Animal Testing On The Rise For The Sixth Consecutive Year

Flickr: Note these are pets and have happy lives

Shocking statistics released by the Home Office have documented an increase in animal testing for the sixth year running, and a worrying 21% overall rise since Labour came to power in 1997. The annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2007 revealed that over 3.1 million animals were used in tests in 2007, an increase of 6% in the last year alone.

Despite a UK ban on cosmetic testing, animals are still used to test a range of consumer goods including household products and food additives. The UK is hailed as a nation of animal lovers and yet many are unaware of the pain and suffering caused by the purchase of everyday items. There is no labelling system currently in place for ethical consumers and many tested products are sold to wholly unaware shoppers.

The report shows an extra 600 experiments were carried out on dogs in 2007, a rise of 9% from 2006. Approximately four thousand tests were on non-human primates, our closest genetic relatives. Perhaps worst of the statistics revealed 61% of all experiments were performed without anaesthetic. Michelle Thaw, The Chief Executive of The British Union for Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), expressed her disbelief at the recent figures, “It is a national disgrace that the numbers of animals subjected to experiments has massively risen under this Government. Despite clear public concern on this issue, the Government has made no attempt to take the necessary action and develop a clear policy on getting the numbers down. The UK should be leading the way in reducing animal testing, but these latest statistics show there is a long way to go. The BUAV will continue to pressure the Government to end such unnecessary animal suffering and lead the way in developing modern humane research.”

According to BUAV figures 76% of the British public believe the Government should, as a matter of principle completely prohibit experiments on any live animals which cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm.