Introduction
More than 2.5 million live animal experiments were authorised in Great Britain in 2000. This number has halved since the 1970s
Around the world, animals are used to test products ranging from shampoo to new cancer drugs. British law requires that any new drug must be tested on at least two different species of live mammal. One must be a large non-rodent. Almost every medical treatment you use has been tested on animals. Animals were also used to develop anesthetics to prevent human pain and suffering during surgery. Most subjects are rodents:
- Rodents (mostly rats and mice) - 84%
- Fish, amphibians and birds - 12%
- Other small animals (eg rabbits) - 1.5%
- Large mammals (eg shaap, cows) - 2.1%
- Dogs and cats - 0.3%
- Monkeys - 0.15%