How mice have been used in NZ
Rats and mice are often the animals of choice to try and model human conditions, treatment and body functions (even though we know that the use of animals to try and model people fails over 95% of the time).1
Mice and rats are commonly used due to their small size, low maintenance (i.e., they are easy to house and care for), short life cycle, and ability to breed quickly (allowing large numbers to be generated for studies quickly). They also share many of our genes.2 But that's not surprising, even cats share many of our genes.3
Mice are also relatively easy targets for genetic manipulation, which is heavily used in cancer research.4 So it is not surprising, that over 95% of transgenic animals used in 2020 were mice (14,936 transgenic mice of 15,645 transgenic animals).5 Their small size also makes importing mice from other countries manageable.
Mice are mainly used for basic biological research, medical research, animal husbandry and testing in New Zealand. To a lesser extent, they are used for veterinary research and the production of biological agents.
Mice in NZ have been used for:
- Drug research including safety and efficiency testing
- For teaching purposes in schools, including observational activities and dissections
- Disease research including research into:
- the development of severe diseases (for example stroke, heart attack, cancer)
- modelling neurological disorders (for example Schizophrenia, Autism)
- modelling mood disorders (for example anxiety, depression)
- Drug addiction research including research into:
- development of addiction
- suppression of addiction
- results of drug use
- Basic biological research into how
- parts of the brain work
- damage affects functions of the body
- pregnancy changes body functions
- wounds heal
- stress affects body and brain functions
Due to the high level of secrecy that this industry has, this is not a comprehensive list. For more details and referenced examples of how mice are used, see the case studies section at the bottom of this page.
High Impact Studies with mice
Every year, the NZ Government reports on the use of animals for science that was rated as high or very high impact (i.e. cause the most harm or stress to the animals involved). Those are either very severe, very long in duration, or both.
In 2020, 4,258 mice were rated this way:
- 114 Mice, graded D, were used to test the effective dose (ED50) of bee venom.
- 23 Mice, graded D, were used for a mixture of basic biological research, medical research and teaching:
- 1 mouse was used to investigate blood flow;
- 19 mice were used for research into motor activity and motor learning;
- 1 mouse was used for research into the role of prolactin in the brain during pregnancy;
- 2 mice were used in research into the effects of the memory impairments after stroke.
- 8 Mice, graded E, were used for stroke research. For these 8 animals, the original rating had to be upgraded to E because of problems with the drugs.
- 22 Mice, graded D, were used for testing food-borne toxins.
- 11 Mice, graded D, were used in a project about multiple sclerosis. For a small percentage of animals, the symptoms got worse than desired.
- 4,080 Mice, graded E, were used in testing antigens and animal vaccines mandated by regulation.
In 2019, 5,379 mice were rated this way:
- Mice in the very high impact group were used in the testing of medications and animal vaccines in veterinary research, production and evaluation of biological reagents. Some of these were legally required.
- Seven mice were given an incorrect dose of a treatment solution.
- Three mice were infected with the Staphylococcus virus to induce pneumonia.
- A mouse was found unexpectedly dead in the cage.
- A mouse was killed in a project about colitis.
Overview
HOW MICE WERE USED FOR SCIENCE IN NZ: |
Purpose |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
Basic biological research |
12,637 |
10,468 |
13,910 |
Veterinary research |
328 |
480 |
53 |
Teaching |
658 |
418 |
467 |
Animal husbandry research |
150 |
309 |
11,491 |
Medical research |
19,768 |
37,435 |
11,939 |
Testing |
13,035 |
13,086 |
10,788 |
Environmental management |
233 |
365 |
12 |
Species conservation |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Production of biological agents |
713 |
405 |
9 |
Development of alternatives |
181 |
0 |
0 |
Producing offspring with compromised welfare |
263 |
203 |
295 |
Other |
17 |
2 |
29 |
Total number used |
47,983 |
63,171 |
48,993 |
Animals killed |
47,737 |
62,312 |
46,352 |
Animals killed that were bred but not used |
NA |
87,150 |
105,533 |
Total number including those bred and killed but weren't used |
NA |
150,321 |
154,526 |
Where mice have been used
Most universities have their own breeding colonies. Otago University states on their website that they have a dedicated mouse testing room in the Behavioural Phenotyping Unit.6 And you might remember our efforts to prevent them from building a $50 million animal lab. Many of the animals used at universities are mice. Find out more.
Where mice have been sourced from
Mice are often sourced from breeding units at the respective institutions. Transgenic mice are sometimes imported from other countries like Australia, USA or Japan. Find out more.
Take action!
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Learn about the many ways that you can help end animal experimentation.
Further reading
- Learn something new about mice.
- Return to the main Case Studies page.
- Learn about the alternatives and replacement methods that can be used instead of animals.
- Read about why animal testing is both ethically and scientifically flawed.
References
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0963180115000079
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3987984/
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2021.06.001
- https://doi.org/10.5732/cjc.011.10047
- https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/51508-Statistics-on-the-Use-of-Animals-in-Research-Testing-and-Teaching-in-New-Zealand-in-2020