Millions of animals used in experimental research in Germany

In Germany, more than two million animals were used in animal experiments last year, and nearly 740,000 animals were killed for scientific purposes, as reported by the German newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.

The most commonly used animals are mice: 1.37 million, followed by 255,000 rats and 240,000 fish. In addition, reportedly, 3,300 dogs and 718 cats were used in experiments. Although the government has vowed to restrict animal testing, the number of monkeys used as experimental animals increased to 3,472, compared to 2,462 in 2016, according to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).

Germany comes second after the U.K. in the highest rate of animal testing among European Union countries. The European Commission has accused Merkel's government of not adapting German law enough to curtail the practice.

Julia Klöckner, a heavyweight in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, stated that alternatives to experimental research on animals would be further examined. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government was accused by the European Commission for not adapting German law to limit such practices on animals. Meanwhile, Greens parliamentarian Green Künast, the animal welfare spokeswoman for her group, said: "We now need a clear exit strategy."

According to the federal government, 50 percent of the animals were used in basic research. Another 15 percent were used by scientists directly for research into diseases in humans and animals.