UK acitivists cry foul as animal experiments rise

The number of scientific experiments and procedures in the UK that involve laboratory animals increased to just over 3.7 million last year. This was an increase of 3 per cent on 2009, government officials announced yesterday.

The majority of the increase was due to the continued increase in the number of genetically modified (GM) mice, used mainly in medical research as ''models'' of human disease.

The announcement claimed that according to scientists, the majority of these animals did not suffer from the genetic engineering they had experienced.

The number of animals used in experiments has been on the rise for over 15 years due to the rise in GM technology where laboratory mice can be engineered. Also a significant increase has been seen in the use of tropical zebra fish for embryonic studies and new world monkeys, used in pharmaceuticals research.

Last year had seen about 1 million more procedures than in 2000, a 37-per cent increase which was mostly due to the breeding of GM animals. However, the use of ''sensitive'' species including cats, dogs and horses had decreased.

Campaigners yesterday said it was  ''disgraceful'' that testing on animals had risen to its highest level for 25 years.