A Comparison of European Union and Turkish Reports on the Statistics of Experimental Animal Use in Toxicity Testing.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: SAGE Publications Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 8110074 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0261-1929 (Print) Linking ISSN: 02611929 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Altern Lab Anim Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: 2019- : [London] : SAGE Publications
      Original Publication: London : Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments, [c1981-
    • Subject Terms:
      European Union* ; Toxicity Tests*/methods ; Animal Testing Alternatives*; Animals ; Turkey ; Animals, Laboratory
    • Abstract:
      The data on the number of animals used for experimental purposes, with a particular focus on regulatory toxicity studies, in Turkey and EU member states plus Norway (EU+), were compared for the period 2015 to 2020 (UK data after Brexit for 2020 were included too). The total number of listed vertebrates used for regulatory toxicity testing in the full 6-year reporting period in Turkey was 3.6% of that reported for the EU+. However, these numbers showed an increasing trend over the reporting period in Turkey, while the trend decreased in the EU+. In the top three most-used species for regulatory toxicology purposes in Turkey, 41% were fish (68,758 animals), followed by rats (29%; 49,975 animals), and then mice (20%; 33,292 animals). Turkey used low numbers of cats and dogs, while the corresponding number for the EU+ was more than 70-fold higher. Non-human primates were not used at all in Turkey, whereas about 34,000 were used in EU+ laboratories. The majority of toxicity tests (57%) performed in Turkey were categorised as 'Other' toxicity tests, and 27% were acute and sub-acute toxicity tests. Successful replacement alternatives (e.g. in vitro and in silico approaches) are already used in a wide range of research areas. However, although this new research and testing paradigm is underpinned by scientific evidence, the legislation and pace of acceptance of these new techniques in Turkey is considerably lagging behind other countries.
      Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: European Union; Turkey; experimental animals; regulatory toxicology; toxicity tests
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20241004 Date Completed: 20241105 Latest Revision: 20241105
    • Publication Date:
      20241105
    • Accession Number:
      10.1177/02611929241286885
    • Accession Number:
      39365923