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Environmental information systems
Key messages: The trend in the total number of uses of animals and reported severity levels experienced by animals was stable between 2015 and 2020 for tests related to industrial chemicals.
Number of uses of animals for industrial chemicals legislations and their reported severity levels in the EU-27, 2015-2020
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Reporting obligations from EU Member States are established under Directive 2010/63/EU and the Commission Implementing Decision 2012/707/EU (repealed by the Commission Implementing Decision 2020/569/EU).
Reported data indicate a rather stable trend in total number of uses of animals and severity levels in tests in the field of industrial chemicals, i.e. chemicals regulated by the REACH Regulation and the CLP) between 2015 and 2020. The majority of current animal uses are in tests for which adequate non-animal methods are not yet available.
Data show a decrease in the number of uses of animals in tests for which amendments of the REACH Regulation replaced animal with non-animal methods in the standard information requirements. This can be seen more clearly in the complementary indicator (‘Uses of animals by test type in regulatory testing of industrial chemicals’) that focuses on animals used per various tests. The decrease has counterbalanced an increase in the number of uses for some other tests, such as ecotoxicity, repeated dose toxicity and neurotoxicity.
The number of uses of animals for testing increased temporarily between 2016 and 2017. This is due to the increased number of substance registrations ahead of the REACH deadline for substances produced or imported in the EU at 1-100 tonnes per year, and the update of dossiers following compliance checks.
There is a need to further develop non-animal methods to increase their reliability, regulatory relevance and matureness, and to promote their application to reduce the use of animals for testing of chemical substances.
With the progressive introduction of non-animal approaches in the EU chemicals legislation, reliance on animal tests is expected to gradually decrease.
Please consult the relevant indicators and signals below for a more comprehensive overview on the topic.
This indicator covers non-human vertebrate animals and cephalopods. Data are aggregated and published by the European Commission and available through the open access ALURES Statistical Database.
The number of uses of animals is equivalent to the total number of times animals were subjected to a procedure, i.e. a test in the context of regulatory testing of industrial chemicals.
The different severity levels for the reporting of actual severities are also defined in the same directive:
Non-recovery: procedures which are performed entirely under general anaesthesia from which the animal shall not recover consciousness;
Mild: procedures on animals as a result of which the animals are likely to experience short-term mild pain, suffering or distress, as well as procedures with no significant impairment to the wellbeing or general condition of the animal;
Moderate: procedures on animals as a result of which the animals are likely to experience short-term moderate pain, suffering or distress, or long-lasting mild pain, suffering or distress, as well as procedures that are likely to cause moderate impairment to the wellbeing or general condition of the animals;
Severe: procedures on animals as a result of which the animals are likely to experience severe pain, suffering or distress, or long-lasting moderate pain, suffering or distress, as well as procedures that are likely to cause severe impairment to the wellbeing or general condition of the animals.
More information on EU actions for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes is available here.
Relevant objectives under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability
- Promote the development of innovative tools for testing and risk assessments
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Other relevant indicators and signals
References and footnotes
- ↵EU, 2010, Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 276, 20.10.2010, pp. 33-79).
- ↵EU, 2012, Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2012/707 of 14 November 2012 establishing a common format for the submission of the information pursuant to Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (notified under document C(2012) 8064) (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 320, 17.11.2012, pp. 33-50).
- ↵EU, 2020, Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/569 of 16 April 2020 establishing a common format and information content for the submission of the information to be reported by Member States pursuant to Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes and repealing Commission Implementing Decision 2012/707/EU (notified under document C(2020) 2179) (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 129, 24.4.2020, pp. 16-50).
- ↵EU, 2006, Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, pp. 1-849).
- ↵EU, 2008, Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 353, 31.12.2008, pp. 1-1355).