Fish research and the institutional animal care and use committee

The sheer number of fish species used in research presents a problem for institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) because each species has unique requirements that must be dealt with in research studies. Conversely, warm-blooded animals being used in laboratory research are represented by relatively few species, particularly in biomedical studies. Despite the varied number and types of fish species, regulations governing the use of animals in research are based largely on a few well-studied, predominantly mammalian species.

The focus of this paper is to consider several concerns regarding fish welfare, husbandry, and research facing IACUCs, particularly because most of these committees have few if any fish biologists and the existing regulations governing fish welfare are based almost entirely on laboratory mammals. Specific topics of discussion are the inventory of fish numbers, animal inspections in remote locations, bycatch, and acceptable forms of euthanasia.

Published in ILAR Journal in 2003. The paper may be accessed here.