摘要:Summary. The use of fish for experimental purposes has seen a significant increase over the past
years, consequently scientific findings on factors influencing welfare of these vertebrates are now
available, as well as debates on their capacity of experiencing suffering are increasingly found in
animal welfare discussions. Nowadays, in Europe, the use of these animals as experimental models
is regulated by the Recommendation 2007/526/EC, where in the Section on the species-specific
guidelines for fish, aspects such as the environmental characteristics of housing, the monitoring of
animal health, the general care of subjects (i.e. feeding, handling, transport), and the killing procedures,
are considered. In this manuscript, some aspects regarding the use of fish for human benefits
will be discussed, and the suggestions provided by the European legislation are pointed out in order
to identify limits and advantages.