Animal testing on rabbits

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Rabbits are commonly used animals for animal experiments. Other common animals used are mice, rats and invertebrates. In 1972, around 450 000 rabbits were used for experiments in the United States, decreasing to around 240 000 in 2006. This followed the general trend of fewer animals being used for experiments - especially during the last ten years. ^[1]

Rabbits are currently used mainly for the development of polyclonal antibodies and for the controversial Draize test ^[2], which is used for, amongst other things, testing cosmetics on animals. Rabbits have been used in the past for many ground-breaking experiments, including the development of the first oral contraceptive in the 1950s by Pincus, Rock and Chang at the Worcester Institute in Massachusetts, a finding that revolutionized the concept of contraception. ^[3][4]

References

1. ^ Kulpa-Eddy et al.. "A review of trends in animal use in the United States (1972 – 2006)". AATEX (Proc. 6th World Congress on Alternatives & Animal Use in the Life Sciences) (14, Special Issue): 163–165. http://www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jsaae/zasshi/WC6_PC/paper163.pdf. 
2. ^ M.K. Prinsen (2006). "The Draize Eye Test and in vitro alternatives; a left-handed marriage?". Toxicology in Vitro 20: Pages 78–81. doi:10.1016/j.tiv.2005.06.030. 
3. ^ Dr. W. H. Stone. Famous Animal Experiments, A Historical Perspective. http://www.sfbr.org/pdf/ICFAR-keynote-081104.pdf. 
4. ^ "Dr. Pincus, Developer of Birth-Control Pill, Dies". New York Times. August 23, 1967. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0409.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-15. 

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