Over 740,000 animals were killed in Germany last year in scientific researches and two million animals were used for the same purposes.
These data were sent by the German government to the European Commission, reported the German daily New Osnabrücker Zeitung.
According to the Federal Ministry of food and agriculture (BMEL), these figures are the same as 2016.
The newspaper reported that mice were the most used animals by scientists, said the German news agency. The total number of mice used in scientific researches hit 1.37 million, along with 255,000 rats, 240,000 fish, 3,300 dogs and 718 cats.
The newspaper also reported that the number of used monkeys increased to 3,472 in 2017, compared to 2,462 in 2016.
New Osnabrücker Zeitung cited Julia Klöckner, minister of agriculture, as saying: "I want the number of animal tests to be continuously reduced. Animals are fellow creatures. They deserve our compassion."
She called for a constant search for alternatives that can be used in scientific experiments.
The German Green Party saw that this is insufficient. Renate Künast, animal welfare policy spokesperson to the party, said: “We now need a clear exit strategy."
According to the German newspaper, 50 percent of animals were used in the field of basic research, 27 percent were used to produce or test drugs and vaccines, while scientists used 15 percent of animals in direct researches on diseases affecting humans.
