What is the primary aim of good animal care in research?

• A. To ensure normal biological and behavioral responses for accurate results.
• B. To maximize anesthesia use.
• C. To minimize data quality.
• D. To increase animal stress tolerance.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that good animal care aims to preserve normal biological and behavioral responses so that experimental results are accurate and interpretable. When animals are well cared for—pain is managed, housing and handling are appropriate, and stress is minimized—their physiology and behavior stay close to their natural state. This reduces confounding factors like elevated stress hormones, altered metabolism, or immune changes that can skew data. In other words, humane, good care supports both ethical treatment and scientific validity by keeping responses during experiments true to normal biology.

Other options miss this focus: while anesthesia is important for procedures, the overarching aim is not to maximize its use but to maintain normal function and welfare. Minimizing data quality would be the opposite of the goal, and increasing stress tolerance suggests tolerating or encouraging stress rather than reducing it.