With Dr Miriam Zemanova and Susanna Lybæk I’ve just published a systematic review of European educational animal use. From 2017 – 2019, 124,000 – 172,000 animals were used annually, in 26 EU member states reporting statistics. The two main perceived reasons for this continued animal use were 1) the necessity of using a living animal for ‘proper’ learning and 2) the lack of an adequate alternative. However, a wide range of alternatives exist, and the educational evidence overwhelmingly indicates that students using alternatives almost always achieve equivalent or superior learning outcomes. Considerable room for improvement exists, along with compelling reasons to do so.
Zemanova, M. A., Knight, A. and Lybæk, S. (2021). Educational use of animals in Europe indicates reluctance to implement alternatives. ALTEX – Alternatives to Animal Experimentation, 38(3), pp. 490-506. doi: 10.14573/altex.2011111.
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