SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Study Finds 115 Million Animals Ued in Tests Worldwide
Aug 13, 2008
About 115 million animals were used in scientific research globally in 2005, according to an estimate based on official national figures and extrapolations from the number of scientific papers that were published involving animals.
The vast majority of the animals used were rodents (83.5%) with primates, cats and dogs making up 0.15%, 0.06% and 0.24% of the total respectively.
The 115 million figure was difficult to compile because recording criteria differed greatly from country to country. Only 37 countries had even partial national figures, while the researchers estimated the numbers for a further 142 countries based on the number of publications involving animals that came out in 2006.
The global estimate was put together jointly by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection and the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research and is published in the journal Alternatives to Laboratory Animals. "It is shocking that so few countries consider it important even to count the number of animals suffering in their laboratories," said the groups.
"It is impossible to have a clear and honest debate about the role of animal experiments in the 21st century when the official number of animals involved is outrageously underestimated."
The final figure is also inflated by animals that would not be included in the UK figures - for example surplus animals produced during breeding which are not used in research and animals that are humanely killed so that their organs or blood can be used for research purposes.
In Britain, researchers must record the number of animals they use, the number of procedures they carry out and the number of breeding animals used in GM breeding. But in the US, the largest user of research animals - more than 17 million according to the researchers' estimate - official figures do not include mice, rats, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.
Most countries record no figures at all and Liechtenstein and San Marino are the only countries to have banned research involving animals altogether.
(c) 2008 The Guardian
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
About 115 million animals were used in scientific research globally in 2005, according to an estimate based on official national figures and extrapolations from the number of scientific papers that were published involving animals.
The vast majority of the animals used were rodents (83.5%) with primates, cats and dogs making up 0.15%, 0.06% and 0.24% of the total respectively.
The 115 million figure was difficult to compile because recording criteria differed greatly from country to country. Only 37 countries had even partial national figures, while the researchers estimated the numbers for a further 142 countries based on the number of publications involving animals that came out in 2006.
The global estimate was put together jointly by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection and the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research and is published in the journal Alternatives to Laboratory Animals. "It is shocking that so few countries consider it important even to count the number of animals suffering in their laboratories," said the groups.
"It is impossible to have a clear and honest debate about the role of animal experiments in the 21st century when the official number of animals involved is outrageously underestimated."
The final figure is also inflated by animals that would not be included in the UK figures - for example surplus animals produced during breeding which are not used in research and animals that are humanely killed so that their organs or blood can be used for research purposes.
In Britain, researchers must record the number of animals they use, the number of procedures they carry out and the number of breeding animals used in GM breeding. But in the US, the largest user of research animals - more than 17 million according to the researchers' estimate - official figures do not include mice, rats, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.
Most countries record no figures at all and Liechtenstein and San Marino are the only countries to have banned research involving animals altogether.
(c) 2008 The Guardian
About 115 million animals were used in scientific research globally in 2005, according to an estimate based on official national figures and extrapolations from the number of scientific papers that were published involving animals.
The vast majority of the animals used were rodents (83.5%) with primates, cats and dogs making up 0.15%, 0.06% and 0.24% of the total respectively.
The 115 million figure was difficult to compile because recording criteria differed greatly from country to country. Only 37 countries had even partial national figures, while the researchers estimated the numbers for a further 142 countries based on the number of publications involving animals that came out in 2006.
The global estimate was put together jointly by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection and the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research and is published in the journal Alternatives to Laboratory Animals. "It is shocking that so few countries consider it important even to count the number of animals suffering in their laboratories," said the groups.
"It is impossible to have a clear and honest debate about the role of animal experiments in the 21st century when the official number of animals involved is outrageously underestimated."
The final figure is also inflated by animals that would not be included in the UK figures - for example surplus animals produced during breeding which are not used in research and animals that are humanely killed so that their organs or blood can be used for research purposes.
In Britain, researchers must record the number of animals they use, the number of procedures they carry out and the number of breeding animals used in GM breeding. But in the US, the largest user of research animals - more than 17 million according to the researchers' estimate - official figures do not include mice, rats, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.
Most countries record no figures at all and Liechtenstein and San Marino are the only countries to have banned research involving animals altogether.
(c) 2008 The Guardian
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.