Use of Transgenic Animals and Welfare Implications

Summary

This paper presents the results of a literature survey and an inquiry intended to gain insight into the extent of use of transgenic animals in EU-Member States and into the potential effects of transgenesis on the health and welfare of the animals. Screening of the Medline database revealed data for quantifying research with transgenic animals and for estimating the number of institutes working with these animal models. Questionnaires have been sent to the national contact points (NCPs, i.e. governmental representatives for legislative issues on animal protection) of the EU-Member States. From the responses to the questionnaires and the information available in the literature, the conclusion could be reached that the degree of suffering caused by the experimental procedures and insertional mutations is, in general, less severe than the welfare problems caused by the direct effect of the expression of the transgene. However, only very few data are presently available to substantiate this conclusion. Further research is necessary to identify and quantify indicators of discomfort in the animals involved in the process of transgenesis. A proposal is made for the development of a model protocol, to be used as a standard operating procedure for evaluating adverse effects in the process of producing transgenic animals.