Animal Welfare Program, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Altern Lab Anim. 2012 Dec;40(6):321-33. doi: 10.1177/026119291204000605.
The species of laboratory animal used is known to influence people's willingness to support animal-based research. An online experiment was used to test people's willingness to accept the use of zebrafish or mice, two of the most commonly used species, in research involving either induced mutation (specifically, ethyl-N-nitrosourea [ENU] mutagenesis) or genetic modification, with and without regulatory oversight. Participants who were willing to support research on zebrafish (31.9%) were also willing to support the same research on mice. The participants expressed low levels of support for research involving ENU mutagenesis of zebrafish in both unregulated (30.7%) and regulated (38.5%) research programmes. A reason for the rejection of ENU mutagenesis was the perception that the procedure is painful. Some participants expressed a preference for the use of genetically-modified (GM) animal models over ENU mutagenesis, based on the belief that the former involves less pain and improves both the accuracy and efficiency of the animal models. Better informing the public about scientific practice, and scientists about public attitudes, may help reduce the disconnect between scientific practice and societal values.
实验动物的物种已知会影响人们对基于动物的研究的支持意愿。一项在线实验用于测试人们在涉及诱导突变（具体来说是乙基-N-亚硝脲[ENU]诱变）或遗传修饰的研究中接受使用最常用的两种物种斑马鱼或小鼠的意愿，有无监管。愿意支持斑马鱼研究的参与者（31.9%）也愿意支持同样的小鼠研究。参与者对未经监管（30.7%）和监管（38.5%）研究计划中涉及斑马鱼 ENU 诱变的研究表示支持程度较低。反对 ENU 诱变的一个原因是认为该程序会带来痛苦。一些参与者表示更喜欢使用基因修饰（GM）动物模型而不是 ENU 诱变，因为他们认为前者涉及的痛苦较少，并提高了动物模型的准确性和效率。更好地向公众宣传科学实践，以及向科学家宣传公众态度，可能有助于减少科学实践与社会价值观之间的脱节。
