Over 3 million animals used in experiments

: Press release; Published: 10 December 2025

Over 3 million animals used in experiments

The official statistics from the German federal government recorded a total of 3,063,569 animals used in connection with experiments in 2024 and, for the most part, killed (1). This represents roughly 438,000 fewer animals than the previous year. The nationwide association Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE) welcomes this decline but calls for it to be accelerated. The transition to animal-free, human-relevant research approaches must be politically prioritized.

The statistics, published by the German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), show that of the 3,063,569 animals, 1,327,931 were directly used in experiments (1). These experiments almost always end in the death of the animals. Another 626,538 animals were killed for scientific purposes, such as organ collection. In addition, 1,109,100 so-called surplus animals were bred for experiments but killed due to lack of use. Overall, the total number of animals decreased by approximately 12.5% compared to the previous year.

Particularly notable is the decrease in surplus animals — animals bred but not used and killed for economic reasons — has fallen again: by 19% to around 1.1 million. “The decline in surplus animals may be related to an 11% reduction in genetically modified animals. Breeding genetically modified animals often produces individuals without the desired genetic traits, which are therefore killed,,” suspects Dr. Johanna Walter, scientific advisor at DAAE. A decrease in killed surplus animals had already been observed in the previous year. In 2022, DAAE drew public attention to the illegal killing of surplus animals by filing criminal charges (2).

In basic, non-purpose-driven research, only a slight decrease of about 2% was observed compared to the previous year. Experiments in this area still account for the largest share of animal experiments, namely 758,244 animals (57%).

As in previous years, mice were the most commonly used species in experiments, with 956,636 animals (72%). The number of fish increased by 9% to 176,778, making them the second most used species at roughly 13%. Rats follow in third place, with 83,369 animals (6%).

Rabbits (57,966) are still used in experiments, with nearly 88% used in routine production, including the production of polyclonal antibodies (3). Dogs (2,220), monkeys (1,088), cats (698), and other species were also used in experiments.

In 2024, 47,708 animals were used in experiments classified as “severely distressing,” meaning these animals experienced particularly extreme suffering. This represents only about 3,000 fewer than the previous year. The actual number is likely higher, as animal suffering is often underestimated and even very distressing experiments may be classified as moderate or mild (4).

The number of monkeys used in experiments decreased by 35% compared to the previous year, to 1,088. The proportion of monkeys reused in experiments is high at 19%. In basic research, monkeys are often used repeatedly in invasive brain studies — sometimes over years or decades. To end this suffering, DAAE recently, in collaboration with PETA, successfully completed the Bundestag petition “Stop animal experiments on monkeys,” gathering over 40,000 verified signatures and presented to the Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag (5).

Overall, DAAE considers the downward trend in animal experiment figures as positive. According to the organization, this trends appears to be stabilizing and may reflect the growing importance of animal-free technologies such as organ-on-a-chip systems, cell cultures, and computer-based models (6).

Nevertheless, over 3 million animals continue to suffer in experiments whose results are not transferable to humans (7). The failure of the reduction strategy initiated by the previous coalition government, which was supposed to be published in spring 2025, demonstrates that a clear political will for change is lacking. There is a lack of binding funding requirements, transparency, and clear guidelines to consistently develop and implement animal-free methods. While other countries, such as the USA and the UK, are developing concrete phase-out plans (10), Germany is leaving significant potential untapped.

“The new figures show a positive development but are far from sufficient. Now the phase-out to end animal experiments must finally be actively promoted at the political level, with a consistent focus on scientifically superior, animal-free methods,” concludes Dr. Walter.

Further information

Animal experimentation statistics >>

Over 3 million animals used in experiments

Over 3 million animals used in experiments

Further information

References