In line with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the Government has produced a report on the use of animals used in experiments and other scientific procedures.
The Act limits such use to where there is a clear potential benefit to people, animals or the environment and when there is no means of obtaining these benefits without animal use, or at a lesser animal welfare cost. The 2007 report found :
* the number of procedures carried out in 2007 was just over 3.2 million, a rise of approximately 6 per cent (189,500) on 2006; this was largely due to the increased breeding use of genetically altered animals;
* the majority of procedures - 83 per cent - involved mice, rats and other rodents. The remainder primarily involved fish (10%) and birds (4 per cent);
* dogs, cats, horses and non-human primates (types of animal which receive special protection under the 1986 Act), were used in less than 0.5 per cent of the procedures and;
* the number of procedures on non-human primates decreased by 240 procedures (6 per cent) compared with 2006; the number of procedures on dogs rose by 600 procedures (9 per cent) the number of procedures on cats fell by 240 procedures (41 per cent).
The ASPI Annual Report can be found at:
http://scienceandresearch.homeoffice.gov.uk/animal-research/publications-and-reference/publications/reports-and-reviews/.
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