Number of animals used for experiments

There are no Australia-wide figures for animal experiments. States publish their own figures, and not all states do so. Victoria and Western Australia have published figures for over a decade, NSW began publishing in the early 1990's, and SA and Tasmania have only just started.

In spite of claims that alternatives to animals are used wherever possible, the tables below show no decline in the number of animals experimented on. If anything, there is an increase over the years.

The figures for poultry, and in NSW for fish as well, are given separately. In some experiments, such as feeding trials for chickens, very large numbers of animals are used without anything major being done to them in the course of the experiment. It is easier to see trends in the number of animals experimented on if these figures are considered separately.

Experiments in NSW

Numbers of animals in NSW
1992-3 1993-4 1994-5 1995-6
Total 1,054,528 1,726,163 1,420,937 2,481,031
Fish and Fowl 710,933 1,397,875 1,104,341 2,123,854
Total - Fish and Fowl 343,595 328,288 316,596 357,177

For more information about the species used and the types of experiments done in NSW, go to Species and Experiments .

Experiments in Victoria

Numbers of animals in Victoria
Year Total animals Poultry Total - Poultry
1987-8 353,927 43,373 310,554
1988-9 311,314 29,329 281,985
1989-90 348,177 94,168 254,009
1990-1 239,483 21,167 218,316
1991-2 457,339 108,103 349,236
1992-3 492,041 123,532 368,509
1993-4 395,439 68,835 326,604
1995 419,953 23,224 396,729
1996 442,308 36,089 406,219

Note that researchers are not required to report fish in Victoria.

For more information about the species used and the types of experiments done in Victoria, go to Species and Experiments .

Experiments in other states

Figures for other states are as follows:

For more detailed information, go to Experiments in South Australia .

Even excluding the large numbers of fish, there are over 1 million animals used for research and teaching in Australia each year. There is no sign that this number is decreasing.

Pound animals for experiments

In NSW and Western Australia, in particular, dogs from council pounds have been used in experiments. In NSW the councils of Blacktown, Wyong and Camden have supplied animals.

Wyong council supplied 700 dogs and cats to research institutions in 1996. However, it is now being prosecuted for failing to tell people who brought animals to the pound that they may be used for experiments.

Both Wyong and Camden councils have stopped supplying cats, because councils in fact have no legal right to supply cats.

Wyong has imposed a moratorium on the supply of dogs for experiments, and Camden council no longer supplies live animals.

There was an inquiry in NSW at the end of 1997 to decide whether councils should continue to be allowed to supply animals for experiments. The Minister has not yet made a decision.

In Western Australia the supply of pound animals was due to be banned, but experimenters are lobbying furiously to have this ban overturned. Pounds are a cheap source of "materials" for experiments.

References:

  1. "Pound dogs not for experiments", Animals Today , Feb-April 1997 (14)
  2. "Pound animals update", Animals Today , May-July 1997 (15)
  3. "Pound dogs and cats enquiry" Animals Today , Nov 1997-Jan 1998 (28)