Publications and reference

2. Dogs, cats, horses and non-human primates, afforded special protection by the Act, were collectively used in under one per cent of all procedures. Since 1995 there has been a 27 per cent decrease in the combined use of these animals for regulated procedures.

3. The number of procedures using non-human primates was 4,650, up 440 (11%) from 2004. The number of animals used for these procedures was 3,120, up 320 (12%) on 2004. This was mainly due to using macaques for pharmaceutical safety and efficacy testing, mostly conforming to a regulatory purpose.

4. Breeding procedures accounted for over a third (35%) of all the procedures conducted in 2005.

5. Over 99 per cent of procedures carried out on animals listed in Schedule 2 of the Act used animals acquired from designated sources in the United Kingdom.

6. Genetically normal animals were used in 1.65 million regulated procedures, a decrease of 22,700 (1%) from 2004. Breeding accounted for 1.03 million (35%) of these procedures. Their use represents 57 per cent of all procedures for 2005, compared with 59 per cent in 2004 and 84 per cent in 1995.

7. Species with harmful, but naturally-occurring, genetic mutations were used in 288,100 regulated procedures, representing ten per cent of all procedures for 2005. The majority of these procedures used rodents (89%).

8. Genetically modified animals were used in 957,500 regulated procedures representing 33 per cent of all procedures for 2005, compared with 32 per cent in 2004 and eight per cent in 1995. The vast majority (96%) of these procedures used rodents. Over one third (39%) of the genetically modified animals were used in scientific procedures for fundamental and applied studies.

9. Around 40 per cent of all procedures used some form of anesthesia to alleviate the severity of the interventions. For many of the remaining procedures the use of anesthesia would have potentially increased the adverse effects of the procedure.

10. Non-toxicological procedures accounted for about 86 per cent of the procedures started in 2005. This contrasts with 75 per cent of procedures being for a non-toxicological purpose in 1995. The main areas of use were for immunological studies, pharmaceutical research and development, anatomy and cancer research.

11. Procedures for toxicological purposes accounted for 14 per cent of all procedures started in 2005; this contrasts with 25 per cent of procedures being for a toxicological purpose in 1995. Over the last ten years the number of toxicological procedures has fallen by over 40 per cent. In 2005 about 73 per cent of toxicological procedures were for pharmacological safety and efficacy evaluation. Around 80 per cent of toxicological procedures in 2005 used rodent species, while non-human primates were used in less than one per cent of the toxicological procedures. Of all the toxicological procedures conducted in 2005, 87 per cent were performed to conform to legal or regulatory requirements.