The data published by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR) for 2021(click here) are in line with the trends of previous years, after the break of 2020.

The main findings of this analysis are as follows.

Between 2015 and 2021, the number of animals used rose from 1,901,752 to 1,893,897, a very stable figure. The application of the European directive (transposed into French law in February 2013) still seems to have little effect on the number of animals used.

It should be remembered that to this number must be added animals “outside the scope” of the directive (animals killed for organ or tissue removal, animals bred in user establishments and not involved in experimental procedures, notably during the creation and maintenance of genetically modified lines, etc.). In 2017, France used 2.13 million animals for these purposes.

Animal users in France are still largely sourcing either from non-approved EU farms (9.9% in 2021, 12.7% in 2019, 10.4% in 2018, 10.9% in 2017, 9.9% in 2016, 13.7% in 2015), or from non-EU farms (4.1% in 2015 and 3.4% in 2021). The case of non-human primates is of particular concern, as is – to a lesser extent – that of dogs, as the rate of sourcing from non-EU farms is very high for both species.

The number of animals used for toxicological or regulatory tests is not being reduced (between 27 and 30% of animals used depending on the year, since 2015), which raises questions about the rate at which new alternative tests are validated by ECVAM (the European laboratory for which this is one of the missions) and about the valorization and implementation of validated tests.

Between 2015 and 2021, the rate of mild class procedures fell steadily (from 54% in 2015 to 31% in 2021), while the rate of severe class procedures rose sharply, from 10.2% in 2015 to 18.7% of animals used in 2018 and 14% in subsequent years; the same applies, to a lesser extent, to moderate class procedures (from 31% in 2015 to 50% in 2021). No-recovery class procedures remain fairly stable at around 5-6%.

The increase in the number of procedures in the severe and moderate classes raises doubts as to whether the objective of “Refining” procedures on sentient beings, which have “an intrinsic value that must be respected” in the words of the European Directive, is being taken into account.

To access Transcience’s analysis : Click here

​