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EFSA publishes report on 86/609
The European Food Standards Authority has published its report about certain aspects of the revision of Directive 86/609
The Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) Panel of the European Food Safety Authority has produced a report on a number of issues raised in the preparations for drafting the revision of Directive 86/609 on the protection of laboratory animals. At the request of the European Commission, the panel, under the chairmanship of Professor David Morton, of Birmingham University, UK, looked at the following questions:
The sentience of invertebrate species, and of fetal and embryonic forms of vertebrate species:
In which cases animals used in experiments should be purpose-bred;
Which are the most humane methods of euthanasia, and for which species.
In response to the first question, the report recommends that the following invertebrates should come under the scope of the revised directive, or at least be seriously considered for inclusion:
- Cyclostomes (lampreys and hagfish)
- Cephalopods (octopus, cuttlefish, squid)
- Decapod crustaceans (lobsters, crabs, prawns etc)
In the case of fetal and embryonic forms of vertebrate animals, the panel recommended that “when a procedure is performed on a fetus that is likely to produce pain in the newborn or newly-hatched of that species, adequate anaesthesia and analgesia should be given provided that the agents used do not significantly increase the likelihood of fetal mortality. When the procedure might cause a lasting inflammatory response that persists post-natally, protection should be given against pain and suffering. A schedule of anaesthetics and analgesics that are suitable for use in pregnant animals and fetuses should be prepared."
Species listed in Annex 1 to Directive 86/609 are those that must be ‘purpose-bred’ when used in experiments, unless a specific exemption has been obtained. The criteria for inclusion in Annex 1 were not clearly defined, hence the reason for the Commission requesting an opinion from the AHAW committee. The report said that, ideally all laboratory animals should be purpose-bred, but this was clearly not possiblein every case. They endorsed the species currently listed in Annexe 1 and added “Genetically altered animals (of all species) should be added to Annex I. The review of all the commonly used laboratory species has concluded that with the exception of quail (Coturnix coturnix) all the other species listed should continue to be purpose-bred and some further species should be added, namely: Chinese hamster (Cricetus griseus), Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus), two Xenopus species (X. laevis and X. tropicalis) and two species of Rana (R. temporaria and R. pipiens).”
Nearly all animals are killed at the end of a research project, says the report, “and it is important that this is done humanely, i.e. causing as little suffering as possible for the animals concerned.” The report goes into considerable detail on the various technical ways of killing animals, particularly in the section on gaseous agents where there was much new data to be considered. In general, say the panel, they have adopted the recommendations given in the existing EU guidance on humane killing, with one exception. They concluded that, “Carbon dioxide should not be used as a sole agent in any euthanasia procedure unless the animal has first been rendered unconscious, i.e. it should be phased out as soon as possible.”
The full report is available on the EFSA web site at http://www.efsa.eu.int/science/ahaw/ahaw_opinions/1286_en.html