sociocul u al ac o s, anging
om people’s gende and age o hei own expe iences and
alues [22]. An Eu opean Commission su ey showed ha ,
nowadays, Eu opean ci izens eckon ha non-human animal
wel a e is an issue o g ea impo ance [23]. Ne e heless, he
le el o conce n a ies among Eu opean coun ies, and also
di e s o animal species and hei in ended use. Fo ex-
ample, people may ag ee o he use o animals in biomedical
esea ch, while being eluc an o use hem o de eloping
seconda y p oduc s, such as cosme ics and u s [24]. In he
same way, wo ou o h ee (66 %) Eu opeans conside ed ha
expe imen a ion using mice is accep able i i leads o an im-
p o emen in human heal h and wellbeing [25]. Howe e , a
pa o socie y opposes any use o animals based on he s a e-
men ha ea ing animals di e en ly simply because hey
belong o a di e en species is disc imina ion (speciesism)
[26] and a new amewo k based on p inciples o jus ice and
compassion has been p oposed [27].
In his s udy we aimed o unde s and he pe cep ion
ha people, who wo king wi h labo a o y oden s in bio-
medicine in Spain, ha e on a numbe o issues ela ed o
wel a e and wellbeing.
Resul s
Pa icipan s
A o al o 356 indi iduals answe ed he su ey. Acco d-
ing o hei p o essional ole wi h labo a o y oden s,
pa icipan s we e di ided in o h ee ca ego ies; animal
ca e ake s o echnicians (55/15 %), wel a e o ice and/
o e e ina ians (38/11 %) and esea che s (263/74 %).
Gende and age o pa icipan s a e shown in Table 1.
Two ou o h ee pa icipan s we e women and he a e -
age age was 38 yea s (21–69). Pa icipan s wo ked in e-
sea ch ins i u es (206/58 %), uni e si ies (110/31 %),
hospi als (25/7 %), pha maceu ical companies (11/3 %)
o con ac esea ch o ganiza ions (4/1 %) om di e en
pa s o Spain (Supplemen a y Table 1). They wo ked
mos ly wi h mice (325/91.2 %), ollowed by a s (138/
38.7 %), while he use o guinea pigs (7/2 %) and ham-
s e s (6/1.7 %) was less common. Acco ding o sel -
Goñi-Balen ziaga e al. Labo a o y Animal Resea ch (2021) 37:18 Page 2 o 10
epo ed weekly hou s wo king di ec ly wi h animals,
animal ca e ake s/ echnicians wo ked 30 h ± 11, wel a e
o ice s/ e e ina ians 20 h ± 14 and esea che 10 h ± 10
pe week.
En i onmen al en ichmen
All animal acili y s a answe ed a i ma i ely o he
ques ion abou he use o en i onmen al en ichmen in
hei animal acili ies. Unexpec edly, a ew esea che s
answe ed ha hey did no know (26/10 %) o ha hei
animals did no ecei e en ichmen (24/9 %). Rega ding
con ol o e he ype o amoun o en ichmen p o ided,
some ca e ake s/ echnicians (20/36 %) and esea che s
(55/21 %) epo ed o ha e a “lo o con ol”(Fig. 1a).
Ne e heless, 178 pa icipan s (60 %) wished hey could
p o ide mo e en ichmen (Fig. 1b).
Animal s ess and pain
We asked pa icipan s o sel -asses he deg ee o s ess
ha hei animals su e and 38 epo ed “li le o none”
(10.7 %), 152 “mino ”(42.7 %), 149 “mode a e”(41.2 %)
and 17 “se e e”(4.8 %) (Fig. 2a). Younges pa icipan s
(21–35 yea s) epo ed he highes s ess se e i y
(X
2(8)
= 20.213; p = 0.010; Phi = 0.239). Rega ding pain,
79 epo ed “li le o none”(22.2 %), 153 “mino ”(43 %),
107 “mode a e”(30.1 %) and 17 “se e e”(4.8 %) (Fig. 2b).
A o al o 244 pa icipan s (68.5 %) epo ed he use o
analgesics, o which 155 commonly used bup eno phine
(65.3 %) and 97 meloxicam (39.8 %). O he 333 pa ici-
pan s (93.5 %) ha epo ed he use o anes he ics, 243
used iso lu ane (72.9 %), 155 ke amine/xylazine (46.5 %),
and 87 ke amine/mede omidine (26.2 %). O e all, he
use o local anes hesia was less common (88/24.7 %), be-
ing lidocaine (52/60 %) he mos used d ug in his ca -
ego y (Supplemen a y Table 2).
Eu hanasia
A o al o 345 pa icipan s (96.9 %) had eu hanized a o-
den . The as majo i y o esea che s eu hanized ani-
mals “less han once a mon h”o “mon hly”(191/
72.6 %), whe eas 19 wel a e o ice s/ e e ina ians (50 %)
and 32 ca e ake s/ echnicians (58.2 %) pe o m i on a
“daily”o “weekly”basis (Fig. 3a). Young pa icipan s
(21–35 yea s) eu hanized oden s less o en han he
o he age ca ego ies (X
2(2)
= 8.677; p= 0.013; Phi =
0.157). Ca bon dioxide (207/60.4 %) was he mos used
killing me hod, ollowed by ce ical disloca ion (200/
58.3 %), anes he ic o e dose (126/36.7 %) and decapi a-
ion (44/12.8 %). The mos unpleasan was decapi a ion
and he leas one anes he ic o e dose (Fig. 3b). A small
pe cen age o animal ca e ake s/ echnicians (11/21 %)
and esea che s (29/11,4 %) epo ed ha hey we e
ne e gi en he choice no o eu hanize he oden s hey
wo k wi h (Fig. 3c). The commones dea h con i ma ion
me hod was exsanguina ion (226/66 %), ollowed by neck
disloca ion (193/56.3 %), con i ma ion o he onse o
igo mo is (120/35 %), con i ma ion o pe manen ces-
sa ion o he ci cula ion (96/28 %) and des uc ion o he
b ain (19/5.5 %). Despi e being manda o y, 24 pa ici-
pan s (7 %) said hey did no use any con i ma ion
me hod.
In e ac ion wi h hei animals
Pa icipan s we e asked abou how s ongly hey ag eed
o disag eed abou how o en hey obse ed, pe , alk o
o name hei labo a o y oden s (Fig. 4a-d). Women e-
po ed highe in e ac ion wi h hei animals han men
(18.6 ± 5 s. 15.6 ± 4.7; X
2(2)
= 21.340, p< 0.001). The
analysis also showed signi ican di e ences in he o al
sco e by job ca ego y (X
2(2)
= 13.618, p= 0.001). Re-
sea che s showed lowe human-animal in e ac ion han
animal ca e ake s/ echnicians (16.8 ± 5.1 s. 18.6 ± 4.5;
Mann Whi ney U= 5628; p= 0.010; = 0.22) and wel a e
o ice s/ e e ina ians (16.8 ± 5.1 s. 19.5 ± 4.9; Mann
Whi ney U= 3511; p= 0.003; = 0.30). Ou esul s also
indica ed a posi i e low co ela ion ( ho = 0.23; p<
0.0001) be ween he o al ime spen wo king di ec ly
wi h animals (hou s/week) and o al human-animal
in e ac ion sco e.
Social suppo
To al social suppo sco e showed signi ican di e ences
acco ding o he job ca ego y (X
2(2)
= 11.245, p= 0.004).
Wel a e o ice s/ e e ina ians showed highe sco es han
animal ca e ake s/ echnicians (8.8 ± 2.6 s. 7.8 ± 2.3;
Mann Whi ney U= 787; p= 0.040; = 0.25) and e-
sea che s (8.8 ± 2.6 s. 7.3 ± 2.2; Mann Whi ney U=
Table 1 Demog aphic in o ma ion o pa icipan s
Gende To al Age
Male (Cis/T ans) Female (Cis/T ans) P e e no o say n 21-35 36-49 50-69 Mean ± SD
Animal ca e ake o echnician 15 40 0 55 21 25 9 39 ± 11
Wel a e o ice and/o e e ina ian 13 24 1 38 3191648 ± 9
Resea che 79 175 9 263 144 86 33 36 ± 10
To al 107 239 10 356 168 130 58 38 ± 11
Numbe o subjec s acco ding o job ca ego y, gende and age
Goñi-Balen ziaga e al. Labo a o y Animal Resea ch (2021) 37:18 Page 3 o 10
3402; p= 0.001; = 0.32). Animal ca e ake s/ echnicians
and esea che s alked o hei ela i es o iends less
o en (Fig. 5a). Mos pa icipan s, 48 animal ca e ake s/
echnicians (87.3 %), 27 wel a e o ice s/ e e ina ians
(71.1 %) and 243 esea che s (92.4 %) alked “ne e ”o
“some imes”abou hei wo k wi h labo a o y oden s o
people ou side hei social ci cle; (Fig. 5b). Finally, ani-
mal ca e ake s/ echnicians and wel a e o ice s/ e e i-
na ians epo ed ha hey eel ha hey ha e someone
hey can eally coun on when hey a e dealing wi h
s ess a wo k mo e o en han esea che s (Fig. 5c).
Discussion
Reducing he su e ing o animals h ough e inemen ech-
niques is an impo an componen o good scien i ic p ac ice.
This s udy has allowed us o know he pe cep ion abou
animal wel a e, in e ac ion wi h hei animals and social sup-
po o labo a o y oden use s in Spain.
Pa icipan s we e di ided in o h ee job ca ego ies ac-
co ding o hei ole wo king wi h labo a o y oden s.
Animal ca e ake s and echnicians a e in cha ge o he
daily ca e and husband y o animals, wel a e o ice s and
e e ina ians a e esponsible o en o cing animal wel-
a e legisla ion in hei acili ies and esea che s use
hem as a ool in hei s udies. Pa icipan s wo ked
mos ly wi h mice, as expec ed acco ding o he epo
on he use o animals in expe imen a ion and o he sci-
en i ic pu poses, including eaching in Spain [28].
Animal acili ies ha e s anda dized hei husband y
p o ocols o educe esea ch da a a iabili y and inc ease
labo a o y animals’wel a e. Acco dingly, ou pa ici-
pan s epo ed high le els o en i onmen al en ichmen
Fig. 1 En i onmen al en ichmen . Repo ed (a) deg ee o con ol o e he ype o amoun o en i onmen al en ichmen p o ided, and (b) he
desi e o p o ide mo e en i onmen al en ichmen o hei animals, in pe cen ages
Goñi-Balen ziaga e al. Labo a o y Animal Resea ch (2021) 37:18 Page 4 o 10
and low le els o s ess. These esul s indica e ha ani-
mal ca e and husband y p og ams in Spain a e well de-
signed and implemen ed. Howe e , he esponses o he
younges pa icipan s and o some esea che s could in-
dica e insu icien aining o knowledge. As expec ed,
con ol o e he ype o amoun o en ichmen was in
wel a e o ice s and/o e e ina ians’hands, bu , in some
cases, animal ca e ake s/ echnicians and esea che s pa -
icipa ed in he decisions. As epo ed in a p e ious
s udy in No h Ame ica [21], o e hal o he pa ici-
pan s wished hey could p o ide mo e en ichmen o
hei animals.
E ec i e managemen o pain equi es knowing he
nocicep i e pain o he species you wo k wi h. Fo in-
s ance, we ha e ound sex and age di e ences in
C57BL6/J mice [29]. Almos hal o he pa icipan s e-
po ed li le o none o mino pain, a esul ha is in line
wi h he annual epo on p ocedu es se e i y in Spain
[28]. Al hough i is clea ha he choice o d ug depends
on he p ocedu e/su ge y, we wan ed o know which
we e he d ugs mos equen ly used by ou pa icipan s.
Bup eno phine con inues o be he mos widely used an-
algesic d ug ollowed by meloxicam [10–12], and he
mos widely used inhala ion anes he ic is iso lu ane,
ollowed by ke amine in di e en combina ions o pa -
en e al anes hesia [12]. The use o ba bi u a es was less
common han ha epo ed in a p e ious wo k [11], in-
dica ing a end o use sa e d ugs du ing su gical
in e en ions.
As p e iously epo ed, animal acili y s a eu hanized
oden s mo e equen ly by ca bon dioxide o ce ical
disloca ion [12,16,21,30]. Fo eu hanasia con ol, ou
esul s a e in line wi h a p e ious a s udy which indi-
ca es ha animal ca e ake s and echnicians ha e less
con ol bu do i mo e equen ly [21]. Decapi a ion con-
inues o be conside ed he mos unpleasan me hod and
also he leas used [12,16,21,30]. Al hough anes he ic
o e dose is he leas unpleasan me hod pa icipan s e-
po ed o pe o m i less o en han ce ical disloca ion,
maybe o economic easons.
Fig. 2 Animal s ess and pain. Repo ed pe cep ion abou le els o (a) s ess and (b) pain, in pe cen ages
Goñi-Balen ziaga e al. Labo a o y Animal Resea ch (2021) 37:18 Page 5 o 10
Fig. 3 Eu hanasia. Repo ed eu hanasia (a) equency, bme hod unpleasan ness, and cdecision, in pe cen age
Goñi-Balen ziaga e al. Labo a o y Animal Resea ch (2021) 37:18 Page 6 o 10
The only di e ence we obse ed be ween gende s was
human-animal in e ac ion, in line wi h p e ious s udies
(see [31]). By job ca ego y, wel a e o ice s and/o e e i-
na ians showed highe o al sco e in human-animal
in e ac ion, e en i we ound a co ela ion be ween his
sco e and he ime spen wi h he animals. A p e ious
s udy showed ha animal acili ies pe sonnel ha e-
po ed high le els o in e ac ion wi h labo a o y animals
also epo ed highe le els o compassion sa is ac ion.
This could indica e a g ea e sa is ac ion om hei close
ela ionship wi h hei animals bu i can u n o nega-
i e eelings when esea ch p ocedu es cause pain o dis-
ess in hei animals [21].
Animal acili y pe sonnel epo ed mode a e le els o
social suppo , as p e iously epo ed [21] and e-
sea che s showed he lowes sco e. The as majo i y o
pa icipan s ne e alked abou hei wo k wi h labo a-
o y oden s o people ou side hei social ci cle. This
may indica e ha he use o animals in esea ch is con-
side ed a sensi i e opic in Spain.
Conclusions
O e all, he pa icipan s showed high awa eness and
sensi i i y o oden wellbeing; animal acili y s a e-
po ed a simila pe cep ion on wel a e ques ions, inde-
penden ly o hei ca ego y, while esea che s, who spen
less ime wi h he animals, showed less awa eness and
mani es ed lowe human-animal in e ac ion and less so-
cial suppo . Rega ding he pe cep ion on social accep -
ance o labo a o y animal wo k, all g oups we e cau ious
and a ely alked abou hei job, sugges ing ha i is
conside ed a sensi i e issue in Spain.
Me hods
E hical app o al
All p ocedu es and in o med consen p o ocols we e
app o ed by he E hics Commi ee o Human- ela ed
Resea ch (CEISH) o he Uni e si y o he Basque Coun-
y (UPV/EHU); 2020/175 –M10/2020/222.
Pa icipan s and p ocedu e
Pa icipan s we e ec ui ed by mail ough he email lis
o he Spanish Socie y o Labo a o y Animal Science
(SECAL-L) and di ec emails o known labo a o y
pe sonnel be ween Decembe 1, 2020 and Feb ua y 15,
2021. This s udy was es ic ed o people wo king wi h
labo a o y oden s in Spain. In a co e le e a ached o
he ques ionnai e, pa icipan s we e in o med ha he
su ey da a would be used o scien i ic pu poses and
ha hey would emain anonymous. All pa icipan s
ga e hei olun a y in o med consen p io o comple -
ing he sho 10-min online ques ionnai e (Google D i e
pla o m).
Ques ionnai e
The su ey con ained ques ions ela ed o pa icipan ’s
gende , age, ins i u ion, cu en p o essional ole, and
hou s pe week wo king di ec ly wi h which species o
oden /s.
Pa icipan s we e asked whe he en i onmen al en-
ichmen was p o ided in hei animal acili y. I yes,
hey we e asked abou hei deg ee o con ol o in lu-
ence o e he ype o amoun o en ichmen p o ided
(non,a li le,some o a lo ) and i hey wished hey
could p o ide mo e en ichmen o hei animals han
Fig. 4 In e ac ion wi h hei animals. Repo ed answe s abou how s ongly he pa icipan s ag eed o disag eed o (a) obse e, bpe , c alk o o
dname hei labo a o y oden s, in pe cen ages
Goñi-Balen ziaga e al. Labo a o y Animal Resea ch (2021) 37:18 Page 7 o 10
hey cu en ly did (disag ee,nei he ag ee no disag ee o
ag ee).
The ques ionnai e also con ained ques ions ela ed o
analgesia, anes hesia and eu hanasia based on ou
p e ious wo k [12]. Pa icipan s we e asked which anal-
gesic o anes he ic d ugs hey commonly used. They
we e also asked whe he hey had e e eu hanized a o-
den . I so, hey we e asked abou he equency, he
Fig. 5 Social suppo . Repo ed answe s abou how o en pa icipan s alked abou labo a o y wo k wi h oden s o (a) hei amily o iends, (b)
people ou side hei social ci cle and (c) how o en hey el hey had someone o eally coun on, in pe cen ages
Goñi-Balen ziaga e al. Labo a o y Animal Resea ch (2021) 37:18 Page 8 o 10
me hod (ca bon dioxide,anes he ic o e dose,decapi a-
ion and/o disloca ion), pe sonal assessmen o he un-
pleasan ness o each o hese me hods (no unpleasan ,
somewha unpleasan ,unpleasan , e y unpleasan ), i
hey go o decide whe he hey ha e o eu hanize he
animal hey wo k wi h (ne e ,some imes,abou hal o
he imes,mos o he imes and always), and inally, he
dea h con i ma ion me hod/s based on Spanish
legisla ion.
Ques ions ela ed o pe sonal pe cep ion abou animal
s ess and pain, gene al conduc owa ds labo a o y o-
den s and social suppo we e ansla ed in o Spanish
om a published wo k [21] ollowing a o wa d-
backwa d design [32]. Each i em was ansla ed in o
Spanish by wo bilingual esea che s and hen he wo
ansla ions we e compa ed and discussed un il a con-
sensus was eached ega ding he wo ding o each i em.
The back- ansla ion was done by ano he wo bilingual
esea che s, and again hey compa ed hei ansla ions
un il hey eached a consensus. This ansla ion was ex-
amined and compa ed wi h he o iginal wo ding o de-
e mine whe he he i ems had he same meaning.
Pa icipan s we e asked o sel -assess he deg ee o s ess
and pain le el o he animals hey wo k wi h, using ca ego -
ies based o he Spanish legisla ion (li le o none,mino ,
mode a e,se e e o unknown). The in e ac ion o he pa ici-
pan s wi h hei animals was assessed by asking hem how
s ongly hey ag eed o disag eed om 1 (s ongly disag ee)
o 7 (s ongly ag ee) abou how o en hey obse ed, pe , alk
o o name hei labo a o y oden s. The maximum sco e
ha a pa icipan could ob ain was 28. Finally, social suppo
was assessed by ques ions abou suppo ela ed o hei
wo k wi h labo a o y oden s; how o en om 1 (ne e ) o5
(always) hey alked o iends and/o amily and o people
ou side hei social ci cle abou hei wo k, and how o en
did hey eellike heyhadsomeone heycould eallycoun
on when dealing wi h s ess ela ed o hei wo k. The max-
imum sco e ha a pa icipan could ob ain was 15.
S a is ical analysis o da a
All s a is ical analyses we e pe o med wi h Jamo i
(1.16.15) and he le el o signi icance was se o p< 0.05.
F equency (%) and dis ibu ion (mean ± s anda d de i-
a ion) s a is ics we e use o desc ibe he sample. Gende
o job ca ego y di e ences ela ed o human-animal
in e ac ion o social suppo we e analyzed using K us-
kal–Wallis one-way analysis o a iance ollowed by
Mann-Whi ney U es o pos hoc analysis and ank bi-
se ial co ela ion o he e ec size. The ela ion be ween
he hou s wo ked pe week and he human-animal in e -
ac ion was analyzed using bi a ia e Spea man co el-
a ion. Gende and age g oup e ec on e hical issues
we e analyzed wi h chi-squa e and i he esul s we e
signi ican adjus ed esiduals we e obse ed.
Supplemen a y In o ma ion
The online e sion con ains supplemen a y ma e ial a ailable a h ps://doi.
o g/10.1186/s42826-021-00098-w.
Addi ional ile 1: Supplemen a y Table 1. Pe cen age o pa icipan s’
dis ibu ion by Spanish au onomous communi ies.
Addi ional ile 2: Supplemen a y Table 2. Repo ed use o analgesic
and anes he ic d ugs.
Acknowledgemen s
The au ho s would like o hank Spanish Socie y o Labo a o y Animal
Science (SECAL), as well as all pa icipan s in he s udy.
Au ho s’con ibu ions
O. G-B, I. O-S, S.V, and G. A designed he su ey and ob ained he da a. O. G-
B and G. A analyzed he da a and w o e he pape . The au ho (s) ead and
app o ed he inal manusc ip .
Funding
The esea ch o G.A. is suppo ed by g an s om Uni e si y o Basque
Coun y (UPV/EHU) - Psicobiologia PPGI19/14 and GIU18/103.
A ailabili y o da a and ma e ials
Da a o he s udy will we a ailable upon easonable eques o he PI.
Decla a ion
Compe ing in e es s
The au ho s decla e no con lic o in e es .
Au ho de ails
1
Depa men o Clinical and Heal h Psychology and Resea ch Me hodology,
Euskal He iko Unibe si a ea (UPV/EHU), Donos ia, Spain.
2
Scien i ic and
Technological Cen e s (CCIT), Uni e si y o Ba celona (UB), Ba celona, Spain.
3
Depa men o Basic Psychological P ocesses and hei De elopmen , Euskal
He iko Unibe si a ea (UPV/EHU), Donos ia, Spain.
Recei ed: 27 May 2021 Accep ed: 15 July 2021
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