CPCSEA guidelines for breeding and stocking of animals MCQs With Answer

Introduction

The CPCSEA guidelines for breeding and stocking of animals are essential for B. Pharm students to understand ethical, legal, and practical aspects of laboratory animal management. These guidelines focus on animal welfare, proper housing, species-appropriate husbandry, acclimatization, quarantine, record-keeping, biosecurity, and training of personnel. Familiarity with CPCSEA requirements—registration of breeding facilities, Institutional Animal Ethics Committees (IAEC), standard operating procedures (SOPs), and humane endpoints—helps students design responsible research and ensure compliance. Clear knowledge of stocking densities, preventive health, genetic monitoring, and transport rules reduces experimental variability and promotes reproducible results. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.

Q1. What is the primary purpose of CPCSEA guidelines related to breeding and stocking of animals?

• To increase the number of animals used in experiments
• To ensure ethical care, welfare, and scientific validity in animal breeding and stocking
• To promote commercial trade of laboratory animals
• To standardize drug dosages for animal experiments

Correct Answer: To ensure ethical care, welfare, and scientific validity in animal breeding and stocking

Q2. Which body within an institution is responsible for reviewing animal use and ensuring compliance with CPCSEA?

• Institutional Human Ethics Committee (IHEC)
• Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC)
• Drug Regulatory Authority
• Animal Transport Authority

Correct Answer: Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC)

Q3. For a breeding facility to operate legally under CPCSEA, what is typically required?

• Registration with CPCSEA and adherence to specified standards
• No documentation is necessary if animals are healthy
• Monthly reports only to the local municipality
• Only verbal approval from a senior scientist

Correct Answer: Registration with CPCSEA and adherence to specified standards

Q4. Which practice helps reduce variability in experimental results related to animal sourcing?

• Purchasing animals from multiple unregistered sources
• Using animals procured from CPCSEA-registered breeders with known health status
• Mixing wild-caught and laboratory-bred animals
• Changing suppliers frequently to get the best prices

Correct Answer: Using animals procured from CPCSEA-registered breeders with known health status

Q5. What is the recommended minimum acclimatization period for most laboratory animals before use in experiments according to standard guidelines?

• 1–2 hours
• 24 hours
• 7 days
• 30 days

Correct Answer: 7 days

Q6. Why is quarantine important when introducing new animals into a breeding or experimental colony?

• To immediately mix animals with the main colony
• To prevent introduction of infectious agents and allow health monitoring
• To reduce feed costs
• To avoid tagging and identification

Correct Answer: To prevent introduction of infectious agents and allow health monitoring

Q7. Which element is essential in records maintained by a CPCSEA-registered breeding facility?

• Only the date of purchase
• Detailed animal identification, health records, breeding records, and disposal logs
• Names of experimenters only
• Annual electricity bills

Correct Answer: Detailed animal identification, health records, breeding records, and disposal logs

Q8. What does the principle of “3Rs” promoted alongside CPCSEA guidelines stand for?

• Reduce, Recycle, Reuse
• Replacement, Reduction, Refinement
• Regulate, Report, Rehabilitate
• Rescue, Rehome, Rehabilitate

Correct Answer: Replacement, Reduction, Refinement

Q9. Which staff or role is typically required in animal facilities to oversee health and welfare?

• Laboratory receptionist
• Qualified veterinarian or animal facility veterinarian
• Only a vendor representative
• Marketing manager

Correct Answer: Qualified veterinarian or animal facility veterinarian

Q10. Why are species-appropriate housing and environmental enrichment emphasized in CPCSEA guidelines?

• They increase experimental variability
• They improve animal welfare and reduce stress-related data confounders
• They are optional decorative features
• They reduce the need for veterinary care entirely

Correct Answer: They improve animal welfare and reduce stress-related data confounders

Q11. What is the role of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in breeding and stocking?

• SOPs are optional recommendations with no enforcement
• SOPs ensure consistent husbandry, health monitoring, identification, and record-keeping
• SOPs replace the need for IAEC oversight
• SOPs are used only for facility construction

Correct Answer: SOPs ensure consistent husbandry, health monitoring, identification, and record-keeping

Q12. Which practice is recommended for identification of individual animals in a breeding colony?

• Relying solely on cage location
• Robust, species-appropriate methods such as ear tags, microchips, or tattooing with records
• Only using color of bedding
• Using unrecorded visual differences only

Correct Answer: Robust, species-appropriate methods such as ear tags, microchips, or tattooing with records

Q13. What is the purpose of sentinel animals in a breeding facility health-monitoring program?

• To serve as experimental controls for drug studies
• To detect endemic or introduced pathogens through regular testing
• To entertain staff
• To reduce the number of breeding animals

Correct Answer: To detect endemic or introduced pathogens through regular testing

Q14. How does proper stocking density affect animal welfare and research outcomes?

• Overcrowding improves social behavior in all species
• Appropriate density reduces stress, disease spread, and variability in data
• Higher density always reduces costs without drawbacks
• Density has no impact on experimental reproducibility

Correct Answer: Appropriate density reduces stress, disease spread, and variability in data

Q15. Which records should be included in a breeding performance log?

• Only the number of cages cleaned
• Breeding pairs, mating dates, births, litter sizes, mortality, and genetic lineage
• Only the name of the feeder
• Weekly cafeteria menus

Correct Answer: Breeding pairs, mating dates, births, litter sizes, mortality, and genetic lineage

Q16. What is genetic monitoring in the context of breeding colonies?

• Randomly assigning genetic labels to animals
• Systematic checking for genetic drift, strain integrity, and unintended contamination
• Only recording fur color
• Breeding animals without tracking pedigrees

Correct Answer: Systematic checking for genetic drift, strain integrity, and unintended contamination

Q17. Under CPCSEA guidelines, how should animals be transported between facilities?

• Without documentation or special containment
• Using appropriate containers, documentation, minimal stress procedures, and biosecurity measures
• Only at night without supervision
• Mixed with other species to save space

Correct Answer: Using appropriate containers, documentation, minimal stress procedures, and biosecurity measures

Q18. What is a humane endpoint in animal experiments and breeding contexts?

• The point at which an animal is discarded without record
• The earliest stage at which pain, distress or suffering is alleviated or the animal is humanely euthanized to prevent unnecessary suffering
• A point to increase experimental duration regardless of animal welfare
• The moment an animal reaches sexual maturity

Correct Answer: The earliest stage at which pain, distress or suffering is alleviated or the animal is humanely euthanized to prevent unnecessary suffering

Q19. Which action is expected if a breeding facility detects an outbreak of infectious disease?

• Ignore it and continue operations
• Isolate affected animals, notify IAEC/CPCSEA as required, perform investigation and implement control measures
• Release animals into the environment
• Sell affected animals immediately

Correct Answer: Isolate affected animals, notify IAEC/CPCSEA as required, perform investigation and implement control measures

Q20. What is the role of environmental monitoring (temperature, humidity, light) in breeding facilities?

• It is unnecessary for most species
• It maintains species-appropriate conditions that support health, breeding success, and data reliability
• It only matters for aquatic animals
• It is only for cosmetic facility audits

Correct Answer: It maintains species-appropriate conditions that support health, breeding success, and data reliability

Q21. Why is training of husbandry and technical staff emphasized by CPCSEA?

• Training is optional and rarely helps
• Well-trained staff ensure proper animal care, accurate records, humane handling, and compliance with SOPs
• Training replaces the need for veterinary care
• Training is only necessary for managers

Correct Answer: Well-trained staff ensure proper animal care, accurate records, humane handling, and compliance with SOPs

Q22. Which waste management practice aligns with animal facility biosecurity?

• Disposing all waste in regular municipal bins
• Segregation, decontamination (e.g., autoclaving), and safe disposal of biological and animal waste
• Burning waste in open areas near housing
• Releasing bedding into local waterways

Correct Answer: Segregation, decontamination (e.g., autoclaving), and safe disposal of biological and animal waste

Q23. How should breeding facilities handle surplus animals not required for experiments?

• Sell or rehome through approved channels, or euthanize humanely following IAEC/CPCSEA protocols
• Release them outdoors immediately
• Ignore them until they die naturally
• Use them for informal demonstrations without records

Correct Answer: Sell or rehome through approved channels, or euthanize humanely following IAEC/CPCSEA protocols

Q24. What is the importance of microbiological quality control in a breeding colony?

• Microbiology does not affect breeding outcomes
• It prevents pathogen-related morbidity, influences experimental reproducibility, and protects staff
• It only matters for aquatic systems
• It is only relevant for wild-caught animals

Correct Answer: It prevents pathogen-related morbidity, influences experimental reproducibility, and protects staff

Q25. Which of the following is a key documentation required during procurement of animals?

• Vendor invoice only
• Health certificate, species/strain details, supplier registration status, and transport records
• Only the driver’s license
• No documentation is necessary for small numbers

Correct Answer: Health certificate, species/strain details, supplier registration status, and transport records

Q26. In the context of CPCSEA guidelines, what is colony health surveillance?

• Weekly staff parties to celebrate colony growth
• Regular monitoring, clinical inspection, diagnostic testing, and record analysis to detect health issues early
• Counting animals without clinical checks
• Periodic photography of cages only

Correct Answer: Regular monitoring, clinical inspection, diagnostic testing, and record analysis to detect health issues early

Q27. How do enrichment and social housing affect breeding colonies?

• They always reduce breeding success
• They support natural behaviors, improve welfare, and can enhance breeding outcomes when managed properly
• They are irrelevant to laboratory settings
• They increase aggression in all species

Correct Answer: They support natural behaviors, improve welfare, and can enhance breeding outcomes when managed properly

Q28. What is the significance of having written contingency plans in breeding facilities?

• Contingency plans are rarely used and unnecessary
• They prepare for emergencies such as disease outbreaks, power failures, or natural disasters to protect animals and data
• They only cover financial losses
• They replace the need for SOPs

Correct Answer: They prepare for emergencies such as disease outbreaks, power failures, or natural disasters to protect animals and data

Q29. When is euthanasia considered an acceptable action under CPCSEA guidelines in a breeding setting?

• Only when convenient for staff schedules
• When an animal is suffering, beyond recovery, or surplus with no approved rehoming option, using approved humane methods
• To reduce colony size without records
• Whenever an animal shows any minor sign of aging

Correct Answer: When an animal is suffering, beyond recovery, or surplus with no approved rehoming option, using approved humane methods

Q30. How does adherence to CPCSEA breeding and stocking guidelines benefit B. Pharm research?

• It delays research timelines indefinitely
• It enhances ethical integrity, reproducibility of data, legal compliance, and public trust in research
• It only increases costs with no scientific benefit
• It allows bypassing IAEC approvals

Correct Answer: It enhances ethical integrity, reproducibility of data, legal compliance, and public trust in research

G S Sachin

I am a Registered Pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act, 1948, and the founder of PharmacyFreak.com. I hold a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Rungta College of Pharmaceutical Science and Research. With a strong academic foundation and practical knowledge, I am committed to providing accurate, easy-to-understand content to support pharmacy students and professionals. My aim is to make complex pharmaceutical concepts accessible and useful for real-world application.

Mail- Sachin@pharmacyfreak.com