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Experimental Animal Use in Turkey: A Comparison with Other Countries

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DOI: 10.1177/0261192919861874

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Article

Alternatives to Laboratory Animals

2019, Vol. 47(2) 82–92
Experimental Animal Use in Turkey: ª The Author(s) 2019
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A Comparison with Other Countries sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0261192919861874
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Cagri Caglar Sinmez1 and Askin Yasar2

Abstract
The legal structure that governs animal use in Turkey is in line with that of the European Union (EU). In 2004, legislation on
the use of animals for experimental and other scientific purposes was established in Turkey for the first time. The present
study aimed to compare the data on experimental animal use in Turkey (during the period 2008–2017) with similar
reports from selected countries (the United States, Australia, Canada and the EU). In Turkey, a total of 2,104,828 animals
were used for experimental and other scientific purposes during 2008–2017. Of the animals used, 758,887 were fish
(36%), 433,417 rats (21%), 302,512 birds other than quail (14%) and 285,531 mice (13%). According to a breakdown by
purpose for use, in Turkey during 2009–2017, out of a total number of 1,955,307 animals used, 56% were for fundamental
biological studies, with a high proportion used for research on animal disease. Compared with the other countries, fewer
animals were used in Turkey although the national trend seems to indicate that the number is fluctuating. Further studies
are required to uncover the reasons behind this reduced animal use in Turkey, as compared to other countries.

Keywords
Animal Ethics Committees, animal use, statistical reports, Turkey

Introduction to scientific criteria,6 and this has promoted a more logi-

cal flow of dialogue on animal-based research between
Animal experiments and related ethical concerns date
all those involved, including anti-vivisectionists.7
back to the ancient Greek period. While ethical concerns
To reduce the disparity (in terms of laws, regulations
have been discussed extensively over the years, animal
and administrative provisions) across EU member states
experiments have been carried out and have been increas-
on the protection of animals used for experimental and
ing in number, since the middle of the 20th century.1 In
other scientific purposes, the EC adopted Directive 86/
the 1970s, animal experimentation became an important
609/EEC on 24 November 1986.8 However, after the adop-
political issue with the beginning of new animal rights
tion of this directive, many different approaches were still
movements. As a result, a number of legal documents
being followed by member states.6 After almost 20 years,
relevant to animal experimentation and animal welfare
the legislation was further refined and standardised in a
were introduced by several individual countries and even-
new directive (2010/63/EU) which was approved on 22
tually by the European Union (EU).2 The Universal
September 2010 and came into force on 1 January 2013
Declaration of Animal Rights (proclaimed in 1978)
in all EU member states.9 This new directive has led to
became an important step in humane and ethical beha-
more uniform animal protection in the EU; compared with
viour towards animals.3 Over time, the general public
started paying attention to animal rights and animal wel-
fare, which led to further new regulations intended to 1
Department of History of Veterinary Medicine and Deontology, Faculty
protect animals used for experimental and other scientific
of Veterinary Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
purposes. For instance, the EU and the European Council 2
Department of History of Veterinary Medicine and Deontology, Faculty
(EC) have introduced laws to cover animal experiments.4 of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey
In addition, Animal Ethics Committees (AECs), which
are meant to ensure that the welfare standards of animals Corresponding author:
Cagri Caglar Sinmez, Department of History of Veterinary Medicine and
used in experiments are maintained, were created in Deontology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri
response to the public’s worries.5 These AECs have a 38039, Turkey.
responsibility for maintaining animal welfare according Email: cagribey6038@hotmail.com
Sinmez and Yasar
the previous directive (1986/609/EEC), the most important
change was that all scientific procedures in a project must
be approved by National Competent Authorities.6
In most countries — especially those in the EU and
North America, and in Australia — research projects
involving animals are approved by AECs (or their equiva-
lent), following evaluation of each project to minimise
harm to animals while maximising benefit for humans.
AECs have become an interface between society and scien-
tists and have increased the awareness of scientists in rela-
tion to public concern.10,11 According to the directives
86/609/EEC and 2010/63/EU, each member state is
required to submit statistical data regarding animal use for
research to the EU Commission and to share these data
with the general public.8,9
The legal structure for experimental animal use in Tur-
key is in line with EU standards. In 2004, for the first time,
legislation on the use of animals for experimental and other
scientific purposes was established in Turkey: Regulations
on the Protection of Animals Used for Experimental and
Other Scientific Purposes, the Breeding Places of Experi-
mental Animals, the Establishment, Operation, Inspection,
Procedures and Principles of the Laboratories that Under-
take Experiments was published in the Turkish Official
Gazette.12 These rules were later updated according to
Directive 2010/63/EU.13
Article 9 of Turkish Law No. 5199 (i.e. Animal Protec-
tion Act), laid down by the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry in 2004, covers animal experiments.14 According
to Article 9, animals can be used in experiments and other
scientific purposes, but only if there is no other option and
then only with ethics committee approval. In these circum-
stances, experiments are designed to protect the animals
used, and their housing and welfare are strictly regulated.
In 2006, the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
published a set of regulations entitled Concerned with the
Operation, Procedures and Principles of the Ethics Com-
mittees of Animal Experiments.15 These regulations were
revised and updated on 15 February 2014, as a result of
which two new types of ethics committee were introduced:
the Central Ethics Committee for Animal Experiments
(CECAE) and the Local Ethics Committee for Animal
Experiments (LECAE). The CECAE is responsible for the
ethics associated with the use of animals for experimental
and other scientific purposes. It also oversees the research
establishments and the working rules of the local ethics
committees. As in other countries, the Turkish CECAE
defines the rules that the local committees have to follow.
LECAEs are in place in all state-run and private research
establishments, as well as in higher education institu-
tions.16 Every institution where animals are used for
research needs to have a LECAE. In Turkey, as of May
2017, there were 95 LECAEs whose guidelines had been
approved by the CECAE.17
83
As a result of concerns over the use of animals for
experimental and other scientific purposes, statistical data
on animal use are published all over the world to inform the
general public, as well as animal rights organisations and
scientists. The present study compared data on the numbers
of animals used in Turkey during 2008–2017, with the
corresponding statistical reports published in other selected
countries.
Methods
Annual reports and statistical data, covering the period
2008–2017, were obtained from the Turkish CECAE on
two different occasions (on 16 March 2017 [for data from
2016 and before] and on 20 July 2018 [for data from
2017]) and retrospectively analysed. The Turkish data
were compared with data from selected countries that
undertake extensive animal experimentation (such as the
United States, Australia, Canada and countries within the
EU). Although we originally intended to compare trends
in animal use over certain years in the different countries,
not all countries had data available from the required
years. When that was the case, we used data from the
closest possible year.
A two-sided Pearson’s 2 test for probability values,
with Monte Carlo resampling, was used to compare the
differences between the groups for categorical variables.
The data were evaluated with SPPS 25 (IBM SPSS Statis-
tics for Windows, Version 25.0; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY,
USA); the values of p < 0.05 were considered significant.
Results
In Turkey, LECAEs started collecting data on animals used
for experimental purposes and forwarding the information
to the CECAE in 2008 (Table 1). From these CECAE data,
we determined the species and numbers of animals used
(Table 1) and reused (Table 2). Table 3 summarises the
numbers of animals used, by purpose of the experiment.
Although data on the animal numbers were available from
2008, the additional data used in Tables 2 and 3 were only
available from 2009 onward.
Overall, the year with the lowest animal use in Turkey
was 2013, and the year with the highest was 2015 (116,023
and 345,872, respectively; Table 1 and Figure 1). Of the
animal species chosen, fish were the most commonly used
(758,887), followed by rats (433,417), other birds (exclud-
ing quail) (302,512) and mice (285,531). Prosimians (n ¼ 1),
New World monkeys (n ¼ 1) and apes (n ¼ 2) were used
only in 2008, ferrets (n ¼ 1330) were used only in 2009, and
Old World monkeys have not been used for the last 10 years
(Table 1).
Regarding the reuse of animals, a total of 14,118 (0.7%)
animals that had been previously used in research were
reused in experiments between 2009 and 2017. The year
84
Table 1. The numbers of animals used for experimental purposes in Turkey between 2008 and 2017.

Year
Numbers used
in year(s) 2008–2017
Animal species indicated 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 total

Mice (Mus musculus) n 34,096a 36,557b 32,866c 34,677d 23,746e 16,949e 25,687f 36,892g 20,779h 23,282i 285,531
% 23 14 15 19 15 15 14 11 9 9 14
Rats (Rattus norvegicus) n 26,839a 36,569b 41,204c 48,868d 48,731e 46,174f 50,659g 51,371h 45,807i 37,195j 433,417
% 18 14 19 27 30 40 28 15 21 14 21
Guinea-pigs (Cavia porcellus) n 1739a 1819b 1712c 1652d 1547d 1101d 1695d 1754e 487f 1459g 14,965
% 1.2 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.5 0.2 0.6 0.7
Hamsters (Mesocricetus) n 0a 116b 590c 0a 38d 50b 218e 34f 0a 10g 1056
% — — 0.3 — — — 0.1 — — — 0.1
Other rodents (other Rodentia) n 2a 1420b 120c 333d 1705e 354f 324d 122g 501h 628h 5509
% — 0.5 0.1 0.2 1.0 0.3 0.2 — 0.2 0.2 0.3
Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) n 3132a 3532b 4272c 3972a 3065d 2799e 3772a 3812f 2337f 2503g 33,196
% 2.1 1.3 2.0 2.2 1.9 2.4 2.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.6
Cats (Felis catus) n 650a 47b 383c 1378d 667a 520a,e 165f 581c 90g 1283e 5764
% 0.4 — 0.2 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.2 — 0.5 0.3
Dogs (Canis familiaris) n 2484a 753b 1950c 2775d 1872e 1207f 1111g 2063g 745h 3464i 18,424
% 1.7 0.3 0.9 1.5 1.1 1.0 0.6 0.6 0.3 1.3 0.9
Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) n 0a 1330b 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 1330
% — 0.5 — — — — — — — — 0.1
Other carnivores (other Carnivora) n 3a,b 90c 0d 5b 0a,d 0a,b,d 172e 4a,b,d 0d 0d 274
% — — — — — — 0.1 — — — —
Horses, donkeys and cross breeds (Equidae) n 399a 332b 22,937c 565d 33e 100f 136f 95e 151f 52e 24,800
% 0.3 0.1 11 0.3 — 0.1 0.1 — 0.1 — 1.2
Pigs (Sus) n 74a,b 16c 79b,d 38e 223f 33d,e 377g 541f 140a,h 186h 1707
% — — — — 0.1 — 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1
Goats (Capra) n 1365a 2093b 3586c 2992c 4127d 1473e 5950f 1194g 1908a 14,445h 39,133
% 0.9 0.8 1.7 1.6 2.5 1.3 3.3 0.3 0.9 5.5 1.9
Sheep (Ovis) n 1499a 6385b 12298c 4803d 4942e 4582f 9245g 3800h 7100i 8532i 63,186
% 1.0 2.4 5.7 2.6 3.0 3.9 5.1 1.1 3.2 3.3 3.0
Cattle (Bos) n 3035a 7849b 6201b 8638c 5299d 4070e 9575f 7035a 5113g 6523h 63,338
% 2.0 2.9 2.9 4.7 3.2 3.5 5.3 2.0 2.3 2.5 3.0
Prosimians (Prosimia) n 1a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 1
% — — — — — — — — — — —
New World monkeys (Ceboidea) n 1a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 1
% — — — — — — — — — — —
Apes (Hominoidea) n 2a 0a,b 0a,b 0a,b 0a,b 0a,b 0a,b 0b 0a,b 0a,b 2
% — — — — — — — — — — —
Other mammals (other Mammalia) n 173a 1255b 104c 37d 822b 143a 49d 19e 568f 198g 3368
% 0.1 0.5 — — 0.5 0.1 — — 0.3 0.1 0.2
(continued)
 Table 1. (continued)

Year
Numbers used
in year(s) 2008–2017
Animal species indicated 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 total

Quail (Coturnix coturnix) n 0a 1342b 2060c 3714d 3214d 580b 5321e 4490f 9098g 8089h 37908
% — 0.5 1.0 2.0 2.0 0.5 2.9 1.3 4.1 3.1 1.8
Other birds (other Aves) n 30,300a 25,288b 36,149c 28,580d 22,113e 20,382f 30,225c 32,775b 56,728g 19,972h 302,512
% 20 9.5 17 16 14 18 17 9.5 26 7.6 14
Reptiles (Reptilia) n 104a 128b 317c 141a 60b 550d 32e 60e 860f 334c 2586
% 0.1 — 0.1 0.1 — 0.5 — — 0.4 0.1 0.1
Amphibians (Amphibia) n 658a 127b 505c 343d 1771e 554a 979f 1517a 475c 1004g 7933
% 0.4 — 0.2 0.2 1.1 0.5 0.5 0.4% 0.2 0.4 0.4
Fish (Pisces) n 42,965a 139,027b 49,428c 40,677d 39,217e 14,402f 35,656g 197,713h 67,274i 132,528j 758,887
% 29 52 23 22 24 12 20 57 31 51 36

Total number of animals used in the year(s) n 149,521 266,075 216,761 184,188 163,192 116,023 181,348 345,872 220,161 261,687 2,104,828
indicated
% 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Note: 2 ¼ 557,030, df ¼ 207; p < 0.01. The percentage values indicate the proportional use of that particular animal species, out of the total number of animals used (as per the last entry in each column). —
indicates 0.0%. To indicate statistically significant differences in the number of animals used each year for the various animal species, the data (n) are shown with alphabetical letter superscripts. When the
same letter is used across each row, it indicates that there are no statistically significant differences between those data. Different superscript letter labels used across each row indicate statistically significant
differences between the specifically labelled values.

85
86 Alternatives to Laboratory Animals 47(2)

Table 2. The numbers of animals reused for experiments in Turkey between 2009 and 2017.

Year
Numbers reused
in year(s) 2009–2017
Animal species indicated 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2017 total

Mice n 0a 208b 10c 0a,d 50d 130c 106c 149e 653

% — 3.6 9.5 — 1.0 10 12 59 4.6
Rats n 4a,b 232c 2b,c 0a,b,d 19a,d 580e 0d 40f 877
% 0.8 4.0 1.9 — 0.4 46 — 16 6.2
Guinea-pigs n 0a 10a 6b 0a,c 696d 20c 0a 45d 777
% — 0.2 5.7 — 13 1.6 — 18 5.5
Other rodents n 30a 0b 0b 0b 0b 0b 0b 0b 30
% 6.2 — — — — — — — 0.2%
Rabbits n 0a 218b 0a 12b,c,d 266c,d 49b,d 6a 20c 571
% — 3.8% — 6.5% 5.1 3.9 0.7 7.9 4.0
Cats n 3a 0b 0a,b 30c 0b 0b 0b 0a,b 33
% 0.6 — — 16 — — — — 0.2
Dogs n 214a 0b 0b,c 2c,d 0b 47d 0b 0b,c 263
% 45 — — 1.1 — 3.8 — — 1.9
Horses, donkeys and cross breeds n 0a 0a 1b 0a,b 0a 0a 0a 0a,b 1
% — — 1.0 — — — — — —
Pigs n 0a 0a 6b 80c 0a 0a 0a 0a 86
% — — 5.7 44 — — — — 0.6
Goats n 0a,b,c,d,e 0d,e 0a,b,c,d,e 20f 0c,e 6b 0a,c,d,e 0a,b,c,d,e 26
% — — — 11 — 0.5 — — 0.2
Sheep n 0a,b 799c 0a,b 36d 33b 228d 0a 0a,b 1096
% — 14 — 20 0.6 18 — — 7.8
Cattle n 0a 492b 0a,c 4c 0a 0a 0a 0a 496
% — 8.6 — 2.2 — — — — 3.5
Other mammals n 0a 0a 80b 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 80
% — — 76 — — — — — 0.6
Other birds (i.e. excluding quail) n 15a 3280b 0a,c 0c 4115d 193e 0c 0c 7603
% 3.1 57 — — 80 15 — — 54
Reptiles n 0a 100b 0a,b 0a,b 0a 0a 0a 0a 100
% — 1.7 — — — — — — 0.7
Amphibians n 0a 200b 0a,b 0a 0a 0a 0a 0a 200
% — 3.5 — — — — — — 1.4
Fish n 215a 200b 0b,c 0c 0c 0c 811d 0c 1226
% 45 3.5 — — — — 88 — 8.7
Total number of animals reused in the n 481 5739 105 184 5179 1253 923 254 14,118
year(s) indicated % 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Note: 2 ¼ 44,647, df ¼ 112; p < 0.01. The percentage values indicate the proportional reuse of that particular animal species, out of the total number of
animals reused (as per the last entry in each column). — indicates 0.0%. To indicate statistically significant differences in the number of animals reused
each year for the various animal species, the data (n) are shown with alphabetical letter superscripts. When the same letter is used across each row, it
indicates that there are no statistically significant differences between those data. Different superscript letter labels used across each row indicate
statistically significant differences between the specifically labelled values.

with the highest level of animal reuse was 2010 (n ¼ 5739;
41%), while 2011 had the lowest level (n ¼ 105; 0.7%); no
animals were reused in 2016 (Table 2; data not included).
Table 3 and Figure 2 show the use of animals according
to research purpose, for the 2009–2017 period. The types of
research purpose and the proportion of animal use, from
highest to lowest, were as follows: biological studies of a
fundamental nature (n ¼ 1,091,750; 56%); ‘other’ (n ¼
309,203; 16%); diagnosis of disease (n ¼ 160,118;
8.2%); toxicological and other safety evaluations (includ-
ing safety evaluation of products) (n ¼ 135,734; 6.9%);
research and development of products and devices for
human medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine (n ¼
104,796; 5.4%); production and quality control of products
and devices for veterinary medicine (n ¼ 98,964; 5.1%);
education and training (n ¼ 35,316; 1.8%) and production
and quality control of products and devices for human
medicine and dentistry (n ¼ 19,426; 1.0%).
The numbers of animals used for experiments on ani-
mal and human diseases have been recorded in Turkey
since 2009, and the total number of animals used specif-
ically for this purpose in the 2009–2017 period was
1,071,850. Of these animals, 60% were used for experi-
ments on animal diseases (n ¼ 642,917), while the rest
 Table 3. The numbers of animals used in Turkey in the 2009–2017 period, by purpose for use.

Purpose of experiments

Research and
Number of development of Production and
animals used products and quality control of Production and
for each Biological devices for human products and quality control of
purpose in studies of a medicine, dentistry devices for human products and devices Toxicological and Total number
year(s) fundamental and veterinary medicine and for veterinary other safety Diagnosis Education of animals
Year indicated nature medicine dentistry medicine evaluations of disease and training Other used per year

2009 n 197,611a 15,859b 13,648c 11,184d 11,478e 6827f 4370g 5098h 266,075
% 74 6.0 5.1 4.2 4.3 2.6 1.6 1.9 14
2010 n 115,417a 15,625b 699c 15,204d 14,502a 15,525e 9418f 30,371e 216,761
% 53 7.2 0.3 7.0 6.7 7.2 4.3 14 11
2011 n 98,232a 11,896b 3491c 17,657c 18,100d 26,008e 2589f 6215g 184,188
% 53 6.5 1.9 9.6 9.8 14.1 1.4 3.4 9.4
2012 n 91,900a 10,873b 583c 16,380d 8845e 18,649f 4712g 11,250h 163,192
% 56 6.7 0.4 10 5.4 11 2.9 6.9 8.3
2013 n 65,511a 5410b 28c 9969d 3630e 16,803f 3047g 11,625h 116,023
% 57 4.7 — 8.6 3.1 15 2.6 10 5.9
2014 n 110,109a 13,667b 0c 3398d 6894e 24,952f 3178g 19,150h 181,348
% 61 7.5 — 1.9 3.8 14 1.8 11 9.3
2015 n 136,117a 11,287b 210c 6182d 4983e 19,879a 3191f 164,023g 345,872
% 39 3.3 0.1 1.8 1.4 5.7 0.9 47 18
2016 n 159,652a 16,885b 414c 15,453d 2902c 12,519e 3029f 9307g 220,161
% 73 7.7 0.2 7.0 1.3 5.7 1.4 4.2 11
2017 n 117,201a 3294b 353c 3537d 64,400e 18,956f 1782g 52,164h 261,687
% 45 1.3 0.1 1.4 25 7.2 0.7 20 13
2009–2017 n 1,091,750 104,796 19,426 98,964 135,734 160,118 35,316 309,203 1,955,307
% 56 5.4 1.0 5.1 6.9 8.2 1.8 16 100
Note: 2 ¼ 965,896, df ¼ 56; p < 0.01. The percentage values indicate the proportional number of animals used for that particular purpose, out of the total number of animals used in the given year (as per the
entry listed in the right-hand column). — indicates 0.0%. To indicate statistically significant differences in the number of animals used each year, for each of the various experimental purposes, the data (n) are
shown with alphabetical letter superscripts. When the same letter is used within each column, it indicates that there are no statistically significant differences between those data. Different superscript letter
labels used within each column indicate statistically significant differences between the specifically labelled values.

87
88 Alternatives to Laboratory Animals 47(2)

Figure 1. The most common animal species used for experimental purposes in Turkey (2008–2017).

Figure 2. The percentage of experimental animals used in Turkey, by purpose for use, in the period 2009–2017.

were used for experiments on human diseases — namely,
other human diseases (n ¼ 308,064; 29%), human nervous
and mental disorders (n ¼ 72,370; 6.8%), human cancers
(n ¼ 26,344; 2.5%) and human cardiovascular diseases
(n ¼ 22,155; 2.1%) (Figure 3).
The three most commonly used experimental animals in
the selected countries are listed in Table 4 for the years
2008 and 2016. The data show that mice and fish were the
preferred laboratory animals in Canada and Australia in
2016, with both countries recording the use of very high
numbers. Interestingly, Australia has high levels of use of
animals in the category ‘Native mammals’, which refers to
species such as kangaroos, koalas, quolls, echidnas, marsu-
pial moles, bandicoots and possums. In addition to mice
and fish, rats were also commonly used in EU member
states.
Discussion
Most developed countries have established particular rules
and regulations to help reduce the level of suffering
imposed on animals used for experimental and other scien-
tific purposes. The Three Rs principles (Replacement,
Reduction, Refinement), which were first put forward as
an ethical framework by Russell and Burch in 1959,18 are
now a fundamental part of nearly all international legisla-
tion regarding animal experiments, and the resulting direc-
tives always promote the development and use of
Sinmez and Yasar
Figure 3. The percentage of experimental animals used in Turkey, by type of disease studied, in the period 2009–2017.
alternative methods. In Turkey, the laws on AECs (i.e.
Concerned with the Operation, Procedures and Principles
of the Ethics Committees of Animal Experiments16) are
important documents that were prepared according to EU
directives. They refer to the Three Rs principles and the
Turkish regulations regarding animal use for experimental
and other scientific purposes. The Turkish legislation can
be considered an important step in regulating the use of
animals for experimental purposes within an ethical and
legal framework.
The animal numbers: How does Turkey compare?
Changes in the numbers of animals used in the selected
countries over time were assessed, by comparing the data
from 2008 with more-recent data. According to EC reports,
the total number of animals used in the 27 EU member
states was 12 million in 2008 and 11.5 million in 2011,
representing a reduction of more than 0.5 million animals
(4.3%).19,20 Similarly, in the United States, the number of
animals used in 2016 was 18% lower than the number used
in 2008 (down from 999,798 to 820,812).21,22 However, in
Australia and Canada, the opposite trends were apparent,
with the numbers of animals used increasing from 5.1 mil-
lion in 2008 to 7.2 million in 2016 (representing an increase
of 29%)23,24 and 2.2 million in 2008 to 4.3 million in 2016 (a
90% increase),25,26 respectively.
The Turkish data showed a similar trend to that of the
Australian and Canadian data in that significantly more
animals were used in 2017 as compared to 2008 (a 75%
increase; Table 1). This trend is the opposite to that
observed for the data from the United States and the EU.
Such statistically significant fluctuations in the numbers of
animals used might reflect changes in biomedical research
89
activities, the implementation of new guidelines and regu-
lations at national or international level, the uptake of new
technologies and so on.27 In addition, many universities
were opened in Turkey between 2008 and 2017 (in 2017,
there were 206 universities, as compared to only 130 in
2008),28,29 and this might have contributed to the increase
in the numbers of animals used in experiments.
An insight into the types of animal used
Of particular note is the significant increase in the number
of fish that were used in research in 2011, in the EU mem-
ber states.20 The reasons for this increase could potentially
be due to a rise in research on commercial aquaculture and
fisheries since the 1990s. In addition, many fish species
produce transparent eggs, which facilitate the monitoring
of the various developmental stages — a technique that can
easily lend itself to a range of new research approaches.27,30
In addition to fish, rodents are also widely used. There are
several advantages that are commonly associated with the
use of mice and rats, which explains why they are so widely
used in laboratories across the world. Both species are rela-
tively small animals with short reproductive cycles, they are
relatively easily housed, their genomes have been sequenced
and, genetically, they have much in common with humans.31
As a result of these features, mice and fish were the
preferred laboratory animals in Canada and Australia, with
both countries recording the use of very high numbers. In
addition to mice and fish, rats were also commonly used in
EU member states (Table 4).19,20,23–26 The high number of
fish used for experimental studies in Turkey (758,887
between 2008 and 2017 inclusive) can also be attributed
to an increase in production and scientific need to use these
species. Similarly, the use of high numbers of rats and mice
90 Alternatives to Laboratory Animals 47(2)

Table 4. The most commonly used experimental animals in (i.e. 52% in 2008, 61% in 2011, 61% in 2015 and 57% in
selected countries or regions. 2016).25,26,32,33 In Australia, in 2016, 75% of laboratory
animals were used in basic biological research24 and,
Proportion of
all animals according to an EC working document,20 46% of laboratory
Country/ Number of used in the animals were used in basic biological research in EU mem-
region Year Animal type animals used given year (%) ber states in 2011. These data are very similar to the Turk-
ish data for 2009–2017 (56%; Table 3, Figure 2).
United 2008 Rabbits 234,808 24
While in EU member states in 2011, 11% of laboratory
Statesa Guinea-pigs 227,629 23
Hamsters 153,607 15 animals were used for the production and quality control of
2016 Guinea-pigs 183,237 22 products and devices for human medicine and dentistry,20
Rabbits 139,391 17 the corresponding value for Turkey was only 1.9% for the
Hamsters 102,633 13 same year (Table 3, Figure 2). The percentage of laboratory
Canada 2008 Mice 1,053,946 46 animals used for toxicological and other safety evaluations
Fish 499,445 22 across the EU was 10% in 2002, 8.2% in 2005, 8.7% in 2008
Rats 305,819 13
and 8.8% in 2011,19,20 while it was 6.9% for the 2009–2017
2016 Fish 1,602,547 37
Mice 1,500,156 35 period in Turkey (Table 3, Figure 2). When EC reports for
Cattle 526,249 12 2008 and 2011 were compared,19,20 there was a reduction
Australiab 2008 Other aquatic 1,298,900 25 (from 23% to 19%) in the number of laboratory animals used
animalsc for the research and development of products and devices for
Domestic 1,227,916 24 human medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine. Simi-
birds larly, a reduction was also recorded in Turkey (from 6.0% to
Fish 849,980 17
1.3%; Table 3, Figure 2). While the number of laboratory
2016 Native 3,577,258 50
mammals animals used in biological studies of a fundamental nature
Mice 1,381,785 19 increased in the EU from 38% in 2008 to 46% in 2011,19,20
Fish 1,102,437 15 in Turkey it dropped from 74% in 2009 to 45% in 2017.
European 2008 Mice 7,122,188 59
Union Rats 2,121,727 18 Education and training: According to EU reports, the number
Fish 1,087,155 9.1 of animals used for education and training purposes was
2011d Mice 6,999,312 61 1.7% in 200819 and 1.6% in 2011.20 A more substantial
Rats 1,602,969 14 reduction was observed in Australia in the same time-
Fish 1,397,462 12 frame (from 4.4% to 2.1%).23,24 A similar situation was
Turkey 2008 Fish 42,965 29
observed in Turkey, where the number of animals used for
Mice 34,096 23
Other birdse 30,300 20 education and training dropped significantly, especially
2016 Fish 67,274 31 after 2010 (Table 3, Figure 2). This reduction is probably
Other birdse 56,728 26 a result of a number of factors, including the implementa-
Rats 45,807 21 tion of new regulations, improved knowledge, availability
a and uptake of alternative teaching methodologies and an
According to the Animal Welfare Act, statistical reports do not include
mice, rats, birds, amphibians and reptiles. increase in ethical concerns.
b
Based on data from three States.
c
Unspecified. Human diseases versus animal diseases: When the numbers of
d
Data from 2016 are unavailable. animals used for research on human and animal diseases
e
Other birds, excluding quail. were analysed there were striking differences between the
EU and Turkey. In the EU, 91% of animals were used for
research on human diseases, while only 9.2% were used for
in Turkey in this time period (433,417 and 285,531, respec-
research on animal diseases.20 According to the Turkish
tively) was most likely due to the perceived advantages
data, most of the animals (60%) were used for research
outlined above (Tables 1 and 4).
on animal diseases and only 40% were used for research
on human diseases. These findings might indicate that
veterinarians in Turkey are more involved in experimental
Experimental purposes vary between countries research than medical doctors.
With regard to the range of purposes for laboratory animal
‘Other’ purposes: One other interesting point about the EU
use, both parallels and distinct differences can be found
data is the proportion of animals used for ‘Other’ purposes:
across the world.
while this accounts for only 9.3% of laboratory animals
Biological studies: In Canada, around 60% of laboratory ani- used in the EU,20 it represents 16% of the animals used
mals are used in biological studies of a fundamental nature in Turkey (Table 3, Figure 2). The reason for this high
Sinmez and Yasar
number in Turkey might be due to incomplete information
on experiments in the CECAE data. This should be high-
lighted as a significant weakness of the CECAE system,
and steps should be taken to improve this point.
Conclusions
In the present study, we presented data on animal use for
experimental and other purposes in Turkey. The Turkish
legislation on animal experiments is based on EU legisla-
tion, and regulations published by the Ministry of Agricul-
ture and Forestry are promising. Compared with the other
countries selected for this study, the numbers of animals
used in Turkey are lower, which could reflect a positive
approach to animal ethics or that less animal-based
research is being carried out. To identify the reasons for
the differences in the data, further evaluation is required.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Ethical Approval
Ethics approval was not required for this article.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was not required for this article.
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