These statistics should be used for general purposes only. Western Australia figures are not available for 2009, but going by the last available figure (1,049,379 for WA in 2007), this would bring the total number of animals used to more than 9.5 million.
2009 Statistics
| Type of animals | Vic | NSW | SA | Tas | Qld | ACT | WA | NT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mouse | 467,097 | 342,241 | 53,667 | 7,693 | 188,897 | 122,607 | n/a | 78 | 993,305 |
| Rat | 35,309 | 41,617 | 9,526 | 1,305 | 15,422 | 3,440 | n/a | 91,197 | |
| Guinea Pig | 1,458 | 3,423 | 1,390 | 261 | n/a | 6,271 | |||
| Rabbit | 1,314 | 1,938 | 559 | 265 | 68 | n/a | 3,879 | ||
| Other Lab Animals | 1,902 | 496 | 108 | n/a | 2,506 | ||||
| Cat | 235 | 973 | 105 | 474 | 8 | n/a | 1321 | ||
| Dog | 1,941 | 2,243 | 295 | 190 | 2306 | 947 | n/a | 102 | 5,616 |
| Other Domestic | 2,906 | 51 | 376 | 67 | n/a | 3,333 | |||
| Sheep | 128,863 | 91,516 | 127,004 | 27,816 | 40,935 | 38 | n/a | 6 | 375,237 |
| Cattle | 22,436 | 64,644 | 3,000 | 314 | 135,908 | n/a | 82,268 | 90,394 | |
| Pig | 5,499 | 15,103 | 4,655 | 9,136 | n/a | 25,257 | |||
| Horse/Donkey | 877 | 2,466 | 66 | 8 | 5,963 | n/a | 30 | 3,417 | |
| Other Stock Animals | 970 | 931 | n/a | 300 | 970 | ||||
| Native Mammals | 12,932 | 331,106 | 6,248 | 23,594 | 28,134 | 785 | n/a | 2,018 | 374,665 |
| Exotic ‘feral’ Animals | 1,987 | 38,429 | 1,634 | 85 | 2,686 | 37 | n/a | 785 | 42,172 |
| Primates | 186 | 484 | 30 | 58 | 10 | n/a | 710 | ||
| Domestic Fowl | 102,411 | 138,232 | 7,867 | 1,559,080 | 275 | n/a | 162 | 248,785 | |
| Other Birds | 41,330 | 355,347 | 7,257 | 8,980 | 67,417 | 2,610 | n/a | 411 | 415,524 |
| Reptiles | 2,449 | 14,444 | 4,866 | 1,241 | 32,287 | 2,036 | n/a | 5,409 | 25,036 |
| Fish | 1,374,627 | 51,333 | 150,705 | 923,887 | 520 | n/a | 63,796 | 1,577,185 | |
| Amphibians | 4,288 | 41,214 | 653 | 103 | 36,030 | 888 | n/a | 1,883 | 47,146 |
| Other Aquatic Animals | 44,972 | 926,918 | 4,356 | 1,044 | 303 | n/a | 3,544 | 977,290 | |
| Other | 57 | 36 | 75 | 12 | n/a | 105 | |||
| TOTALS | 2,255,076 | 2,413,891 | 284,995 | 223,078 | 3,050,522 | 134,281 | n/a | 160,792 | 8,522,635 |
NSW: Unspecified, QLD: Cephalopods
QLD: 9 deer and 922 goats
NSW, QLD, and VIC (Other): Exotic zoo animals
NB: ACT figures are from ANU and CSIRO only.
NB: NT figures are from CDU, CSIRO, DOR, NRETAS, NT Gov, and UQ only.
| Purpose of project | Vic | NSW | SA | Tas | Qld | ACT | WA | NT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Understanding human or animal biology | 761,274 | 161,300 | 39,072 | 20,300 | 497,125 | n/a | n/a | 868 | 981,946 |
| Maintenance and improvement of human or animal health and welfare | 242,132 | 350,635 | 40,107 | 36,777 | 1,306,386 | n/a | n/a | 54,484 | 669,651 |
| Improvement of animal management or production | 534,177 | 322,892 | 9,686 | 110,029 | 465,747 | n/a | n/a | 32,666 | 976,784 |
| Production of biological products | 104,126 | n/a | n/a | 104,126 | |||||
| Diagnostic procedures | 1,967 | n/a | n/a | 1,967 | |||||
| Achievement of educational objectives | 82,936 | 105,788 | 177,615 | 9,098 | 168,591 | n/a | n/a | 2,498 | 375,437 |
| Environmental study | 634,557 | 982,458 | 18,515 | 46,874 | 612,690 | n/a | n/a | 68,566 | 1,682,404 |
| Regulatory product testing | 46,177 | n/a | n/a | 46,177 | |||||
| Stock Breeding | 63,757 | n/a | n/a | 63,757 | |||||
| Stock Maintenance | 274,791 | n/a | n/a | 274,791 | |||||
| Unspecified | 134,281 | n/a | 1,710 | 134,281 | |||||
| TOTALS | 2,255,076 | 2,413,891 | 284,995 | 223,078 | 3,050,539 | 134,281 | n/a | 160,792 | 8,522,635 |
n/a – Yet to be received
ACT did not provide a numeric breakdown of purpose of project
Slight discrepancy (of 17) between the QLD total by purpose of project (3,050,539), and the QLD totals by animal type and severity (both 3,050,522).
| Severity of procedure | Vic | NSW | SA | Tas | Qld | ACT | WA | NT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observational studies involving minor interference | 658,469 | 1,190,107 | 85,215 | 114,100 | 1,732,401 | n/a | n/a | 96,380 | 2,047,891 |
| Animal unconscious without recovery | 257,513 | 306,277 | 13,891 | 5,572 | 458,509 | n/a | n/a | 3,804 | 583,253 |
| Minor conscious intervention | 637,018 | 548,374 | 34,787 | 83,087 | 674,930 | n/a | n/a | 56,481 | 1,303,266 |
| Minor operative procedures with recovery | 56,031 | 30,661 | 118,528 | 9,744 | 53,642 | n/a | n/a | 1,257 | 214,964 |
| Surgery with recovery | 30,417 | 13,426 | 2,680 | 121 | 10,479 | n/a | n/a | 46,644 | |
| Minor physiological challenge | 59,912 | 177,767 | 13,819 | 2,863 | 90,969 | n/a | n/a | 160 | 254,361 |
| Major physiological challenge | 555,389 | 19,127 | 9,191 | 6,826 | 29,022 | n/a | n/a | 590,533 | |
| Death as an end point | 327 | 23,813 | 6,884 | 765 | 570 | n/a | n/a | 1788 | 31,789 |
| Production of genetically modified animals | 104,339 | n/a | n/a | 104,339 | |||||
| Unspecified | 134,281 | n/a | 134,281 | ||||||
| TOTALS | 2,255,076 | 2,413,891 | 284,995 | 223,078 | 3,050,522 | 134,281 | n/a | 159,870 | 8,521,713 |
n/a – Yet to be received
ACT did not provide a numeric breakdown of severity of procedure
Slight discrepancy (of 922) between the NT total by severity of procedure (159,870), and the NT totals by animal type and purpose of project (both 160,792).
Sources:
VIC
Department of Primary Industries, Statistics of Animal Use in Research and Teaching Victoria, Report Number 27, 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009.
NSW
Animal Research Review Panel NSW, Annual Report 2009-2010, July 2011.
SA
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Animals Used for Research and Teaching in South Australia 2009, February 2011.
TAS
Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Animal Research Statistics Tasmania, Annual Report Number 14 (2009), September 2010.
QLD
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry – Biosecurity Queensland, Use of animals for scientific purposes in Queensland, Statistical report 2009 (Draft), State of Queensland 2012. (Received via RTI application, 2014)
ACT
- On an annual basis, no ACT-wide statistics are compiled. Correspondence from Animal Welfare Policy, AWAC Secretariet, 6 February 2014.
- Personal correspondence from Executive Officer – Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee, Australian National University, 7 October 2010.
- Personal correspondence from Manager, Public Affairs and Communication – CSIRO Livestock Industries, 28 October 2010.
WA
No WA-wide statistics are available. Phone conversation with Department of Agriculture and Food, WA, 23 March 2014.
NT
Statistics received via FOI application (2014). Figures provided are compiled from animal use data for CDU, CSIRO, DOR, NRETAS, the NT Government, and the University of Queensland (where research was conducted in the NT).