Report Finds Scientific Procedures Involving Animals Are at an All Time Low … But Is That Good Enough?

Good news! It seems that the tide is turning on the use of animals in scientific procedures, as the number of procedures have hit their lowest since 2010.

Recent statistics released by the UK’s Home Office showed that there were almost 3.8 million scientific procedures involving animals in 2017, which is a four percent drop from the previous year. These latest figures also represent a seven percent drop in procedures using animals when compared with 2016, and a 17 percent drop compared with ten years ago.

While this is welcome news, it isn’t enough. Last year’s experiments included 1.89 million experiments on live animals, with reasons for their use ranging from legally required drug testing to surgical training. Five percent of the experiments were classed as involving “severe suffering,” with a further 50 percent classed as mild. Why should animals have to go through any suffering for us?

Professor Dominic Wells, chair of the animal sciences group of the Royal Society of Biology, said, “We are not having lots and lots of very painful experiments going on – we are actually having really quite a small percentage.” Well. That makes it okay then, we guess … just a few animals in excruciating pain for medical advancement.

Continuing with the report, primate use in these experiments has fallen 17 percent since 2016, though the statistics indicate an increase of 18 percent in the use of horses. Though confusingly, there has been an apparent fall in the number of actual horses being used in procedures, with Wells saying this is due to horses being used as blood donors to produce blood products. Imagine if humans were forced to Donate blood!

The Humane Society‘s Vice President for Research and Toxicology, Troy Seidle, said, “it is disgraceful that seven years after the UK government’s pledge to reduce animal use in scientific research, the animal body count remains high year-on-year, with no meaningful or effective strategy in place to address the number one cause: out-of-control breeding of engineered animals.”

While medical advances are necessary to promote and protect human health, doing procedures to the detriment of defenseless animals doesn’t seem like a good enough reason for these practices to continue as they are. And while we are pleased to know that there is a reduction in the use of animals in scientific procedures, clearly it isn’t enough. When there already exist alternatives to animal testing, and cruelty-free products are on the rise, there is no justification for why this cycle of animal cruelty continues.

So what can we do to help? Choose cruelty-free products, and educate yourself on the animal testing procedures and what they mean for the animals who can’t call for help. Support organizations that work to put an end to animal testing, join peaceful protests, and sign petitions. Be a voice for those animals who cannot speak for themselves.

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