47 Must-Read Animal Testing Statistics (2024 UPDATE)

Animal testing statistics confirm that many of the products we use were tested on animals. However, the general public isn’t aware of what precisely happens to animals in laboratories. Nor do they know how many animals are used.

Keep reading to discover more about what you can do to make a change!

Top 10 Most Important Animal Testing Statistics You Must Know

Below, you’ll find the most critical but frightening statistics to better understand how extensive the use of animals for research and testing has become.

General Facts About Animal Testing

It’s easy to overlook what happens behind the closed doors of laboratories and enjoy the products, medication, and cosmetics from this research.

Unfortunately, we don’t know plenty due to the lack of transparency and the inaccurate counts of the animals used in laboratories.

Even the small proportion of animals being tested on is more than enough to make us stop in our tracks and think about the products we use daily.

1. 90% of new drugs don’t even make it to patients.

(NIH)

Animal testing facts reveal the unfortunate truth. Regardless of the numerous tests done on animals for new drugs and medicines, less than 10% are actually considered effective and safe. This is because animal trials fail to deliver quality results in people.

The reason for these failed trials is that 55% aren’t effective in treating the condition. In comparison, 30% have shown signs that they’re toxic to humans, which couldn’t be confirmed in animal tests.

2. Almost 560,000 experiments are verified to have invoked moderate to severe suffering in the animals being tested on.

(HSI)

Animal experimentation stats show that over half a million experiments cause pain in animals.

In the UK, the Home Office describes mild suffering as experiencing short-term distress or moderate pain. Severe suffering is defined as experiencing long-lasting distress or pain.

In many cases, these animals experience this type of pain or distress throughout the trial, lasting anywhere from several days to several months or until the animal dies.

3. In the case of cosmetic animal testing, statistics suggest that 115 million animals worldwide are used for testing every year.

(Cruelty Free International)

Different countries have different laws regarding the animals that are counted for animal research. For example, in many countries, rodents and rabbits aren’t counted toward the final numbers.

Thus, recent research by Cruelty Free International and the Dr. Hadwen Trust can only estimate the number of animals used for experimentation each year.

4. More than $420 million has been invested in developing non-animal testing methods as per the stats for animal testing.

(ChemicalWatch)

Over 40 years, Procter & Gamble has made significant investments in finding alternatives to animal testing. Their main competitor, Unilever, has also started pushing for a global ban on animal testing.

P&G is the first in the beauty sector’s top 10 to actively support legislative reform that prohibits animal testing for cosmetics.

The European Parliament voted to adopt a resolution that will call for the global ban of animal testing by 2023, with the practice already banned in the EU since 2013.

5. It takes nearly a decade to undergo all the tests necessary to register a single pesticide.

(HSI)

Facts on animal testing show that the required animal studies for registration with the US Environmental Protection Agency result in animals’ torture for a prolonged period.

It also entails the testing on and subsequent deaths of approximately 10,000 animals. Among them are mice, rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, and even thousands of dogs.

Unfortunately, even after such extensive testing, much of the research doesn’t reach approval. The deaths of these animals reap no results.

6. One critical change to cosmetic animal testing, the facts show, was the Australian Industrial Chemicals Act, which passed the Senate in 2017.

(SMH)

Although this doesn’t prohibit all animal testing for cosmetics, it bans any results from data gathered via animal testing after July 1, 2018.

This may not mean that testing on animals for cosmetics will ultimately end. However, the act will limit and reduce it dramatically.

7. Animal testing facts and statistics reveal that 41% of people in the UK think organizations that engage in animal testing are secretive.

(Ipsos)

Currently, only 32% of people feel they work in organizations that engage in animal testing is necessary for human health. In general, there’s minimal transparency about what happens behind the closed doors of animal testing facilities.

This leads to people feeling uneasy about what they don’t see. Without knowing what these companies are doing and what these tests uncover, it’s easy to understand why more people prefer alternative options to animal testing.

Animal Testing Pros and Cons: Facts and Stats

As much as we would like to say that animal testing is all bad, there are some benefits of animal testing, and these facts clearly show it.

There are many animal testing cons. But, in the past, it’s proven to be very beneficial for humans, the environment, and animals as well.

Animal testing articles show that scientists have found cures and treatments for major diseases and illnesses that otherwise would not have been possible through animal testing.

This, however, was at a time when no possible alternatives were available. Today many experiments do not necessarily require animals. Many other tests on animals have proven to be useless due to their inaccuracy.

8. 47% of people accept animals in research for medical purposes.

(Speaking of Research)

Animal testing statistics for 2021 show the number is the same as when individuals have asked the same question a couple of years ago. However, more people nowadays oppose animal testing compared to a couple of years ago.

For the most part, people aren’t aware of precisely what happens behind the closed doors in the labs, and most likely, they prefer it that way.

9. Interesting facts about animal testing reveal that mice’s lifespan is 2–3 years. 

(The Jackson Laboratory)

This makes them necessary for life cycle studies that are otherwise impossible in human testing.

The average lifespan of a human can be anywhere between 70 and 80 years of age. This makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for researchers to study and experiment with how a drug or chemical will affect a human’s life cycle.

This is why the use of mice is very effective—their shorter lives provide the opportunity to do long-term research across an entire life cycle.

10. One of the significant animal testing facts reminds us that scientists have found treatments for numerous diseases by testing on animals.

(Penny Saviour)

As painful as the numbers are to read about animals’ treatment and death during animal testing, some unarguable results couldn’t be achieved without it.

Many scientists confirm that there wouldn’t be vaccines without animal testing medications for heart disease, cancer treatment, and even life-saving transplants.

Approximately 70% of the Nobel Prize winners for medicine and physiology made their discoveries through animal research.

11. Stats on animal testing show how the polio vaccine, which was initially tested on animals, vastly reduced the disease’s occurrence rate.

(WHO)

Through animal testing, scientists were able to develop this life-saving vaccine. There were approximately 350,000 occurrences of polio in 1988. With the vaccine’s help, this number was reduced to just 33 cases of polio in 2018.

The cases continue to go down with every passing year.

12. The Covid-19 pandemic showed that scientists can skip animal testing.

(Procon)

Animal experimentation statistics show that thousands of animals endure incredible pain during testing. Researchers were able to test and develop efficient vaccines with the help of human volunteers.

13. Stats about animal testing reveal that the Animal Welfare Act doesn’t protect 95% of the animals being tested on.

(Procon)

The majority of the animals used for research are birds, fish, mice, and rats, none of which are protected by the AWA.

Statistics reveal that just over 820,000 animals used for research are covered by the AWA. According to this percentage, approximately 25 million animals are left unprotected, leading to potential abuse and mistreatment.

There is also very little transparency about the treatment of these animals.

Statistics on Animal Testing Costs

The amount of money that goes toward animal testing and experiments is jaw-dropping, to say the least. Unfortunately, most of the money invested doesn’t lead to many new results. Most of the time, the final product doesn’t get approved.

Most people don’t know that most animal testing done for educational purposes is paid for by taxpayers.

14. The cost of registering one pesticide is $3 million.

(HSI)

Animal testing stats show that it takes nearly a decade, thousands of animals’ deaths, and money to register a pesticide.  The cost of registering a single pesticide with the US Environmental Protection Agency costs millions of dollars.

In many cases, the money and animals’ lives lost while attempting to register a single pesticide are fruitless—a minimal number pass the necessary requirements and get registered.

15. Every year, more than $12 billion in taxpayer money is wasted on research that involves animals.

(PETA)

Statistics of animal testing show the University of Utah gets, on average, $500,000 to induce heart attacks in dogs. Northeastern University receives some $300,000 to inject hamsters with steroids and make them fight.

And that’s not all. Oregon Health and Science University gets a staggering $1.6 million to turn monkeys and mice into alcoholics. In comparison, the NIH receives $1.7 million to induce depression in baby monkeys.

Furthermore, PETA revealed that the government could provide $210 a month to food-insecure seniors with this money. They could also hire additional 300,000 teachers or provide $715 a month to 1.4 million homeless veterans.

Animal Testing Statistics in the US

The US continues to use animals for experimentation, even though they’re also the leaders in finding the best alternatives to such cruel testing.

There is an exciting contrast between the companies that test on animals regardless of the available alternatives and the companies conscious of animal cruelty that have already taken steps to eliminate it altogether.

16. Statistics about animal testing show that as many as 100 million animals die from this annually in the US alone.

(PETA)

The animals suffer through many experiments before dying in cruel food, drug, cosmetics, and chemical tests. These numbers include the animals that die in dissection and classroom biology experiments.

In many cases where animals have been used, there are already advanced non-animal experimentation options available.

They’re proven to save time and money and offer more educational value while reducing animal suffering and death.

17. Recent animal testing statistics show that 52% of Americans feel testing on animals for medical purposes isn’t acceptable.

(PETA)

A survey has revealed that regardless of the numerous alternatives available, close to half of Americans still feel that testing on animals is morally acceptable. Conversely, 52% feel that testing on animals is ethically wrong.

18. 171.406 guinea pigs were used for animal research in the US, as animal testing facts show.

(Speaking of Research)

These numbers can’t be 100% accurate due to the lack of transparency in many testing facilities. The statistics further reveal that the second most common animal used for testing in the US in 2018 was the rabbit, with 133,634 animals.

All other AWA-covered species totaled 182,580. Sheep had the lowest numbers, at 13,000. Sadly, cats were also the victims of testing at 18,619.

19. In 2020, California used more cats for research than any other state.

(Procon)

Statistics for animal testing show the state abused 1,682 cats for testing in 2020. Moreover, Ohio used the most guinea pigs — 35,206. Finally, Massachusetts used the most dogs and primates — 6,771 and 11,795, respectively.

Many people think animal testing is only on rabbits and rats in cages. Still, cats, dogs, and primates are regularly used to test medications, cosmetics, chemicals, and more.

20. In the case of cosmetic testing on animals, statistics reveal that if the animal isn’t killed during testing, it’s killed when the experiment ends.

(Humane Society)

When it comes to cosmetic testing on animals, articles show a grim picture.

Not only do animals suffer through these experiments, but if they do survive, they’re then killed through decapitation, neck-breaking, or asphyxiation. No pain relief is provided throughout the experiments, nor when they’re killed.

There’s no protection for most animals. Many don’t even count toward the high numbers of animals used for experimentation since they aren’t covered by the Animal Welfare Act.

21. When engaging in animal testing, statistics from 2019 reveal that these tests’ failure rate is greater than 90%.

(Green Garage Blog)

This failure rate is across all industries, which includes cosmetics. In the pharmaceutical industry, the failure rate is at least 96%.

This reveals that there are little to no results coming out of thousands of animals’ continuous torture and death yearly, with only a tiny percentage of the products reaching the market.

Regardless of these staggering statistics, the United States, and many other countries, still feel the need to use all types of animal testing, ignoring many other non-animal alternatives.

22. The US is among the leading users of animals for testing.

(Cruelty Free International)

Animal testing statistics from 2020 reveal China is a worldwide leader, with over 20 million animals known for research and testing. Japan and the US are close behind, with 15 million animals used for experiments.

In the European Union, the UK, Germany, and France are leaders in animal testing.

23. The EPA notes that by 2025 there will be a 30% reduction in the number of studies using animal testing.

(NY Times)

Andrew Wheeler, the E.P.A. Administrator, believes animal testing should be banned. His goal is to eliminate animal testing using mammals by 2035, with some case-based approvals.

The agency has also promised to invest at least $4.25 million into developing alternatives to using animals to test chemicals.

Animal Testing Statistics Worldwide

On a global scale, animal testing is challenging to control and track. Many countries have different requirements for the allowed number of animals in labs, animal protection laws, and principles.

One thing’s for sure, the numbers aren’t going down. In fact, they’re increasing, even with the many available alternatives that can make testing on animals obsolete.

With a worldwide ban on animal testing for cosmetics in the works by the EU and more companies becoming concerned with animal rights, there’s hope yet.

24. Statistic of animal testing reveals no evident decline in the number of animal experiments.

(Cruelty Free International)

Although many alternatives have been found, and many tests are proven useless, animal testing has not declined. In China, the use of animals for experimentation has increased.

And in Europe, the numbers are nearly the same as they were during the 1980s and 1990s.

25. 2,785 dogs and 1,306 monkeys were used for dose toxicity tests in Europe in one year alone.

(Cruelty Free International)

The animals are given doses of drugs that cause many ongoing side effects from two weeks to nine months.

Nevertheless, scientists against animal testing have revealed facts that prove these tests are ineffective in showing drug toxicity levels in humans.

26. In 2018, 123 skin irritation tests were done on rabbits in the UK.

(Cruelty Free International)

There are many experiments for toxicological testing that have approved non-animal alternatives.

However, these animal-based tests were still being conducted in the UK in 2018, with 40 eye irritation tests, 10,275 acute lethal toxicity tests, and 638 pyrogenicity experiments on live rabbits.

This proves that governments and companies overlook the available alternatives and still opt for harmful and inhumane testing on animals.

27. 56% of animal experimentation is for basic research.

(Cruelty Free International)

Each year, about 1.8 million experiments in the UK use animals. Animal experiments facts show that approximately one million are for basic research. University researchers and their curiosity drive the majority of these.

As more than 50% of all the tests are done in universities, most of the funding comes from taxpayers. As per these statistics, only 13% of the experiments done on animals are actually required by regulators.

28. 85% of the monkeys used for experiments in the EU were imported from outside the region.

(Cruelty Free International)

Specifically, most primates used for experimentation in 2018 were imported from Africa and Southeast Asia.

29. 75,000 animals are killed yearly by just one animal testing company.

(About Animal Testing)

The leading animal testing company, Huntingdon Life Sciences, kills the most animals annually. Statistics for animal testing show that ff the animals killed, approximately 87% are rodents.

30. 80% of the primates used for experiments in the US are brought in from China.

(CNBC)

The new 15% levy that the Trump administration imposed on all Chinese imports will significantly affect current animal experimentation on primates.

While many US researchers claim their research is impossible without primates, there are significant non-animal testing advancements that they’ll be forced to use.

31. Statistics on animal testing reveal that Germany typically uses 2.8 million animals for research.

(Doctors Against Animal Experiments)

Year after year, these numbers are similar and put Germany in a close second to the UK. Regardless, the numbers are slightly lower than they were in 2014 when Germany used 3.3 million animals.

As with most other countries, Germany primarily uses rodents for testing, but there are also cats and dogs. The government has also increased the number of experiments using monkeys from 2,462 to 3,472.

32. Animal experiments facts show that 12.1 million tests on animals are performed yearly in Europe.

(About Animal Testing)

It’s challenging to determine the exact numbers due to a lack of transparency and not all animals being accounted for. So, Britain is considered the leader with nearly 3 million animal experiments yearly.

In close second comes France with the cosmetics company L’Oréal still testing its cosmetics on animals. France also presents the most significant opposition to the expected ban on cosmetics testing.

33. In 2018, 202,000 animals were used in medical tests just in Britain.

(Cruelty Free International)

Many countries still have laws and regulations requiring animal testing before clinical trials can begin on humans for medication.

Animal experimentation stats reveal the number of animals used in Britain is just the tip of the iceberg. It doesn’t include the millions of more animals used to conduct medical research that’s more basic in nature.

Approximately 81% of experiments on monkeys and 60% of trials on dogs in 2018 were to test human medication.

34. PETA reveals that more than 100 million lab animals are used for research in the United States.

(PETA)

These numbers may seem extreme, but animal testing cosmetics facts reveal that even they’re not showing the real picture.

Animal abuse facts show they’re only a small fraction of the actual number of animals used because approximately 95% of the exact total isn’t covered by the AWA.

There will never be a way to really see the depth of animal abuse or the number of animal deaths due to the lack of transparency and counting restrictions.

35. 3.52 million procedures were done on animals in the United Kingdom in 2018 alone.

(Pharma Times)

Stats on animal testing reveal this was the first extreme decrease since 2007. 2018’s numbers included 1.1 million tests on mice, 170,665 tests on rats, 146,680 tests on birds, 11,159 tests on rabbits, 297,881 tests on fish, and 6,445 tests on guinea pigs.

[visualizer id=”5770″]

Testing on larger animals included 3,207 experiments on monkeys, 4,481 tests on dogs, 159 on cats, and 10,424 on horses.

FAQ

36. What is animal testing?

Testing on an animal usually consists of an experiment where an animal undergoes injections, forced feeding, inhalation, or consumption of toxic chemicals.

And many other procedures are likely to cause them distress, pain, suffering, long-lasting harm, and ultimately, death.

All this is done to research medicines, cosmetics, and other products to determine their toxicity, effectiveness, and potential danger to humans.

37. What percentage of animals survive animal testing?

Recent statistics from Israel reveal that only 3% of the animals used for testing survive the lab experiments. Unfortunately, animals that survive are either used for new trials or are killed when the research is over.

Once scientists get what they need, they have no use for the animals. Percentages are similar in other countries as well.

38. What percentage of animal tests fail?

The National Institutes of Health recognize that approximately 95% of all drug safety experiments on animals fail in human trials. Furthermore, 90% of all necessary research, including animal testing, doesn’t lead to any effective therapies for humans.

39. How many animals die from animal testing each year?

It’s near impossible to give an exact number of how many animals die yearly around the globe due to animal testing and experimentation. It’s estimated that more than 100 million die annually in the United States alone.

40. Why should we not use animals for testing?

Although there’ve been many advances in medicine with animal testing in the past, today, there are many non-animal experimentation alternatives for most of the current research done today.

These alternatives are practical, proven, and less expensive, and they don’t harm animals.

41. How do animals benefit from animal testing?

With the help of animal experimentation, there have been many advances in veterinary medicine as well. There’s been a significant advancement in various life-extending treatments for pets, wildlife, and many endangered species.

42. Why is animal testing important?

As unfortunate as the outcomes are for the animals themselves, there are essential benefits in using them for research.

Where alternatives aren’t available, animals are used as models for studying diseases, the development of drugs and treatments for many conditions, and protecting people, other animals, and the environment.

43. When did animal testing start?

Animal testing started as early as the 3rd and 4th centuries BCE by the Greeks. The first scientists are known to perform experiments on animals being Erasistratus and Aristotle.

44. Is animal testing still happening?

Currently, 40 countries worldwide have banned cosmetics testing on animals. The EU Parliament is urging for a complete worldwide ban on cosmetics testing.

Although the US passed a ban on cosmetics testing in 2015, it still hasn’t been implemented.

Japan and China still allow animal testing for cosmetics. At the same time, France is the most prominent opponent to the expected world ban.

45. Do animals feel pain during animal testing?

Sadly — yes. More than half a million experiments in a year cause animals pain. Over half a million experiments cause pain in animals.

What’s worse is that these animals experience high levels of pain or distress throughout the experiment. These painful experiments last for days, months, or until the animal dies.

46. Why are animals killed after testing?

Not all animals are killed after testing. Some are used again for other experiments, while others get adopted. However, many of them are euthanized.

Just like they need experiment information while the animals are alive, scientists also need information from their organs.

47. Why is animal testing cruel?

There are tons of reasons why animal testing is bad. Animals are confined to small cages and deliberately made sick with toxic chemicals, and infected with diseases.

These animals typically endure lots of pain and stress, and we don’t even have to explain why this is cruel.

Conclusion

It’s a fact there’ve been many positive things that came out of animal testing. But, today, more and more people, companies, and governments are seeing that most testing may be obsolete.

Many available alternatives can quickly reduce animal testing statistics to a minimum and stop animal cruelty in labs.

Regardless of how one looks at animal testing, it’s easy to see that there’s room for improvement. As a whole, we need to find more alternative options to drastically reduce these animals’ suffering.

Sources

5 comments
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