How fashion for Botox has seen number of mice used in medical experiments more than double

The fashion for the anti-wrinkle jab Botox is condemning tens of thousands of animals to a painful death, it has been claimed.

New figures show that the number of laboratory mice used in a controversial drugs toxicity test more than doubled in Europe between 2005 and 2008 from 33,000 a year to a staggering 87,000.

According to one of the world's leading authorities on animal experiments, most of the rise can be explained by the boom in instant facelifts.

Although animal experiments for cosmetics are banned in Europe, Botox and similar jabs are classified as medicines.  Each  batch is tested by injecting a group of mice with ever increasing doses until half the animals are dead.

While Botox  is used by some doctors to treat painful muscle spasms and unpleasant sweating, it is far more commonly used to ease out wrinkles.

In recent years, its use has been popularised by celebrities such as Katie Price.

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