ADI: Number of animals used in UK labs continue to rise as Government implements deregulatory agenda

The 2007 statistics on animal testing published today by the Home Office show a rise of 6% on 2006 the number of procedures on animals in laboratories.

Figures published this morning by the Home Office show that 3.2 millions procedures were carried out in 2007 in UK laboratories, up 6% on 2006. The numbers of animals used were 3,125,826, an increase of 179,202. The number of animals used has increased for 6 years in a row: a shocking 22% increase since 2001.

The use of mice (+7%, ie +155 000 procedures), fish (+20%; +53 500), and dogs (+9%; +600) all increased in 2007. There was some good news with decreases in the use of cats (-41%, -216 procedures, cattle (-39%, - 2000 procedures), and primates (-6%, -240 procedures).

There was a net increase in the use of genetically modified animals (+10%). Almost all sectors testing on animals increased their use in 2007: +4% in fundamental biological research, +8% in applied studies for human medicine and dentistry and +24% for the “protection of man, animals and the environment”.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate annual report 2007 reveals how the Home Office is implementing a so-called “better regulation” agenda to make it easier for laboratories to experiments on animals. Their target is “a headline 25% reduction in the administrative to licensees by 2010 and a number of interim targets.” Measures include “fast-tracking certain types of personal licence application”, and simplifying “paperwork”. The report announces that a lobbying unit was created at the Home Office to implement this deregulatory programme at the EU level.

It also reveals how industry and the academia are pressuring the European Commission to revise and delay its draft revision proposals for the Directive 86/609/EEC on animal testing. The revision is expected to trigger major changes in the way in which animal testing is conducted in the 27 Member States of the EU. The European Parliament adopted a Written Declaration last year asking the EU to phase-out the use of all primates in experiments in Europe, and the Commission is expected to adopt proposals for the revision of Directive 86/609/EEC in September.

Jan Creamer, chief executive of the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) said: “Not only the number of animals is used in labs is increasing, but the Government is now implementing measures which are likely to affect their welfare and further increase the death toll. The number of animals used in experiments is now reaching the level of the early 1990’s, as if we were going backwards in history, while the number of alternatives available has never been greater. This situation is extremely worrying, and is a consequence of the regulators’ unwillingness to replace animal testing. The Home Office repeatedly claims that the UK animal welfare standards are the highest in the world, and yet they are now asking Europe to deregulate animal testing legislation. This hypocrisy must stop and perhaps the Government should start by listening to scientists critical to animal testing.”

Much commercial testing is already de-regulated, and the public is not aware of this. NAVS uncovered examples of relaxation of regulations when we studied documents leaked from a laboratory. Subsequent Freedom of Information requests led to the Home Office admission that they do not oversee all commercial testing procedures and do not keep independent records of such tests.


ENDS

For further information please contact:

Helder Constantino, Senior Political Officer at ,a href="mailto:helderconstantino@ad-international.org" target="_blank">helderconstantino@ad-international.org
0207 630 33 40



NOTES FOR THE EDITOR:

The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS)
NAVS, founded in 1875, is the world’s premier group campaigning for an end to cruel and futile experiments on animals, and still leads the way on replacing the use of animals with advanced scientific techniques. For each recorded use of an animal in a laboratory, a further two to three animals have been killed after a miserable short life, simply because they are surplus to requirements. Yet all this suffering is unnecessary. Through its Lord Dowding Fund for Humane Research, NAVS sponsors non-animal scientific and medical research, annual research spend is around £300,000.

Animal Experiments: Unreliable, unethical, unnecessary.
www.navs.org.uk