Preliminary survey on animal research statistics in Sri Lanka from 2010 onwards.

BACKGROUND: Animal research is conducted in many countries across the world. However, concepts of recording and reporting the numbers of animals used vary. In the context of animal studies, inadequate reporting raises both ethical and scientific concerns. Sri Lanka has yet to publish data on animal research statistics.
METHODS: The objective of this survey was to present the number and types of vertebrate animals used for research and establish the species used for different types of research studies. All facilities/personnel engaged in animal research were invited to participate and a web-based survey was performed.
RESULTS: Based on the data collected, rats and mice were the most widely used animals in Sri Lankan laboratories. Of these, the most reported model were rats of the Wistar strain (42%) and mice of the BALB/c strain (15%). The highest number of animals used in laboratory research occurred in 2011, with a 12% decrease observed in 2012.

INTRODUCTION

Animal research, one of the most controversial areas of science, is conducted in many countries across the world.1 However, concepts of recording and reporting the numbers of animals used vary. In the context of animal studies, inadequate reporting raises both ethical and scientific concerns.2, 3 Potential use of study outcomes to assess preclinical evidence in humans can be restricted by inadequate reporting and the translation of experimental results to human research is hindered.

The number of animals used in laboratory‐based research rises and falls over time and many factors such as the standard of biomedical activity within a country, popular areas of research, alterations to legislation at home and overseas, outsourcing of research to and from other countries, and new technologies contribute to this.1, 4

Sri Lanka has yet to publish data on animal research statistics. The Animal Welfare Act drafted to protect animals has not yet been endorsed officially by the Government of Sri Lanka. The “Guidelines for Ethics Review of Research Proposals Involving Animals in Sri Lanka” published in 2009 serves as the only manual for the practical management of research involving animals and the protection of animals.5 Our objective in initiating a survey on animal research statistics in Sri Lanka was to benefit local biomedical knowledge by recording the number of animals that are being used in research and the type of research using animals conducted in the past. The data gathered from this kind of study can assist in the improvement of existing guidelines and evaluation of future research proposals. Presently, universities and research institutions have their own Ethics Review Committees (ERCs), which review protocols for research studies based on humans, animals or both together. The ERCs also bear the additional responsibility of monitoring the role of animal care within the approved research studies.

Our study has social and scientific value too as the first study of its kind. It is a descriptive study designed according to standard operating procedures followed both internationally and locally to ensure that scientific validity is maintained. Conducting this survey regularly will establish if the number of animals used in research rises or falls over time. The statistics can be used to improve policies on animal use in scientific work and provide information to the scientific community, animal welfare organizations and the general public. They can also assist efforts to implement policies involving the 3Rs concept for protection of animals in research.6 In this context, our objective in this study was to present the total number and type of vertebrate animals used for research in Sri Lanka.

Ethics approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo (EC/16/039).

METHODS

The study was conducted in four stages: document preparation, identification of the survey population, data collection and data analysis.

Document preparation

Following drafting of the invitation letter and information sheet, a survey questionnaire was prepared using the format in the “Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2014.”4

Identification of the survey population

All facilities (n = 21) engaged in animal‐based research in the country were contacted and the personnel (n = 112) involved in animal experiments at these facilities were invited to participate in this survey. These facilities include universities, research institutions and industries. Since the study was open to all facilities that engaged in laboratory animal research, it had representative participant selection. The participants were contacted privately to ensure privacy.

Data collection

Invitation letters with the information sheet and questionnaire were directed to relevant establishments via post and email, indicating a deadline for researchers to respond. An enclosed postage paid envelope was provided.

Web‐based data collection was also conducted to ensure that the survey was more comprehensive. Additionally, this covered data provided by researchers who did not get involved in the survey but had published their study details in open access journals or other accessible forms of dissemination.

Of the 112 invitations sent to 21 different facilities, only 12 personnel responded. Of these 12 respondents, we had to screen out those who had conducted experiments on invertebrates as our study focused on establishing statistics for vertebrates used in laboratory‐based experiments. All respondents were affiliated with academic institutions.

Data analysis

This process began once the deadline had elapsed. Only data from laboratory animal‐based studies were considered for analysis.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 1 shows the reported number of animals used in research from 2010 to 2015. For the year 2011, it was reported that 1189 animals of different species were used in laboratory‐based research, whereas 488 animals were reported for 2010. The increase in 2011 could be due to an increase publication of research using animals compared to 2010 or a rise in the popularity of using animal models to test for toxicology and tropical diseases in Sri Lanka. A decrease was observed in 2012, with rises in 2013 and 2014. Possible reasons for the decrease reported in 2012 were the lobbying of animal rights activists, a decrease in funding of research or inaccurate reporting of the number of animals that were used in research. The lower figure reported for 2015 was probably because some studies covering this period had yet to be published at the time of this survey. Figure 2 outlines the different species of animals that have been used in laboratory‐based animal research. Wistar rats constituted 42% of the total number of animals used from 2010 to 2015 in the survey, and BALB/c mice, 15%.

Figure 1

Reported number of animals used in research from 2010 to 2015

Figure 2

Species of animals used in laboratory‐based research in Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015

Based on the collected data, the most widely used laboratory‐based animals in Sri Lankan research were rats and mice. The majority of the animals were purchased from the Medical Research Institute in Colombo, as they are the main supplier of different animal models, but some institutions breed specific strains of animals at their own establishments eg Sprague‐Dawley rat model breeds at the animal house of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo. For certain types of research, animals were purchased from local breeders. Torque monkeys (Macaca sinica) were caught from the wild with the approval of the Department of Wildlife of Sri Lanka.

Toxicological and physiological studies were the most popular types of research studies conducted using animals. The animals considered under the ‘Other’ category include torque monkeys (Macaca sinica) used in malaria research, amphibians, fish, birds, etc.

In terms of limitations of the study, we did not have a high response rate from researchers to a majority of the data was gathered using a web‐based survey. In addition to this, some articles surveyed did not specify the exact number of animals that were used in a study.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

None.