Animal experiments are rare across Scandinavia—but Norway uses 2 million fish a year
Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark all have dedicated centres focusing on advancing the Three Rs: the reduction, replacement and refinement of animal use for scientific purposes. But the statistics show large differences between the countries.
Norway by far conducts the most research on animals among Nordic countries. According to Norway’s 3R Centre Norecopa, more than 2 million animals were used in experiments in 2020. However, most of these were fish, including salmon, according to the Forsøksdyrkomitéen, Norway’s national committee for the protection of laboratory animals.