Irish labs experiment on 265,000 animals

Almost 265,000 animals were used for experiments in Irish research laboratories in 2011, one of the highest figures on record.

There has also been a significant rise in the number of animals subjected to lethal poisoning, with many being used in the production of cosmetics.

Statistics released by the Department of Health show that while the numbers of experiments overall are slightly down on 2010, Ireland remains near the top of the European table for animal testing.