Thousands of Animals Still Being Used for Research, Testing, and Teaching in NZ

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has just released their report on the use of animals for research, testing and teaching (RTT) in 2016.

This report shows that 254,453 animals were used for RTT in 2016, up 13% from the year before. However, the rolling three-year average has increased by only 4%.

These MPI reports are normally released annually and they provide a summary of the use of animals for RTT purposes in New Zealand.

“We hope that these reports act as an important reminder to the public and highlight the fact that thousands of animals are still being used for animal experimentation in NZ every year,” said NZAVS Executive Director, Tara Jackson.

The Animal Welfare Act states that individuals using animals for RTT should “replace the use of animals in teaching by substituting for animals, where appropriate, non-sentient or non-living alternatives or by imparting the information in another way.”

“This new report shows that 30,396 animals were used for teaching purposes in 2016 despite the many viable, sophisticated and humane methods of teaching that currently exist and are readily available that don’t involve the use of live animals. As a minimum, the use of animals for teaching purposes should only be in the history books for NZ,” added Miss Jackson.

“There are also fundamental scientific issues involved with using animal models to predict human outcomes, so the fact that thousands of animals are still used in NZ for medical research and for testing the safety of products meant for human use is concerning. NZAVS will continue to work hard to change this and we hope to see juristic changes in these reports soon,” stated Miss Jackson.

Read the full MPI report here https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/29738/loggedIn

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