Cost Analysis of Laboratory Mice

Major types of animals used in research are mice, rats and other rodents, rabbits, birds and fish. Cats, dogs, pigs, sheep, goats and primates are also used in laboratory experiments. These animals are majorly used in basic and applied medical research, development of drugs and medical devices, production and standardization of vaccines and other biologicals, safety testing of other chemicals, in educational activities and to diagnose disease and identify pathogens. The use of lab animals differs radically between developed and developing countries. In developing countries like India, China, Indonesia, Brazil, diagnosis and biological testing/production are the large users of lab animals. Whereas, in developed regions like US and Europe, Industries (pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotech) and University research centres are the major users. As per US Government Statistics, the number of lab animals used in research amounts to approximately 1.1 million in 2010. Figure 1 explains the breakdown of different species of animals used in research in 2010 for US.