11 million animals used in Japan in one year

JALAS (the Japanese Association for Laboratory Animal Science) has published results of a survey into the number of live animals reared in Japanese universities, biomedical institutes and companies (testing laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and animal breeders) for the period between June 2008 and May 2009.

Although this is not a government publication, it coincides with the recent release of the UK Home Office statistics on 27th July 2010 that announced the disappointing news that 3.5 million animals were used in research, a fall of only 1% from the previous 21 year high.

The Japanese survey shows that over 11 million animals were reared for research in Japan in 2009, more than 3 times the number of animals used in the UK over a similar period.

Some species show a more significant difference. Nearly 200,000 guinea pigs were reared in Japan, more than 10-times the number used in the UK, and over 50,000 rabbits and 49,000 hamsters. A significant number of non-human primates were reared, including 10,000 macaques. Of all the animals mentioned in the study, quails were raised at levels over 186-times that of the level in the UK.

The largest proportion (96%) of the 11 million animals was mice and rats, which is significantly higher than the proportion used in the UK (83%). Of these mice and rats reared in Japan, 33% (3.6 million) were classified as genetically modified. Although a lower proportion than in the UK (59% are GM), the total number of GM mice and rats is higher than the total number of all animals used in the UK.

The data indicates that on average 31,000 animals were used each day in Japan. Further statistics show that from the universities that responded to this survey, 62% (536 out of 862) did not use any laboratory animals during this period, suggesting that a very high number of animals were used in the remaining 471 locations (326 Universities, 89 Institutes, 56 companies).

The targeted practice of alternatives to animal use is relatively recent in Japan. The Japanese Organisation JaCVAM (Japanese Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods), the Japanese equivalent of ECVAM (European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods), was set up in 2005 to oversee the promotion of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) in animal experiments for the evaluation of chemical substance safety in Japan and to establish guidelines for new alternative experimental methods through international collaboration.

Since its inception, 23 alternative assays are being evaluated or validated by JaCVAM, compared to the 28 assays for ECVAM in Europe. Of these, 6 assays (26%) have been approved by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and are in use, 2 of which (9% of the 23) having been approved for use by the Japanese Government and 5 only are at a draft legislation stage.

Whilst the revision of the European Directive 86/609/EEC is coming to an end, the use of such a disturbing number of animals highlights once again the need for a coordinated international effort to develop the replacement of animal use.

The scientific community’s recognition of the need for the replacement of animals in research for the benefit of mankind and animals should provoke a stronger and more cohesive international effort among governments, businesses, and educational institutions to promote and fund the implementation of existing alternatives to animal use and the development of new ones.

For further information, please visit: http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/expanim/59/4/59_531/_article

For details of the Home Office Statistics, please visit: http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/scientific1.html

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