THE USE OF JAPANESE AND BOBWHITE QUAIL AS INDICATOR SPECIES IN AVIAN TOXICITY TEST

A comparative analysis was made between the toxicity of plant protecti on products to two species of quail used in regulatory testing. It was shown that in general differences in the sensitivity between bobwhite quail and Japanese quail were small, and not statistically significan t. It was therefore concluded that both species should be seen as equa lly suitable models for avian safety assessment. The mutual acceptance of studies carried out-on either of these species for US and EC regis tration procedures, would lead to a reduction in vertebrate sacrifice and resource spending.