More animals, fewer deaths in research figures

More than a quarter of a million animals were used for research, testing and teaching in 2016, new figures reveal.

The 2016 Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) figures show the number of animals used in studies that were completed during the year and reported to MPI.

MPI manager of animal welfare Dr Kate Littin said the statistics showed that a total of 254,453 animals were used in research, testing and teaching in 2016.

This figure was up 13 per cent from the record low achieved in the previous year.

“The increase for 2016 is mainly due to more livestock used for veterinary research, testing and teaching,” Littin said.

“It was good to see there has been a decrease in the number of animals that died or were euthanised, and that the number of animals that returned to owners or were released to the wild were up compared to previous years.”

The number of animals that were re-homed was similar to last year, she said.

MPI took the role of protecting the welfare of animals used in research, teaching and testing very seriously, Littin said.

New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society executive director Tara Jackson said it was an unsurprising report that failed to address the problem of using these animals to predict a human response.

“If anything, it is just totally a reminder to the public that thousands of animals are still being used in New Zealand for this,” Jackson said.

“It is an outdated process and it’s time that we see a drastic change happen.”

Of the animals categorised in the “high and “very high” impact categories according to MPI statistics, the large majority were rodents and rabbits.

Jackson said there were multiple reasons rodents and rabbits were used: they were commonly smaller animals, easier to handle, relatively non-aggressive and were not expensive.

“It’s what has been entrenched in the industry for a long time, which is unfortunate because when you do analyse the science correctly and independently you see that using rodents to model the human response is so flawed.”

Jackson said these figures showed there was still a long way to go and the goal remained abolishing animal testing. Per cent of animals tested were livestock

Per cent of tested animals were cattle, 19 per cent sheep, 13 per cent mice and 8 per cent fish.

Per cent of tested animals experienced little or no impact.

The number of animals that experienced “high” impact increased by 11.9 per cent. Most were rodents and rabbits. These animals were used in vaccine testing, veterinary research, the evaluation of biological materials and medical research.

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