The first genetically modified (GM) pets sold in the United States, fluorescent red zebrafish called GloFish, are the focus of a lawsuit against the government from environmental and food safety groups seeking federal regulation of the animals. A coalition led by the Center for Food Safety, a national watchdog group in Washington, DC, plans to file suit this week in a federal district court against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for not regulating GloFish.

“It's clear this sets a precedent for genetically engineered animals. It opens the dams to a whole host of nonfood genetically engineered organisms. That's unacceptable to us and runs counter to things the National Academy of Sciences and other scientific review boards have said, particularly when it comes to mobile GM organisms like fish and insects,” Joseph Mendelson, the Center for Food Safety's legal director, told The Scientist.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio...

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