One small example of how you can’t trust anything the antivivisection or animal rights groups say. Well, not so small, it relates to nearly 42,000 animal experiments. Animal Aid claimed in a recent press release criticising the rise in UK animal research last year:

The number of experiments involving genetically modified animals has risen by 43,428. Almost 42,000 of these were on undeclared species of animals.

Now the second part had me scratching my head. Sadly, I’m all too familiar with the annual statistics on animal procedures, which run to about 90 pages and over 30 detailed tables of figures, four appendices, explanatory notes, etc, etc. It seemed highly unlikely that 40,000 procedures on genetically modified animals could be on ‘undeclared species of animals’.

I started going through the tables. Table 3 (which runs to three pages) and table 3.1 give all the detail. Most of the GM and mutant animals are mice (92%), followed by fish, rats, amphibia and fowl. Oh, and three sheep. No undeclared species there. Tables 3.2 and 3.3 also relate to GM animals. Again, all species declared.

Then I went back to table 2.2 which details the somewhat technical sounding ‘Scientific procedures by Schedule 2 listed species and source of animals (genetically modified animals)’. Schedule 2 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 lists those species that must be obtained from designated breeding or supplying establishments (which is most of them), unless a specific exemption is granted.

And there it was, just above the bottom line, ‘animals not listed in Schedule 2’, on which there were 41,758 procedures.

The mystery was soon solved. Just below, a footnote stated:

The ‘animals not listed in Schedule 2’ here were 300 domestic fowl, 3,067 amphibia and 38,391 fish

Which were of course listed in tables 3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and others.

The annual statistics are not the most user-friendly publications, but they are freely available and groups like Animal Aid should take care to examine them thoroughly before making such specious claims.