The ethics of research involving animals - Nuffield Council on ...

T h e e t h i c s o f r e s e a r c h i n v o l v i n g a n i m a l s
Figure 4: Use <strong>of</strong> GM <strong>animals</strong> in <strong>research</strong> by purpose <strong>of</strong> procedure (% <strong>of</strong> total procedures)
*Includes production <strong>of</strong> various biological materials such as antibodies, infections agents,
plasma and tissues.
International
Europe
Under European <strong>Council</strong> Directive 86/609/EEC on the approximation <strong>of</strong> laws, regulations and
administrative provisions <strong>of</strong> the Member States regarding the protection <strong>of</strong> <strong>animals</strong> used for
experimental and other scientific purposes, EU Member States are ‘required to collect, and as far
as possible periodically make publicly available, the statistical information on the use <strong>of</strong> <strong>animals</strong>
in experiments’.
<strong>The</strong> European Commission has produced four reports for the <strong>Council</strong> and the European
Parliament on the number <strong>of</strong> <strong>animals</strong> used for experimental and other scientific purposes in
Member States <strong>of</strong> the EU. <strong>The</strong> reports are published approximately every five years and the last
report was published in 2005 concerning data from 2002.
<strong>The</strong> data summarised below relates to the statistics <strong>of</strong> 2002. 2
■ <strong>The</strong> total number <strong>of</strong> <strong>animals</strong> used for experiments in the EU was 10.7 million.
■ Rodents and rabbits amounted to 78 percent <strong>of</strong> the total <strong>animals</strong> used in the EU; 15 percent <strong>of</strong>
<strong>animals</strong> used were fish and other cold-blooded <strong>animals</strong>. <strong>The</strong> proportion <strong>of</strong> primates was 0.1%
<strong>of</strong> all <strong>animals</strong> used.
■ Animals used for toxicological and other safety evaluation represented 10% <strong>of</strong> the total
number <strong>of</strong> <strong>animals</strong> used for experimental purposes.
Figure 5: Animals used in <strong>research</strong> in the EU in 2002 by species (numbers <strong>of</strong> <strong>animals</strong>)
2 Statistics for 14 member states concerning 2002. Please note that France submitted statistics for 2001. European Commission
(2005) Fourth Report from the Commission to the <strong>Council</strong> and the European Parliament on the Statistics on the number <strong>of</strong>
<strong>animals</strong> used for experimental and other scientific purposes in the member states <strong>of</strong> the European Union, available at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/chemicals/lab_<strong>animals</strong>/pdf/com_2005_7_en.pdf. Accessed on 5 Apr 2005.
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