Tests on animals soar as GM studies fuel record number of lab experiments

Scientists carried out a record number of experiments on animals last year, with the rise fuelled by genetic modification research.

Latest figures show there were 3.2million 'procedures' on lab animals in 2007, a rise of 6 per cent on the previous year and the sixth year in a row that the figure has gone up.

More than a third involved genetically modified animals  -  mostly mice and fish created to mimic human diseases, develop drugs and test chemicals.

Scientists said animal experiments were essential for medical research into diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's and childhood leukaemia.

But animal welfare campaigners described the rise as an 'appalling failure' by the Government.

Around 83 per cent of experiments involved mice, rats and other rodents. Fish were used in 10 per cent of tests and birds in 4 per cent.

There were 3,964 experiments on monkeys, a fall of 6 per cent. There were 8,795 experiments involving horses and donkeys and 308 using cats. Genetically-modified animals were involved in 1.2million experiments, 36 per cent of the total.

Under Home Office rules, a procedure includes anything from cutting open an animal to breeding a mouse.

No experiments were done to test cosmetics and make-up, the Home Office annual report said.

The Dr Hadwen Trust, a non-animal medical research charity, said the number of animals tested had exceeded 3million for the first time in 16 years.

A spokesman said: 'If the Government doesn't take urgent action to implement a clear strategy to replace animals with advanced techniques, Labour's legacy for lab animals will be an appalling failure.'

RSPCA senior scientist Barney Reed said the charity was dismayed that the numbers had risen again.

'While there are now positive signs of progress being made towards replacing the use of animals in some types of experiments, particularly in certain areas of safety testing, much more needs to be done,' he said.

Campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said: 'Technology has changed and policy must change too.

'The Government has the power to modernise away from the old animal tests, but despite public concern it is instead washing its hands of the problem.'

Scientists said the number of monkeys used in experiments could rise. Progress in stem cell research, and the development of new antibody-based treatments, was likely to put pressure on scientists to carry out more tests on primates.

Research on complex diseases of the brain and immune system need animals closer to human beings than a rat or mouse, they said.