Environmental safety issues for genetically modified animals

Abstract

Organisms modified by the techniques of modern biotechnology may differ significantly from normal organisms or organisms modified by other methods. Before transgenic organisms are introduced into the environment, the potential environmental effects should be assessed. In general, modification of ecologically important traits in undomesticated species presents the greatest environmental risk. Transgenic livestock probably pose low risk to the environment. Transgenic fish and live virus-based vaccines pose greater risks and present challenging questions for environmental risk assessment.