780,070 laboratory animals were reported to APHIS in 2018.

(Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service)

59,401 laboratory dogs were reported to APHIS in 2018. Of these,  41,317 were involved in studies without pain, 17,752 pain with pain relievers, 332 in studies with pain without pain relievers.

(Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service)

18,619 cats, 171,406 guinea pigs, 80,539 hamsters, 70,797 nonhuman primates, 50,094 pis, 133,634 rabbits, 13,000 sheep, and 182,580 other animals were reported to APHIS in 2018.

(Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service)

The number of vertebrates used in research in the US is estimated to be between 11 and 23 million, since statistics aren’t collected  for all mice, rats, and fish.

“These statistics do not include all animals as most mice, rats, and fish are not covered by the Animal Welfare Act – though they are still covered by other regulations that protect animal welfare. … Across the EU, which measures animal use slightly differently, 93% of research is on species not counted under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). If similar proportions were applied the US, the total number of vertebrates used in research in the US would be between 11 and 23 million, however, there are no published statistics to confirm this. ”

(Speaking of Research)

In 2018, APHIS reported the highest number of research animals with 82,177 animals and Wyoming reported the fewest with 421.

(Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service)

“Government statistics show that the use of non-rodent animals has been declining over the past two decades. Since 1985 the use of animals has more than halved in the US. This includes a fall in the number of dogs from over 200,000 in 1979, to around 60,000 in 2018. Some of this fall is likely to reflect a movement towards the use of genetically modified mice.”

(Speaking of Research)

“Animals used for research include (in decreasing order of frequency): mice, rats, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, farm animals (including pigs and sheep), dogs, primates (including monkeys and chimpanzees) and cats. Frogs and fish are also widely used, but current statistics on their use are unavailable.”

(The Humane Society of the United States)

“The majority of the animals used in experiments are euthanized (killed) during or after the experiment. There are no accurate statistics available on exactly how many animals are euthanized in laboratories every year.”

(The Humane Society of the United States)

“We estimate that the top 10 animal testing countries in the world are China (20.5 million) Japan (15.0 million), the United States (15.6 million),  Canada (3.6 million), Australia (3.2 million), South Korea (3.1 million), the United Kingdom (2.6 million), Brazil (2.2 million), Germany (2.0 million) and France (1.9 million), in that order.”

(Cruelty Free International)

“We estimate that at least 192.1 million animals were used for scientific purposes worldwide in 2015. This figure includes an estimated 79.9 million experiments on animals as well as millions of other animals who are killed for their tissues, used to breed genetically modified animal strains and bred but not used or killed as surplus.”

(Cruelty Free International)

“We also calculated the total number of experiments involving dogs and monkeys worldwide. In 2015, an estimated 207,724 tests using dogs and 158,780 tests using monkeys were conducted.”

(Cruelty Free International)

“Thirty seven countries have now banned cosmetic testing on animals, but in the heartless research laboratories in China, America and Japan countless animals are still being sacrificed and tortured in order to test cosmetics and beauty products.”

(International Association Against Painful Experiments on Animals)

“The IAAPEA believe that over 75% of the world’s cosmetic testing on animals is now being performed in China.”

(International Association Against Painful Experiments on Animals)

A survey of 1,027 respondents in the UK found that 73% of people in the UK think using animals for development of tests, treatments, or vaccines for COVID-19 is acceptable if there is no unnecessary suffering and no alternative.

(Understanding Animal Research)

“A tenth (11%) of people feel that their views on animal research and testing have changed since the COVID-19 outbreak. In all cases, these people are more accepting of using animals in research.”

(Understanding Animal Research)

“349 state laws regulate use and treatment of animals in research facilities.”

(Spots)

“Each state has an average of 7 regulations affecting research animals.”

(Spots)

“Michigan offers the most legal protection to research animals with 23 regulations.”

(Spots)

“2 states have zero additional legal protections: Wyoming and Pennsylvania.”

(Spots)

“4 states have banned animal testing for cosmetics: California, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.”

(Spots)

“Nine out of every 10 candidate medicines that appear safe and effective in animal studies fail when given to humans.”

“Trying to mirror human diseases or toxicity by artificially creating symptoms in mice, dogs or monkeys has major scientific limitations that cannot be overcome. Very often the symptoms and responses to potential treatments seen in other species are dissimilar to those of human patients. As a consequence, nine out of every 10 candidate medicines that appear safe and effective in animal studies fail when given to humans. Drug failures and research that never delivers because of irrelevant animal models not only delay medical progress, but also waste resources and risk the health and safety of volunteers in clinical trials.”

(Humane Society International)

“Of all dogs used in research, beagles are the breed most often used in research . . . “

When experiments call for larger animals, hounds (mongrels) are commonly used. Although the U.S. does not collect information on the breeds of dogs used in research, data obtained from Freedom of Information Act requests filed by NAVS revealed that many other breeds, including, but not limited to, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Greyhounds, Pit Bulls and Schnauzers, are among the dogs used in research as well.”

(National Anti-Vivisection Society)

“Most dogs used in research are purchased from Class A dealers, licensed commercial breeders that sell “purpose-bred” dogs specifically for research.”

They breed beagles, hounds and mongrel dogs and raise the animals on their own premises to fulfill orders for canines ranging from 33-60 pounds that are 6 to 12 months old. … Over the past several years, more research institutions have moved away from using Class B dogs, and as a result, the number of Class B dealers has declined. In December 2013, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that they would implement a new policy prohibiting the procurement of dogs from Class B dealers using NIH grant funds starting in Fiscal Year 2015.”

(National Anti-Vivisection Society)

“Most dogs sold for research are less than a year old.”

From a research perspective, dogs from Class A dealers have good health and good veterinary care (known vaccination history, preventative treatment for parasites, known pedigree and improved socialization), but they are expensive, costing over $700 per dog, based on the most current price list from top vendors Ridglan Farms, Inc. and Marshall Bioresources.”

(National Anti-Vivisection Society)

“Animal research contributed to 70% of the Nobel prizes for physiology or medicine.”

(Understanding Animal Research)

Procter & Gamble has invested over $420 million in developing non-animal testing methods.

 “We are a proud supporter of #BeCrueltyFree and we’ve invested more than $420 million in developing non-animal testing methods and have advocated for their approval by policy makers around the world.”

(Procter & Gamble)

In 2019, the EPA announced $4.25 million was going to be awarded to research alternatives to animal testing.

(United States Environmental Protection Agency)

In 2018, the Pew Research Center found an almost even split in opinions on animal testing in their survey, with a slight.

“The U.S. public is closely divided when it comes to the use of animals in scientific research. Some 47% favor the practice, while 52% oppose it, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.”

(Pew Research Center)

Studies have found that women are significantly more opposed to animal experimentation than men. One study found that this was the case in 14 of 15 studied countries. 

“Pifer, Shimizu and Pifer (1994) assessed the attitudes of adults in Japan, the United States, and 13 European countries towards biomedical research on dogs and chimpanzees. In 14 of 15 countries, women were significantly more opposed to animal experimentation than were men.”

(ResearchGate)

Another found that women did not have more favorable attitudes towards animal research than men across 18 studies. 

Similar results were obtained by Franklin, Tranter and White (2001) in a study of attitudes toward animal research in six nations. Hagelin, Carlsson and Hau (2003) reviewed 56 studies of attitudes toward animal experimentation conducted in 23 countries. Men were significantly more supportive of animal research than women in 84% of the studies which found gender differences; in no study did women have more favorable attitudes towards animal research than men.

(ResearchGate)