Establishment of an Experimental Aquatic Vertebrate Animal Laboratory within the Framework of Current Legislation: The Case of the Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Türkiye

Ender Yarsan; Mustafa Yipel; Farah Gönül Aydın; Sedat Sevin; Sultan Nurhan Ayıkol; Alev Gürol Bayraktaroğlu; Hakan Öztürk

doi:10.71336/ijvar.737

Authors

Ender Yarsan
Mustafa Yipel
Farah Gönül Aydın
Sedat Sevin
Sultan Nurhan Ayıkol
Alev Gürol Bayraktaroğlu
Hakan Öztürk

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71336/ijvar.737

Keywords:

Aquatic vertebrates, Environmental contamination, Experimental animal laboratory, Legislation, Toxicity studies

Abstract

The necessity to develop alternative methods to reduce experiments on mammals in line with the 4R principle has brought aquatic animals to the fore due to their advantages. Vertebrate and invertebrate aquatic animals are now widely used in experimental studies covering many disciplines, including drug screening and development, preclinical trials, and research into toxicology, oncology, metabolism, the cardiovascular system, the kidneys, the immune system, dermatology, endocrinology, ophthalmology, genetics, infectious diseases and aging. As their use has increased, aquatic experimental animal units have been established around the world, including in Türkiye, and their number is growing daily. In this context, international guidelines containing basic information, recommendations and policies on environmental control for aquatic animals used in experimental studies for scientific purposes have been published. This review aims to provide information on the establishment steps, objectives and basic processes of the zebrafish unit at Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine's Aquatic Experimental Animal Centre (ADHAM), in line with current national and international guidelines, recommendations, policies and legislation.

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