THE number of experiments on genetically engineered animals continues to soar in the UK, while tests on other animals are falling.
The latest figures, released on 24 July, show that the proportion of all procedures performed on GM animals has quadrupled from 8 per cent in 1995 to 33 per cent in 2005. The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection describes the trend as 鈥渄isturbing鈥�. The overall number of animal experiments in the UK in 2005 was 2.91 million, a rise of 2 per cent on 2004.
However, the statistics don鈥檛 tell the whole story, say government officials, since most of the GM animals are never actually experimented on after they are created. 鈥淎bout two-thirds are simply used for breeding,鈥� says Jon Richmond, chief of the animal procedures division at the Home Office. So of the 957,000 GM animals created, 630,800 鈥渨ere used solely to maintain breeding colonies鈥�, his department claims.
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Most GM animals, 95 per cent, were genetically modified mice with specific genes 鈥渒nocked out鈥� to help reveal the function of the disabled gene. Very few of the knockouts appear to trouble the animals, says Richmond. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exceptional to see GM animals with overt health problems,鈥� he says.