Number of animals used for experiments in 2022

The German Center for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), which is part of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), has published the animal testing figures for 2022 (1). After the BMEL (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture) had had this function for years, it was taken over by the BfR in 2021. Since then, the records not only show the number of animals used in experiments or killed for organ harvesting, but also list those animals that were bred but not used in actual experiments and were therefore killed as “surplus”. The statistics reveal that a total of 4,207,231 animals were used or killed. For Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE), this is a shockingly high number, which once again reinforces the strong demand for a paradigm shift from animal experiments to human-relevant research methods.

Total number of animals

In the BfR documents, detailed statistics on research areas, animal origin, and genetic status, etc., only refer to the number of animals that were actually used in experiments - a number of 1,725,855. This "total number" is prominently placed, as it suggests a sharp decline compared to previous years, in which the "animals killed for scientific purposes" were still included in the total number. This also makes it difficult to compare the figures from previous years. With regard to the total number, the definitions differ: while animal welfare organizations and DAAE understand "total number" to mean all animals that suffer and die in laboratories, i.e. 4,207,231, the exclusion of surplus animals and animals killed for scientific purposes makes the figure appear lower.

Purpose	Count in 2022
Used in animal experiments (§7 para. 2 TSchG) (first and multiple use)	1.725.855
Killed for scientific purposes (e.g. organ harvesting)	711.939
Animal experiments + killed for scientific purposes	2.437.794
"Surplus animals": animals killed for other reasons (e.g. undesirable genetic modification, too old, wrong sex, etc.)	1.769.437
Total	4.207.231

Table 1: Overview of the total number of animals used in animal experiments

Development of the animal testing numbers

Since data collection began in 1989, the number of animals has fallen from 2.6 million to a minimum of 1.5 million in 1997, followed by a continuous increase to 2.8 million in 2011. Since then, the number has remained at a similarly high level with slight fluctuations. From 2020 onwards, there was a slight decline, although the fluctuations in recent years have shown upward and downward trends in a similar manner, so that it is not really possible to speak of a real downward trend.

Species used in animal experiments

As in previous years, mice are the most frequently used animal species in experiments, with 1,248,790 used animals (72.4%). Fish are the second most common animal species with 248,480 animals, followed by rats with 109,936 animals. However, rabbits (67,125), birds (33,173), dogs (2,873), cats (538), guinea pigs (6,540), pigs (12,131), and horses/donkeys (2,149) also continue to be used. The figures refer to "animals used in animal experiments".

Experiments on monkeys

Compared to the previous year (1,886), the number of monkeys used in 2022 increased to 2,267, of which 289 were reused from the previous year. 1,703 of the monkeys used in experiments for the first time (all long-tailed macaques) came from non-EU countries such as countries in Asia or Africa. By comparison, only 50 macaques came from a registered breeder in the EU.

The majority of the monkeys (1,957) were used for regulatory purposes such as toxicological tests. Most of the monkeys in Germany are used by the laboratory "Covance", now known as "Labcorp" (2).

Basic research is the largest consumer of animals

In particular, the number of animals that have to suffer and die for basic research, which by definition pursues no direct application, is at a permanently high level and has accounted for one half of all animal experiments for several years. In 2003, around twice as many animals (850,710 animals) were used in this area than in 1999 (438,000 animals). In 2009, 917,070 animals were killed in this area and in 2016 a record high of 1,175,664 animals was reached. Since 2017, "animals killed for scientific purposes" have been excluded from the official statistics, meaning that figures before and after 2017 are not comparable and it is not possible to speak of a decline.

According to the current figures, 956,933 animals were used for basic research in 2022, which corresponds to a share of 55.5 %. There was a slight, but hardly significant, decline compared to the previous year (2021: 1,037,931 or 55.8%).

Regulatory animal testing continues to decline

An actual trend appears to be emerging in the area of regulatory (i.e. legally required) animal testing. In 2018, 484,254 (22.6%) animals were used for this purpose, in 2019 it was 474,902 animals (21.5%), then 361,378 (19%) in 2020, 313,557 (16.9%) in 2021, and finally 272,452 animals (15.8%) in 2022.

Regulatory testing refers to animals used for procedures such as drug testing, i.e. medicines for humans and animals. It also includes tests for medical devices, biocides, pesticides, and food and animal feed.

The long-term downward trend in this area is due to the growing number of available animal-free methods. These are methods that do not involve live animals, e.g. organ-on-chip systems, cell cultures, and computer-based models. This also includes clinical and epidemiological research. Such modern research methods should be increasingly promoted. In contrast to animal testing, non-animal test systems offer reliable results that can be transferred to humans.

The number of genetically modified animals continues to grow

918.276 Tiere wurden 2022 genetisch manipuliert, das entspricht einem Anteil von über 53 %. Die Tiere, die am häufigsten genetisch verändert werden, sind Mäuse, Fische und Ratten. Dieser Trend setzt sich also fort; 2020 betrug der Anteil 913.712 (48 %), 2019 waren es 955.702 Tiere (43 %). Zum Vergleich: 2011 betrug der Anteil der genmanipulierten Tiere ca. 25 %.

Die tatsächliche Zahl liegt wesentlich höher, da, auch hier die Zahl der „zu wissenschaftlichen Zwecken getöteten Tiere“ und der „aus anderen Gründen getöteten Tiere“ nicht weiter aufgeschlüsselt wird und hier die hierzu zählenden Tiere durchs Raster fallen.

918,276 animals, corresponding to 53%, were genetically modified in 2022. The animals that are most frequently genetically modified are mice, fish, and rats. Hence, there is a continuing upward trend; in 2020, the proportion was 913,712 (48%) animals, in 2019 it was 955,702 animals (43%). For comparison: in 2011, the proportion of genetically modified animals was approx. 25%.

The actual figure is much higher, as the number of "animals killed for scientific purposes" and "animals killed for other reasons" is not broken down further and the animals that count as such fall through the cracks.

62,377 animals endured "severe" suffering

With a percentage of 3.6%, the proportion of "severe" experiments has decreased (2021: 4.3%). Experiments with low severity account for 66.3% (previous year: 63.2%), experiments with moderate severity for 25.4% (previous year: 26.1%). Experiments involving "no restoration of vital functions" account for 4.7% in 2022 (previous year: 6.4%). The latter means that the experiment is designed to kill the animals under sedation, for example.

With the revision of the EU Animal Experiments Directive, the severity levels to which the animals are exposed have also been recorded since 2014. It should be noted that the classification of severity levels is carried out by the researchers themselves - i.e. the people who have the greatest interest in these experiments being approved. A DAAE study shows that the severity levels are often understated.

Dark figures - concealed animal suffering

There has been a fundamental change in the animal testing figures since 2021: animals that were bred in laboratories for scientific purposes but not used for these purposes and therefore killed as so-called surplus animals are also recorded. In 2022, 1,769,437 animals were killed for lack of intended use, mostly for purely economic reasons.

Animals assigned to this area are, for example, animals that have been genetically modified but do not carry the desired genetic modification - and are therefore worthless for researchers. As there is no use for them in the laboratories, they are killed. It is also possible that animals don’t have the desired age or sex for the planned experiments and therefore become worthless for research.

However, transparency has not yet been achieved: due to an EU requirement, the animals that are bred and killed without being used in animal experiments had to be counted in 2017 for the first time and every five years from then on. The figures published by the EU in 2020 show that Germany accounted for around 4 million so-called surplus animals in 2017. (3)

This presents a significant difference to the new official figures - and it is unlikely that the number has fallen so sharply over 4 years, even though the proportion of genetically modified animals has continued to increase over the years. Of course, every animal that does not die in a laboratory represents a success – however, it is unclear how close these figures are to reality.

There is still a dark figure for invertebrates. Apart from cephalopods (squid, octopuses), invertebrates such as insects and crustaceans are not counted at all. In 2021, 56 cephalopods were used, in 2022, the number was 55.

Trend of animal experimentation figures since 1989

Figure 2: The graph shows the number of animals used in animal experiments and killed for scientific purposes. 

Last updated: 13.12.2023