Zebrafish welfare

Expert reports have been compiled to provide guidance on the following aspects of zebrafish care within a research environment [1,2]:

• Housing and husbandry (see [2] Table 1 for summary).
• Transportation and reception.
• Breeding and identification.

See [3] for a review into the physical and social factors that contribute to zebrafish welfare, and how understanding the natural history of zebrafish can inform welfare refinements and improvements in experimental science.  

See [4] for a review of the evidence and challenges related to environmental enrichment and laboratory zebrafish.

See Chapter 5 of [1] for guidance and recommendations on a range of scientific procedures involving zebrafish. See the below publications for information on other potential refinements:

• A refined protocol for VIE tagging [5].
• A protocol for skin swabbing to collected DNA for zebrafish genotyping [6].
• Validation of morphine for reducing pain in zebrafish that have undergone heart cryoinjury, without affecting the regeneration of heart tissue [7].
• Validation of lidocaine hydrochloride buffered with sodium bicarbonate and ethanol for euthanasia of adult zebrafish [8] and embryos and larvae [9].
• Discussions on analgesia, anaesthesia, and euthanasia in zebrafish [10,11].

• The Zebrafish Husbandry Association (ZHA) is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting and developing zebrafish husbandry standards through education, collaboration, and publication.
• The Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN) is a database of genetic and genomic data for the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model organism.

Tech3Rs is our regular newsletter providing animal technicians with the latest news from the NC3Rs. Each issue features updates on recent advances in the 3Rs and highlights new resources, research and events that we think will be of interest to animal technicians, including information relevant for those working with zebrafish.

• An front page feature introducing the zebrafish skin swabbing resource (Issue 14, March 2022, page 1)
• A summary of three studies focusing on how different types of environmental enrichment and different exposure patterns can affect zebrafish welfare (Issue 10, February 2021, page 3).
• The Aquarium Stock Resource Manager and NACWO at the University of Sheffield's Bateson Centre shares her experience of using the Zebrafish Embryonic Genotyper (ZEG) (Issue 7, May 2020, page 2).
• A summary of three studies focusing on the welfare of laboratory zebrafish (Issue 2, February 2019, page 3).

• The North American 3Rs Collaborative (NA3RsC), zebrafish housing and handling.

• Norecopa, zebrafish resources.

• RSPCA, Focus on Fish 2021 summary meeting report.