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In 2022, 60,977 animals were used in total at the University of Zurich, 59,304 for research and 1,673 for education purposes. This represents a year-on-year decrease of 11.7% and a decrease of 10.8% compared to 2020. The most commonly used animals were mice (86.9%), rats (3.3%) and fish (2.8%).
Nearly nine out of 10 of the animals used in 2022 at UZH were mice (lab and wild mice) – 52,964 in total. The second most commonly used animals, but much fewer, were 2,039 rats, 1,709 fish (of which 1,497 larvae), 1,227 amphibians (of which 10 larvae) and 809 pigs. All other animal species counted together made up 3.7% of the animals used. Overall, 5.7% of the animals used were farm animals (pigs, chickens, cows, horses, donkeys, lamas, sheep and goats) and 1.5% were animals commonly kept as pets (dogs, cats and rabbits).
At 84.7%, the majority of lab animals were used in basic research projects dedicated to the study of human diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular, mental or neurodegenerative diseases. To study diseases in animals, 3.8% of the animals were used, while 15.6% of the animals were used in projects unrelated to disease research.
Research involving animals in Switzerland 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). 23.1% of the animals used at UZH in 2022 were used in experiments that caused no distress, and 42.2% in experiments that involved little distress. 30.4% of animals were used in experiments causing moderate distress, and 4.3% in experiments causing severe distress.
|
Animal |
Number |
Percentage |
DS 0 |
DS 1 |
DS 2 |
DS 3 |
|
Mice |
51,035 |
83.7% |
9,679 |
21,148 |
17,615 |
2,593 |
|
Rats |
2,039 |
3.3% |
716 |
839 |
445 |
39 |
|
House mice, snow voles |
1,929 |
3.2% |
11 |
1918 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fish/fish larvae (various) |
1,709 |
2.8% |
903 |
496 |
310 |
0 |
|
Amphibians/larvae (various) |
1,227 |
2.0% |
628 |
591 |
8 |
0 |
|
Pigs |
809 |
1.3% |
599 |
202 |
2 |
6 |
|
Dogs |
591 |
1.0% |
404 |
182 |
5 |
0 |
|
Horses |
303 |
0.5% |
104 |
199 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cows |
286 |
0.5% |
286 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sheep |
266 |
0.4% |
189 |
9 |
68 |
0 |
|
Cats |
214 |
0.3% |
193 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
Birds, chickens (various) |
157 |
0.3% |
123 |
34 |
0 |
0 |
|
Reptiles (various) |
140 |
0.2% |
78 |
43 |
19 |
0 |
|
Rabbits |
110 |
0.2% |
0 |
38 |
72 |
0 |
|
Primates (various) |
73 |
0.1% |
73 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Meerkats |
62 |
0.1% |
62 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Alpacas, lamas |
12 |
<0.1% |
3 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
|
Goats |
8 |
<0.1% |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Other mammals |
7 |
<0.1% |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
60,977 |
100% |
14,066 |
25,729 |
18,544 |
2,638 |
|
Percentage |
|
|
23.1% |
42.2% |
30.4% |
4.3% |
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. At UZH, 23.1% of the animals used in 2022 fell into this category.
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 2022, 42.2% 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 2022, a total of 30.4% of animals used in experiments at UZH were in this 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 2022, 4.3% of the animals used at UZH were involved in studies that fell into this category.
