Animal testing is used to assess the safety and effectiveness of drugs as well as understand how the human body functions. It is also used for education and training.

“I think that as long as the amount of animals used is kept to a minimum and it is for finding cures for terminal illnesses then it is OK.” Alana, 13, Crimchard

17-22 million: The number of animals that are tested on each year.

1 in 10,000,000: The number of vaccinations that fail thanks to animal testing.

200: The number of illnesses that humans and animals have in common.

Animal testing is held particularly important for its contribution to the development of insulin, antibiotics, vaccines and drugs with high mortality rates such as cancer.

Animal testing for cosmetics is banned in the United Kingdom (UK).

There is an argument that animals are poor substitutes for humans and that some compounds that may well cause no harm to a mouse, could kill a human being.

At least thirty- three animals die in laboratories each second worldwide.

Diane Gracey MS sufferer "Obviously, I have got a vast interest in them finding a cure for MS but we need animal research for Alzheimer's, Aids, motor-neurone syndrome, muscular dystrophy and cancer. I support research."

British law requires that any new drug must be tested on at least two different species of live mammal. One must be a large non-rodent

It is estimated that £150 million has been caused in property damages in the UK as a direct result of the actions by animal rights activists.

"Many of us would not be able to lead healthy lives were it not for the pharmaceutical companies being able to test their drugs on animals." Jack Straw, then Home Secretary, BBC News, 2000

The vast majority of medical treatments you have used were, at one point, tested on animals.

“I think it's OK to test on animals but only if it benefits people with serious illnesses such as cancer. Animals are important too but they have shorter lives anyway and their feelings aren't as developed as ours anyway. But I think that if it's for cosmetic purposes it's totally disgusting and just wrong. I have mixed feelings about it, having two guinea- pigs but also relatives who have and have had cancer.” Eve, 11, Normanton

UK regulations are considered some of the most rigorous in the world - the Animals Act of 1986 insists that no animal experiments be conducted if there is a realistic alternative.

Caroline Richmond Cancer sufferer "I was among the first people to have monoclonal antibody therapy which was tested on mice in the 1990s. I would not be alive today without animal research."

Primates and other mammals are the least commonly used animals for testing in the UK.

23: The increase in years of the average human life expectancy as a result of animal testing.

Numbers of animals used in the UK in 2000 AnimalsNumber Used Mouse1,607,000 Rat535,000 Other Rodent71,500 Rabbit39,700 Carnivore11,600 Hoofed mammal63,000 Primate3,700 Other mammal500 Bird124,200 Reptile15,600 Fish243,000 TOTAL2,714,800