Animal Aid

Animal experiments increased by 4% in 2002, according to the annual Home Office statistics. Not only did millions of animals die, often in extreme agony through lethal poisoning (up 11%), to test agrochemicals (up 41%) or cancer-causing chemicals (up 109%) - but their deaths were pointless and actually served to endanger human health.

Summary

SUMMARY OF THE 2002 STATISTICS OF SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURES ON LIVING ANIMALS IN GREAT BRITAIN PUBLISHED BY THE HOME OFFICE

CATEGORIES	NUMBERS	CHANGE SINCE 2001
Total number of procedures on animals	2,732,712	4%
Total number of individual animals used *	2,655,876	3%
Procedures conducted without any anaesthesia (60% of total)	1,634,771	5%
Procedures using transgenic animals (26 % of all procedures)	709,979	12%
Procedures using animals with a harmful genetic defect	259,898	5%
Procedures in education and training	5,364	7%
Research, development and safety testing of pharmaceuticals (24% of total)	660,390	4%
Production of monoclonal antibodies (none produced by ascites in living animals)	4,320	28%
Number of licensed research projects	4,149	0.6%
Number of Home Office Inspectors	25	19%

Species

CATEGORIES	NUMBERS	CHANGE SINCE 2001
Procedures on mice (63% of the total)	1,720,253	4%
Procedures on rats	509,647	2%
Procedures on guinea pigs	45,568	4%
Procedures on hamsters	6,240	15%
Procedures on rabbits	30,280	10%
Procedures on horse, donkey or crossbred	8,002	9%
Procedures on sheep	33,610	79%
Procedures on pigs	8,453	44%
Procedures on birds	138,347	9%
Procedures on amphibians	15,355	3%
Procedures on fish	181,953	6%
Procedures on cats	1,395	12%
individual number of cats	616	16%
Procedures on primates	3,977	0.2%
in toxicity tests	2,790
in nervous system of special senses research	620
in respiratory or cardiovascular research	298
individual number of primates	3,173	5%
Procedures on dogs (7,664 beagles and 300 crossbreeds)	7,964	0.2%
in respiratory & cardiovascular research	1,195
in toxicity tests	4,999
individual number of dogs	5,746	3%

Toxicity Tests

CATEGORIES	NUMBERS	CHANGE SINCE 2001
Testing for toxicity, safety or efficacy (18% of all procedures)	485,767	7%
Toxicity tests of food additives and other foodstuffs	5,414	56%
Toxicity tests of household products	1,032	75%
Toxicity tests of industrial substances	42,280	20%
Toxicity tests of agricultural chemicals (includes 440 beagles)	57,804	41%
Toxicity tests for environmental pollution	38,214	SAME
Lethal short-term toxicity tests	135,626	11%
Toxicity procedures required by legislation (British & overseas)	421,603	8%
Test for cancer-causing chemicals	19,109	109%
Eye irritancy tests	1,271	13%
Tests for fever-causing potential (pyrogenicity)	10,872	7%
Toxicity testing of cosmetics	0	SAME

Research

CATEGORIES	NUMBERS	CHANGE SINCE 2001
Fundamental research (31% of all procedures)	864,277	11%
Cancer research	258,145	4%
Tobacco research	0	100%
Alcohol research	2,330	24%
$ Interference with organs of sight, hearing, smell or taste	16,628	1%
$ Injection into the brain	26,415	5%
$ Interference with the brain	29,039	6%
$ Procedures deliberately causing psychological stress	9,804	5%
$ Procedures involving adversive training	7,648	30%
$ Exposure to radiation	9,199	27%
$ Thermal injury	28	92%
$ Physical injury to mimic human injury	11,769	81%
$ Inhalation	47,485	8%
Psychological research	39,642	5%

*The difference between the numbers of procedures and numbers of animals is due to some animals being used in more than one procedure.
$ The Home Office has listed these procedures as being of "particular interest".

Some points of interest

• The total number of procedures on animals in 2002 rose to 2.7 million, an increase of 4% from the previous year. (2001 had seen the lowest number of procedures reported since the current legislation in 1986.)

• 60% of all procedures on living animals are performed without any form of anaesthesia.

• Procedures on genetically manipulated (transgenic) animals now represent a quarter of all procedures, and have increased by 12% from last year. Procedures on transgenic animals have consistently risen every year since 1990 when they represented a mere 1.5% of the total.

• The number of procedures on mice, rats. sheep, pigs, birds and fish increased in 2002. Procedures on dogs and primates were similar to the previous year. Procedures guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, cats, amphibians, and horses/donkeys/crossbreeds decreased.

• There were no procedures on octopus, greyhounds, camelids, baboons or great apes. No great apes (that is chimpanzees, gorillas, and orang-utans) have been used in Great Britain since before the introduction of the current legislation in 1986.

• Categories of research. Procedures on animals for fundamental biological research increased by 11%, and now represent 31% of the total. Use of animals for the research, development and testing of drugs has been decreasing for several years and now account for 24% of the total.

• Toxicity tests accounted for 18% of all procedures. Toxicity testing of foodstuffs, household products, and agricultural chemicals increased, while tests of industrial substances decreased. Testing of cosmetic products or ingredients is no longer permitted in the UK.

• There was a disturbing increase in tests to detect cancer-causing substances and short-term lethal toxicity tests. Eye irritancy tests and pyrogenicity tests continued to decrease in 2002 – alternatives to both these tests are increasingly used instead of living animals.

• Procedures on animals for the production of monoclonal antibodies fell by 28%. All these procedures were for the initial immunization of animals, and none were for raising monoclonal antibodies in the abdomens of living animals (ascites method), thanks to the development of cell culture alternatives.

• There were 31 infringements recorded during 2002. Of these, 26 were categorised as Class Two or Three infringements, and as such are defined as potentially criminal offences. However, no licences were revoked and there were no prosecutions.

Information supplied by the Dr Hadwen Trust, 84A Tilehouse Street, Hitchin, Herts, SG5 2DY, 01462 436819, email info@drhadwentrust.org.uk.

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