TOTAL ANIMALS USED: 602,318
A total of 602,318 animals used for research, testing and teaching purposes were reported in 2024, that's 285,750 more than the previous year. While the majority of this increase can be attributed to the use of wild-caught fish, there was also increased use of cats and dogs, rabbits, cephalopods/crustacea, cattle, deer, goats, pigs, and sheep.
The rolling 3-year average was 437,077, which is an increase of 97,482 from the previous year.
NUMBER OF ANIMALS WHO DIED: 110,245
A total of 110,245 animals died or were euthanised during or after manipulations (including animals who were killed for the purpose of using their tissues), the majority of which were fish, rodents and sheep. This is a slight decrease from the previous year. See a breakdown below.
- Animals who died or were euthanised during or after manipulations: 66,084
- Animals who were killed for their tissues: 44,161
In 2024, an additional 139,686 animals that were bred for research, testing or teaching purposes but not used were killed. This included mice, rats, fish, guinea pigs, goats, rabbits, possums, amphibians and sheep. This is 29,121 more than the previous year.
PURPOSES
Animals were used in the following ways in 2024:
- Basic biological research: 64,477
- Veterinary research: 161,974
- Teaching: 59,902
- Animal husbandry research: 67,201
- Medical research: 20,928
- Testing: 5,462
- Environmental management research: 14,737
- Species conservation: 201,818
- Other: 391
- Production of biological agents: 8,182
- Development of alternatives: 164
- Producing offspring with compromised welfare: 82
Most categories saw an increase, the biggest one being in Species conservation research. Only Environmental management, Animal husbandry, Testing, and Other decreased somewhat.
TYPES OF ANIMALS
The following categories of animals were used in 2024:
- Alpacas/llamas: 193
- Amphibians: 0
- Birds: 12,688
- Cats: 1,552
- Cattle: 178,637
- Cephalopods/crustaceans: 3,710
- Deer: 5,444
- Dogs: 1,189
- Fish: 292,348
- Goats: 2,155
- Guinea pigs: 2,821
- Hamsters: 8
- Horses/donkeys: 519
- Marine mammals: 720
- Mice: 34,719
- Pigs: 504
- Possums: 631
- Rabbits: 1,414
- Rats: 7,391
- Reptiles: 4,963
- Sheep: 50,460
- Misc Species: 252
Most species increased in use, with fish use being the highest, closely followed by cattle. Chicken use decreased (while pigeons and other birds increased), as did the use of possums, horses, mice & rats, hamsters, "misc" other species.
ORGANISATION TYPE
The following types of organisations used animals in 2024:
- Universities: 393,044
- Commercial Organisations: 98,705
- Crown Research Institutes: 63,022
- Other(non-university medical research institutes, zoos/wildlife parks and individuals): 17,441
- Government departments: 4,294
- Polytechnics: 25,077
- Schools: 735
Animal use in universities increased more than 4-fold, crown research institutes almost 3-fold. Polytechnics use doubled, while commercial and school use decreased considerably.
SOURCE
Animals were sourced from the following places in 2024:
- Farms: 195,164
- Breeding Units: 81,552
- Captured: 251,464
- Commercial Sources: 48,947
- Public Sources: 3,866
- Born During Project: 21,078
- Imported: 247
Most used animals were captured in the wild, displaying a more than 14-fold increase. There were also more animals used from breeding units, commercial sources, farms and born during projects. Only import and public sources decreased slightly.
MORE INFO
The most commonly used species in 2024:
Fish were the most used species by far, followed by cattle.
“OTHER” species used
In 2024, 452 animals were reported in the “other species” category. This included hedgehogs and stoats, and likely other species considered "pests".
Animals imported into NZ
A total of 247 animals were imported into New Zealand for research, testing and teaching purposes in 2024. These included 239 mice, 7 rats and a hamster.
Rehoming
In 2024, 141 animals were rehomed, 75 of those were fish and 36 cattle. This was a big decrease from 2023 (where 444 animals were rehomed).
