Navigation auf uzh.ch
Navigation auf uzh.ch
A total of 106,536 animals were used in UZH research in 2023, representing a year-on-year increase of almost 75%. This increase was mostly due to two large-scale research projects that involved more than 35,000 farm pigs, most of which experienced no distress whatsoever.
Besides pigs, the most commonly used animals at UZH last year were mice, cows, rats, amphibians and fish. These made up more than 98% of animals used in research. Other species used included dogs, horses, birds and chickens, reptiles, primates, sheep, cats, rabbits, other mammals, goats as well as alpacas and lamas. The reason for the unusual increase in the number of animals – 106,536 in 2023 compared to 60,977 in 2022 – was two major studies on the health of farm pigs.
For just over half of the animals used at UZH in 2023 (51%), the degree of severity was classed as 0, with two-thirds of these animals being pigs. A new system for assessing the health of livestock called Smart Animal Health was tested on a total of 32,438 domestic pigs. Most examinations were carried out as part of regular farm visits by veterinary specialists and only involved visual observations. The findings of the study will now be applied to the evaluation of animal health as widely as possible in Switzerland.
In a second large-scale study on 2,686 domestic farm pigs, researchers tested a vaccine aimed at preventing a highly contagious and severe respiratory disease. The vaccine against actinobacillosis, which has already been used abroad, is considered safe. All animals in the herd were vaccinated and weighed, 87% of which were assessed as severity degree 0 and 13% as severity degree 1.
These two large-scale studies with pigs led to a drop in the proportion of animals used for basic research (down to 56.2%, or 53,090 animals). Almost half of the animals (49.8%) were used to study human diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and mental health illnesses. The share of animals used in veterinary research increased to 40% (42,611 animals), while 10.2% of all animals (10,835) were not used for research into human/animal diseases. Of these, 1,823 (1.7%) were used in training and continuing education for veterinary students and researchers.
In Switzerland, research involving animals is divided into four degrees of severity (DS) that measure distress or constraint, from 0 to 4 (DS 0, DS 1, DS 2 and DS 3). 51% of the animals used at UZH in 2023 were used in experiments that caused no distress, and 27% in experiments that involved little distress. 19.2% of animals were used in experiments causing moderate distress, and 2.8% in experiments causing severe distress.
|
Animal |
Number |
Percentage |
DS 0 |
DS 1 |
DS 2 |
DS 3 |
|
Mice (incl. fetuses) |
55,806 |
52.4% |
10,542 |
22,590 |
19,746 |
2,928 |
|
Pigs |
36,872 |
34.6% |
36,311 |
536 |
6 |
19 |
|
Cows |
4,064 |
3.8% |
4’048 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
|
Rats (incl. fetuses) |
2,365 |
2.2% |
891 |
870 |
535 |
69 |
|
Amphibians/larvae (various) |
2,280 |
2.1% |
54 |
2,215 |
11 |
0 |
|
House mice, snow voles |
1,697 |
1.6% |
21 |
1,675 |
0 |
1 |
|
Fish/fish larvae (various) |
1,584 |
1.5% |
1,315 |
269 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dogs |
603 |
0.6% |
438 |
160 |
5 |
0 |
|
Horses |
314 |
0.3% |
144 |
170 |
0 |
0 |
|
Birds (various), chickens (incl. fetuses) |
282 |
0.3% |
240 |
42 |
0 |
0 |
|
Reptiles (various) |
120 |
0.1% |
0 |
120 |
0 |
0 |
|
Apes (various) |
147 |
0.1% |
147 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sheep (incl. fetuses) |
133 |
0.1% |
40 |
29 |
64 |
0 |
|
Cats |
112 |
0.1% |
99 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
|
Rabbits |
86 |
<0.1% |
30 |
1 |
55 |
0 |
|
Other mammals |
42 |
<0.1% |
42 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Goats |
17 |
<0.1% |
17 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Alpacas, lamas |
12 |
<0.1% |
2 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
106,536 |
100% |
54,381 |
28,716 |
20,422 |
3,017 |
|
Percentage |
|
|
51.0% |
27.0% |
19.2% |
2.8% |
If an animal experiences no pain, suffering, injury or fear during an experiment, the degree of severity is classed as 0.
These kinds of experiment might involve, for example, observing behavior to research social and cognitive abilities of squirrel monkeys and common marmosets. For larger animals, such as dogs and cows, taking blood samples is included in this category.
This applied to 51% of the animals used at UZH in 2023.
Degree of severity 1 includes research projects in which the animals experience brief slight pain or injury or slight impairment of their general state of health. If laboratory animals are anesthetized and killed in order to remove tissues or organs from them – e.g. to obtain a cell culture – the degree of severity is also classed as 1.
For example, if an animal is fitted with a permanent catheter in an outer blood vessel or a skin tissue sample is taken, the degree of severity is classed as 1.
In 2023, 27% of the animals used in UZH research projects were in this category.
If the constraints in an experiment are moderate but brief, or if they are slight but last longer, the degree of severity is classed as 2. Such experiments include repeatedly taking blood samples under short-duration anesthetic or surgical interventions under anesthetic which, despite pain treatment after the operation, cause pain, suffering or impairment of the animal’s general state of health.
At UZH, for example, sheep are sometimes used in studies with degree of severity 2 to research ways to improve healing of tendons, cartilage and bones. Other research, for example, is concerned with developing vaccines against toxoplasmosis – an infectious disease which frequently occurs in cats.
In 2023, a total of 19.2% of animals used in experiments at UZH were in the DS 2 category.
If the experiments cause the animals severe pain, ongoing suffering, severe fear or severe impairment of their general state of health, or if the constraints are moderate and medium-term or long-term, they are classed as degree of severity 3.
Experiments with the highest degree of severity usually involve mice or rats. They are used to research severe, complex diseases such as cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and other auto-immune diseases, or organ transplants and infectious diseases.
In 2023, 2.8% of the animals used at UZH were involved in such studies.
