EARA welcomes the publication of comprehensive statistics for 2023, from across the European Union (EU) on the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research, for its contribution to promoting transparency and an open debate on the value of this work.

The headline figures in the European Commission report show that the total number of animals used in 2023 in the EU-27 was 6,419,916 (down 8.2% from 2022, which had a total of reported 6,996,249). The wider Commission summary, which tracks the EU and Norway together, reports 7,974,226 animals used for the first time in 2023 (down 4.9% from 8,385,397 in 2022).

In 2023, 95.4% of the total were mice, fish, rats, rabbits and birds, whereas dogs, cats and monkeys accounted for 0.22% of the total (in 2022, 95.5% of the total were mice, fish, rats, birds and rabbits, whereas dogs, cats and monkeys accounted for 0.23% of the total). 

EARA Executive Director, Kirk Leech, said: “EU statistics on animal use in 2023 reflect the scale and ambition of biomedical research across Europe — work that year alone contributed to advances in vaccine development, and breakthroughs in stroke and spinal cord injury treatment that would not have been possible without animal research.”

The top three EU countries for animal use in 2023 were France (23.2%), Germany (18.4%) and Spain (16.8%), the same as in 2022. The total number of animals used was 1,491,162 in France (down 18.5% from 1,829,827 in 2022), 1,181,582 in Germany (down 12.0 % from 1,342,404 in 2022) and 1,081,114 in Spain (up 3.2 % from 1,047,233 in 2022).  

Some of the biomedical breakthroughs achieved in 2023 include the development of a nasal spray tested in rats that can help heal brain damage caused by stroke and a successful gene therapy which has allowed rats with spinal cord injury to regain feeling in their legs. Both these discoveries are examples of research advances in brain research, one of the key areas for the EU. In 2023, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was attributed to two researchers whose pioneering work relied on mice to develop messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for Covid-19. mRNA vaccines may help control future emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, another health priority defined by the EU.

Around 71.5% of animals were used for basic, translational and research, compared to 72,6%. This drop comes mainly from the 41.0% for basic research, the largest shift among all high-level purposes, down from 42.4% in 2022. 30.5% animals were for translational and applied research (compared with 30.2% 2022). 15.8% of animal uses were for regulatory purposes (compared with 15.2% from 2022), and 6.5% were for routine production (compared with 6.3% in 2022).  

Roman Stilling, from Tierversuche verstehen (TVV), says: “Europe is a world leader in animal welfare in research. This also applies to the implementation of the 3Rs principle, as evidenced, for example, by the steadily decreasing number of laboratory animals. In order not to fall behind in international research competition, we must invest heavily here and further improve the framework conditions for researchers, especially against the backdrop of current geopolitical changes.”

Most of the medicines we have now come from animal research. Animals are used alongside several other techniques such as cell cultures, human studies and computational models. These methods are used – often in tandem – to answer the key biological questions necessary to understand and treat diseases. Before an animal model is selected, researchers must show that the knowledge could not be acquired using non-animal methods. 

EARA is the voice of the biomedical sector on issues relating to European animal research, working across Europe and globally to promote greater openness and transparency. Currently, in the EU there are Transparency Agreements in France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain,with almost 400 signatories in the EU. Other countries in the EU are actively progressing towards the establishment of a formal agreement.