Our ethical commitment

From the inception of Laboratoire Watchfrog, our mission has been to provide a physiologically relevant diagnostic of whole organism toxicity while avoiding the use of laboratory animals. Just after hatching, 3-4 millimeter long, translucent, aquatic larvae of fish and amphibians represent an in vitro test solution to achieve ethical and regulatory goals.

From an ethical regulatory point of view, early non-autonomous stages of aquatic vertebrates are not concerned by European Directive 2010/63/EU on animal experimentation.

These « non-protected » developmental stages, also named eleuthero embryos, are still dependent on egg yolk, vitellus, which is present in their digestive tract.

Originally the British regulations proposed to exclude these early developmental stages: UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (1986): For Fish Amphibia and Octopi vulgaris – Protection extends to certain immature stages of development from the time at which they become capable of independent feeding.

This position was subsequently adopted by some agencies: EFSA, 2005: the stage of development at which there is a risk of poor welfare when a procedure is carried out on them is for fish, amphibians, cephalopods, or decapods; is when they are capable of feeding independently rather than being dependent on the food supply from the egg.

This point of view is also transposed into Swiss regulations, which again distinguish the “larval stages of fish and amphibians that feed on themselves” from those that still rely on egg reserves.

The use of small aquatic model organisms is now encouraged by various international institutions, particularly the NC3Rs.

This regulatory context supports the use of our tests as alternative methods to protect animal welfare.
Overall, ethics is also a personal moral matter. As scientific experts trained at the National Museum of Natural History, we believe these very early stages provide ethical testing solutions that support safety for human health and the environment. Our choice is part of an enlightened desire to offer a relevant tool that is a real alternative that respects ethics.