ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF STUDIES ON INFANTICIDE AND MATERNAL AGGRESSION IN RODENTS

Studies of infanticide and maternal aggression in rodents are reviewed to exemplify general ethical problems arising from research on predation and aggression. Three main areas are reviewed: (1) parental infanticide, when an experimental manipulation causes a parent to harm its young; (2) non-parental infanticide, when pups are placed with a strange adult; and (3) non-parental infanticide, when a strange adult is placed with a mother and litter and aggression between adults may occur. Field experiments are also considered. In each area, constraints on experimental design produce ethical problems; however, ways of minimizing stress are considered. Factors of ethical concern include: (1) observation and intervention to stop both killing of infants and adult aggressive interactions; (2) numbers of pups used in each test; (3) age of the pups; (4) the nature of infanticidal attack; (5) maternal aggression; (6) duration of interactions; (7) use of barriers to protect pups and provision of escape routes for defeated adults; and (8) experimental design and sample sizes. The importance of considering ethical points early in experimental studies is emphasized. © 1991 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.