Statistics - Animal use in research & teaching, Australia
The following table is comprised of the latest available statistics of animal use in research and teaching in Australia. These statistics should be used for general purposes only.
Qld, ACT, WA and NT figures have not yet been received, but going by the last available figures (91,603 in 2005 for ACT, 2,181,043 in 2006 for WA and 589,047 in 2004 for Qld), this would bring the total number of animals used to more than 13.1 million animals. The Animal Research Review Panel has however informed us that the majority of the fish used were fish larvae used in a breeding program in low impact studies. If we exclude these, the total figure would therefore be more like 7.1 million which is still an increase from previous years.
Figures will be updated as they become available
| Type of animals | Vic | NSW | SA | Tas | Qld | ACT | WA | NT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mouse | 361,113 | 210,698 | 65,019 | 2,794 | - | - | - | - | 639,624 |
| Rat | 37,088 | 30,007 | 15,470 | 1,058 | - | - | - | - | 83,623 |
| Guinea Pig | 5,983 | 3,021 | 652 | - | - | - | - | - | 9,656 |
| Rabbit | 2,889 | 3,997 | 522 | 13 | - | - | - | - | 7,421 |
| Other lab animals | 2,724 | 46 | 92 | - | - | - | - | - | 2,862 |
| Cat | 362 | 447 | 75 | - | - | - | - | - | 884 |
| Dog | 1,409 | 9,898 | 206 | - | - | - | - | - | 11,513 |
| Other domestic | 56 | 263 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 319 |
| Sheep | 39,650 | 126,297 | 130,953 | 12,442 | - | - | - | - | 309,342 |
| Cattle | 9,915 | 19,037 | 6,004 | 505 | - | - | - | - | 35,461 |
| Pig | 12,695 | 10,501 | 47,301 | - | - | - | - | - | 70,497 |
| Horse/donkey | 1,078 | 3,399 | 67 | - | - | - | - | - | 4,544 |
| Other stock animals | 274 | 1,024 | 257 | - | - | - | - | - | 1,555 |
| Native mammals | 7,630 | 156,504 | 9,117 | 4,101 | - | - | - | - | 177,352 |
| Exotic ‘feral’ animals | 274 | 9,620 | 658 | - | - | - | - | - | 10,552 |
| Primates | 65 | 147 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 212 |
| Domestic fowl | 308,111 | 1,130,198 | 9,669 | - | - | - | - | - | 1,447,978 |
| Other birds | 102,928 | 274,265 | 27,842 | 7,316 | - | - | - | - | 412,351 |
| Reptiles | 8,292 | 57,944 | 9,922 | 1,121 | - | - | - | - | 77,279 |
| Fish | 292,423 | 6,561,048* | 41,908 | 57,849 | - | - | - | - | 6,953,228 |
| Amphibians | 6,751 | 37,582 | 908 | 145 | - | - | - | - | 45,386 |
| Other aquatic animals | 5,645 | - | 3,717 | - | - | - | - | - | 9,362 |
| Other | 5 | 69 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 74 |
| Totals | 1,207,360 | 8,646,012 | 370,359 | 87,344 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 10,311,075 |
* includes all aquatic animals
N/A - Yet to be received
Note that SA did not provide a numeric breakdown of purpose and severity of experiments.
| Purpose of project | Vic | NSW | SA | Tas | Qld | ACT | WA | NT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Understanding human or animal biology | 339,485 | 157,784 | - | 33,649 | - | - | - | - | 530,918 |
| Maintenance and improvement of human or animal health and welfare | 413,544 | 219,262 | - | 22,049 | - | - | - | - | 654,855 |
| Improvement of animal management or production | 97,664 | 6,180,357 | - | 17,111 | - | - | - | - | 6,295,132 |
| Production of biological products | - | 98,857 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 98,857 |
| Diagnostic procedures | - | 11,816 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11,816 |
| Achievement of educational objectives | 80,784 | 1,151,967 | - | 1,853 | - | - | - | - | 1,234,604 |
| Environmental study | 275,883 | 713,924 | - | 12,682 | - | - | - | - | 1,002,489 |
| Regulatory product testing | - | 51,723 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 51,723 |
| Stock breeding & maintenance | - | 60,322 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 60,322 |
| Unsoecified | - | - | 370,359 | - | - | - | - | - | 370,359 |
| Totals | 1,207,360 | 8,646,012 | 370,359 | 87,344 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 10,311,075 |
N/A - Yet to be received
| Severity of procedure | Vic | NSW | SA | Tas | Qld | ACT | WA | NT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observational studies involving minor interference | 424,489 | 7,876,117 | - | 7,072 | - | - | - | - | 8,307,678 |
| Animal unconscious without recovery | 166,413 | 126,353 | - | 16,298 | - | - | - | - | 309,064 |
| Minor conscious intervention | 392,965 | 458,249 | - | 45,441 | - | - | - | - | 896,655 |
| Minor operative procedures with recovery | 51,110 | 24,239 | - | 13,290 | - | - | - | - | 88,639 |
| Surgery with recovery | 37,495 | 12,482 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 49,979 |
| Minor physiological challenge | 47,090 | 101,864 | - | 255 | - | - | - | - | 149,209 |
| Major physiological challenge | 87,547 | 16,017 | - | 4,986 | - | - | - | - | 108,550 |
| Death as an end point | 251 | 26,317 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26,568 |
| Production of genetically modified animals | - | 4,374 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4,374 |
| Unspecified | - | - | 370,359 | - | - | - | - | - | 370,359 |
| Totals | 1,207,360 | 8,646,012 | 370,359 | 87,344 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 10,311,075 |
N/A - Yet to be received
Sources:
Vic.
Summary of Statistics of Animal Experimentation, Victoria. Report Number 25. 1 January, 2007 to 31 December, 2007.
NSW
Animal Research Review Panel NSW Annual Report 2007/08. (Statistics for calendar year 2007)
SA
Department for Environment & Heritage - South Australian Government.
Teaching and Research using animals in South Australia 2007.
Tas.
Animal Research statistics Tasmania Annual Report, 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2007.
Animal Health and Welfare Branch, Dept. of Primary Industries and Water.
Qld
Yet to be received
ACT
Yet to be received
WA
Yet to be received
NT
Yet to be received