SUMMARY OF STATISTICS OF ANIMAL USE IN RESEARCH AND TEACHING
VICTORIA
REPORT NUMBER 29 1 JANUARY 2011 TO 31 DECEMBER 2011
1. INTRODUCTION
This document presents salient aspects of animal use in research and education in Victoria in graphical form.
Information for 2011 is set within the context of previous years’ data in order to demonstrate trends of use
through time. Details are available in the publications “Statistics of Animal Experimentation Victoria” for the
appropriate years.
Data were collected from all institutions licensed to use animals in research and education in Victoria under the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (the Act). Animal use is conducted in projects, where each project is
run by a chief investigator and is approved by an Animal Ethics Committee. An “Animal Use Return” form that
describes project methodologies and animal usage is required to be submitted each year for each project
(Regulation 100, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulations 2008).
Specified animal is a term defined in the Act that means mouse, rat, rabbit, or guinea pig other than a mouse, rat,
rabbit bred in its native habitat, and non-human primate (i.e. laboratory animals).
2. SELECTED DETAILS OF NUMBERS OF ANIMALS USED
Number of animals
1,
1,
2,
00
50
00
0,
0,
0,
00
00
00
0
0
0
Animal Use By Year
Animals excl. fish
Fish
0
50
0,
00
0
2004:
+2,177,247
additional
poultry
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Graph 1. Total animal use, 2002 to 2011. The total number of animals used in 2011 was 2,614,472 . Of these,
778,759 were fish, first counted in 2004. A single poultry project used 1,000,000 birds in 2011.
Specified Mouse Use By Year
600,000
Number of mice
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Graph 2. Specified mouse use, 2002 to 2011. There were 585,875 specified mice used in 2011, compared to the
long-term average of 363,805
Specified Rat, Guinea Pig And Rabbit Use By Year
Guinea Pig
2002
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2,
75
3
1,
55
8
1,
31
4
2,
81
9
2,
39
8
2,
67
1
2,
43
5
2,
76
3
2003
2,
49
5
Rabbit (numbered)
2,
66
5
Number of animals
Rat
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
2011
Year
Graph 3. Specified animal use excluding mice and non-human primate, 2002 to 2011. A total of 39,881 specified
rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits were used in 2011, compared to the long-term average of 46,322. These were
composed of 29,030 rats (average of 39,589); 8,098 guinea pigs (average of 7,386); and 2,753 rabbits (average of
2,346).
Number of animals
Primate Use by Year
300
Marmosets
250
Macaques
Baboon (numbered)
200
150
100
50
4
4
3
4
2
2007
2008
2009
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2010
2011
Year
Graph 4. Primate use, 2002 to 2011. Three hundred and thirteen non-human primates were used in 2011,
compared to a long-term average of 128. These were composed of 244 marmosets (average of 71), and 69
macaques (average of 55). One ‘Other primate’ was used in 2002 that is not represented here. The above average
number of marmosets in 2011 is due to 2 projects using 145 animals in studies of social behaviour.
3. SELECTED ASPECTS OF ANIMAL USAGE
Proportion Of Animals Used By Project Mission
Animals used (%)
60
50
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011 (numbered)
48
40
27
30
17
20
10
2
6
0
Educational
objectives
The improvement of
animal management
or production
Environmental
objectives
Project mission
Graph 5. Animal use by project mission for the last 5 years (rounded).
Maintenance or
improvement of
human or animal
health and welfare
The understanding of
human or animal
biology
Animals Used In Genetic Modification Procedures
350
100,000
80,000
Number of animals
300
Number of projects
250
Number of projects
Number of animals
120,000
200
60,000
150
40,000
100
20,000
50
0
0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Graph 6. Animals used in genetic modification procedures, 2004 to 2011. Three hundred and twelve projects
used 107,729 animals in genetic modification in 2011. Meaningful data are only available from 2004 due to a
change in the way data were collected.
Animals used (%)
Proportion Of Animals Used By Category Of Procedure
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
58
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011 (numbered)
18
7
9
4
2
Observational
Animal
unconscious
without
recovery
Minor
Minor surgery
conscious
with recovery
intervention, no
anaesthesia
Minor
physiological
challenge
2
Surgery with
recovery
0.3
Physiological Death as an end
challenge
point
Category of Procedure
Graph 7. Animal use by category of procedure for the last 5 years (rounded). The large proportion of animals in
physiological challenge procedures in 2008 and 2009 reflects relatively high impact analyses of large numbers of
fish in commercial fisheries.
Proportion Of Animals Used By Source
41
Animals used (%)
45
40
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011 (numbered)
35
30
25
27
24
20
15
10
4
5
3
1
0
Licensed source
(laboratory
animals)
Own derivation
(non-laboratory)
Commercial
provider
Animals on a
privately owned
farm
Natural habitat
Removed from
natural habitat
Other (non lab)
Source
Graph 8. Animal use by source for the last 5 years (sources representing less than 1% of animal use not
included). The commercial provider figure is skewed by a single project using 1 million poultry
Year
Number of animals in death
as an end-point procedures
Number of projects using
death as an endpoint
procedures
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
6,280
799
360
251
471
327
2,315
6,935
9
6
3
4
10
9
8
29
Table 1. Numbers of animals used in death as an end-point procedures and projects with death as an end-point
procedures, 2004 and 2011. Twenty nine projects used 6,935 animals in death as an end-point procedures in 2011. Data
on this procedure type prior to 2004 are inaccurate due to inappropriate application of the “death as an end-point” term by
licences.
4. SPECIFIED ANIMALS IN BREEDING COLONIES
Year
Type of Animal (non-GM)
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Guinea pigs
2,604
3,638
1,142
1,087
1,153
388
Macaques
Marmosets
Mice
Rabbits
Rats
Total
159
173
261,697
638
31,391
296,662
203
159
237,246
527
33,407
275,180
341
135
281,875
504
42,558
326,555
225
166
344,823
515
56,993
403,809
243
177
360,185
445
52,786
414,989
250
156
365,009
489
48,543
414,835
Table 2: Specified animals in breeding colonies for scientific procedures, 2006 to 2011 (non genetically modified).
Numbers not included in Graphs 1, 2, 3 or 4.
Year
Type of Animal (GM)
Mice
Rats
Total
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
333,266
1,031
334,297
389,632
13,120
394,201
461,745
9,304
471,049
490,962
1,923
492,885
531,098
1,146
532,244
558,293
1,744
560,037
Table 3: Specified animals in breeding colonies for scientific procedures, 2006 to 2011 (genetically modified). Numbers
not included in Graphs 1, 2, 3, or 6.
Specified Mice Breeding
600,000
Genetically modified
Number of mice
500,000
Non genetically modified
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Year
Graph 9. Breeding of specified mice, 2006 to 2011. Numbers not included in Graphs 1, 2 or 6.
2011
5. DETAILS OF SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURE LICENCES AND PROJECTS
Year
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Number of projects
2,078
2,030
2,176
2,458
2,386
2,358
2,455
2,673
2,931
3,010
Number of licences
using animals
105
107
97
99
104
110
107
111
115
123
Number of projects
per licence
20
19
22
25
23
21
23
24
25
24
Table 4. Number of projects and number of licences, 2002 to 2011 licences and projects included only where animals
were used).
Year
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Number of
animals
used
488,808
2,780,290
(603,043)
1,560,340
1,125,487
1,207,360
1,216,393
2,255,076
1,595,375
2,614,472
(1,614,472)
Number of
licences
using
animals
107
97
99
104
110
107
111
115
123
Number of
animals per
licence
4,568
28,663
(6,217)
15,761
12,066
10,976
11,368
20,316
13,873
21,256
(13,126)
Table 5. Number of project animals used and number of licences, 2003 to 2011(licences included only where animals
were used). Figures in parentheses exclude the aberrant poultry projects in 2004 and 2011.
Year
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Number of
animals
used
488,808
2,780,290
(603,043)
1,560,340
1,125,487
1,207,360
1,216,393
2,255,076
1,595,375
2,614,472
(1,614,472)
Number of
projects
2,030
2,176
(2,175)
2,458
2,386
2,358
2,455
2,673
2,931
3,010
(3,009)
Number of
animals per
project
241
1,278
(277)
635
472
512
495
844
544
869
(537)
Table 6. Number of project animals used and number of projects, 2003 to 2011 (projects included only where animals
were used). Figures in parentheses exclude the aberrant poultry projects in 2004 and 2011.