Less experimentation with monkeys in Germany

The statistics published by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (BMELV) on October 28th shows: Last year about 1.57 million animals were used in factual animal experimentation in Germany. Adding all other cases of scientific use of animals, the figure sums up to 3 million. Compared to other usages of animals, especially for food production, the figure of animals used in science is extremely low. The number of nun-human primates, which were used in science in 2012, has declined by 6 percent since 2011. Monkeys only make up a thousandth of all animals used in science in Germany. They are only used in experiments of particular scientific significance and if there is no way to employ an alternative method or to gain the results by using a less developed species.

The Ministry of Agriculture encompasses in his figures of the scientific use of vertebrates both factual animal experiments as well as the use of animals for alternative methods, for example for producing cell cultures. "That is why the ministry on its website correctly points out that in 2012 there were 1.57 million animals used for animal experiments according to the German animal welfare law", says Stefan Treue, Director of the German Primate Center, which uses non-human primates mainly for infection research and neuroscience. This is a slight increase of about 4 percent, while the number of experimental animals had twice decreased slightly in the years before. The total number only shows, that in 2012 about 3 million invasive scientific operations (5.8 percent more than 2011) were applied in vertebrates. This number is also not synonymous with the number of euthanized animals. For example taking blood samples and similar operations are also counted for these statistics, although taking blood samples is for animals usually similarly uncomplicated as for humans. That is why the numbers of the Federal Ministry also do not tell anything about the extent of suffering caused.

Experimental animals were used in basic research, to study diseases, to develop medical products or tot test the security of pharmaceutics, ingredients or medical products. Especially with regard to this last point, the German law demands the use of primates: 60 percent of the 1686 non-human primates used in 2012 were needed for legally obligatory test of toxicity and security to protect patients and consumers. Only every thousandth experimental animal is a monkey. In 2012 there were 110 non-human primates less than 2011 used in science (minus 6 percent). Generally the figures for almost every species but rodents are decreasing.

Apart from certain farm animals and fish, in Germany animal experiments with vertebrates are only legal, if these were specifically bred for this purpose . Every experiment has to be applied for and will only be approved by the responsible federal state's agency, if the scientist is able to justify that there is no alternative method which will lead to the same results. Animal experiments also have to be ethically justifiable. Therefore an independent commission, including animal welfare activists, checks if the goal of the experiment legitimates the use of the animals.

Comparing these 3 million scientific operations on vertebrates to the annual production of meat and poultry, it is obvious that this unreplaceable scientific research only forms a tiny part of the actual use of animals in Germany. According to the federal statistical office (Destatis), in 2012 there were about 58 million pigs, almost 4 million cattle and close to 700 million poultry slaughtered. The annual productions of meat and poultry have in 2012 summed up to more than 6.7 million tons according to the agency. During the life span of a typical German, there will be more than 700 chicken butchered for him, but only two mice used for science.

Contact
Prof. Dr. Stefan Treue
Tel: +49 551 3851-116
E-Mail: treue@gwdg.de

Christian Kiel (press office)
Tel: +49 551 3851-424
E-Mail: ckiel@dpz.eu