In the Netherlands, the UK and many other countries, there is a 3 R’s policy for animal testing. The 3 R’s stand for replacement, reduction and refinement. This means that we should try to replace tests on animals as much as possible, reduce the number of animals involved for each experiment, and make tests as […]

Many unused animals A lot of animals are bred for animal testing, but in the end aren’t used in any experiment. Often more animals are bred than are necessary for a specific experiment, as there always need to be extra animals available in case there’s a problem. It may seem like a good thing that […]

According to EU regulations, companies and institutions can’t test on animals without getting special permits. They require both a permit for the institution and separate permits for every new research that involves testing on animals. A special committee reviews every request for animal testing and judges the necessity of these experiments. EU regulations also state […]

Where do animals for testing come from? Most animals that are used for animal testing are specifically bred for this purpose. In the Netherlands, most animals for testing are bred by the research centers themselves (71 percent) while the rest are bred by special breeding farms or taken from the wild. Research on wild animals […]

Worldwide about 115 million animals are used for animal testing every year. 12 million of those tests take place in Europe, of which about 4 million in the UK and half a million in the Netherlands. In addition to these animals that are used in animal testing, there are also a lot of animals that […]