Sixth Report… On The Number Of Animals Used For Experimental And Other Scientific Purposes [EU]
This report from the European Commission provides an overview on the number of animals used in the European Union for scientific purposes in the year 2008. Just over 12 million animals were used for such purposes during the year, with rodents (including rabbits) comprising more than 80% of this total.
The 12 million animals used for research purposes in 2008 represent a small decrease from the 12.1 million noted in 2005. By species, the animals used in research included:
- 21,000+ dogs
- 330,000+ rabbits
- 9,500,000+ rodents
- 4,000+ cats
- 92,000+ pigs
- 9,000+ non-human primates
The animals used in 2008 included a 13% increase for fundamental biological research to 4,575,054 animals used, and a 13% increase the use of animals for the production and quality control of products and devices for veterinary medicine. Increases were also noted in the use of animals for food additives (from 34,225 to 54,164) and animals that were poisoned to death in lethal studies (354).
The EU countries that most commonly use research animals France, the United Kingdom (UK), and Germany, which together comprise 55% of the total number of animals used for research in the EU. Individually, UK usage rose by 21%, Germany by 11%, and France by .13%.