Readers of, and contributors to, the Journal will be aware that the Journal continually strives to ensure that papers published promote best practice and ethical use of live animals, including fishes, and are aware of the associated public debate.Currently, contributors to the Journal of Fish Biology in the course of their research are required to adhere to the Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research published in Animal Behaviour (1998), 55, 251-257 (see Item 16 in Instruction to Authors) and the guidance published in this Journal more recently [Journal of Fish Biology (2006), 68, 1-2].Recent experience indicates that authors are clearly paying more attention to welfare and ethical issues; nonetheless, it has become apparent that more specific guidance is needed with respect to studies that involve lethal endpoints, predation of live prey and euthanasia.The following is intended as guidance, but authors should be mindful that the Journal will not publish studies that might cause unnecessary, avoidable or insufficiently justified adverse effects, or lasting harm, to a sentient animal.
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Metcalfe et al. (2011) studied this question.