This continues a modest decline now seen for the fourth consecutive year in the use of fish, mammals, birds and cephalopods, but in recent years Germany has consistently been in the top three users of animals in science in the EU.

This latest figure, published by The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), confirms a steady downward trend over recent years, when the total in 2020 had been 1.85 million. 

In addition, in 2023 the number of animals killed so that their organs and tissues could be used for scientific purposes fell by almost 6% since 2022 to almost 672,000, and the number of animals bred but not used in experiments fell by 22%, to 1.37 million. The total number of animals used across the three categories is 3.50 million, compared to 4.21 million in 2022.

There were 2,550 uses of dogs in Germany in 2023, marking an 11% decrease from the 2,873 reported in 2022. However, the total has fluctuated in recent years, with a significant increase from 2021 to 2022, so it is uncertain whether this decline will be sustained. Despite this decrease, the number remains too high and Germany has, in recent years, been the second highest user of dogs in the EU, behind only France. Germany also reported 544 uses of cats in 2023, which was a slight increase from the 538 uses in 2022.

There have also been similar fluctuations in the use of primates, with the 1,676 uses reported in 2023 representing a 24% decrease from the 2,204 uses in 2022. This highlights an overall decrease, but up to 2022 Germany has remained a top user of primates in the EU, again second only to France.

Basic and applied research, including into human and animal diseases, accounted for 73% of tests, while 17% were conducted for the development and quality control of medical products or for toxicity and safety testing of other products. 

We recently welcomed the appointment of the European Commission’s first ever Commissioner for Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, but urged it to be a catalyst for the EU’s commitment on the phase-out of animal testing. In 2023, the Commission promised to develop a roadmap to  phase-out animal testing for chemical safety assessments, and we have worked closely with a group of animal protection NGOs to bring together the Commission and key stakeholders from across the European Union, as a critical step towards shaping the objectives and outcomes of that roadmap. Key elements of the roadmap will require active delivery by Member States, making these statistics a stark reminder of the urgent need for coordinated national action to drive progress. 

EU-wide statistics published in July 2024 show that there were 9.34 million tests on animals in the EU and Norway in 2022. This is an 8% decrease from 2021 to 2022, but a rise of 7% since 2020. In addition to these 9.34 million uses of animals, a further 9.6 million were intentionally bred and killed in laboratories, without being used in experiments, in 2022 –bringing the total uses of animals in that year to 18.9 million. 

Our Director of Science and Regulatory Affairs, Dr Emma Grange, said: “Germany is consistently in the top three of animal users in Europe. We hope that the observed decline in animals used in German laboratories continues, both in Germany and across the European Union as a whole, but much more needs to be done to speed this up. There is an urgent need for greater investment and focus on non-animal testing methods and the ending of tests on animals. 

“We hope that the EU delivers on its commitment to phase-out animal testing in Europe, including through its Roadmap to end animal testing for chemical safety assessment.”