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What percentage of Animal testing is actually done for important medical purposes?

I'm writing a personal essay about my opinions on animal testing, and I need to know roughly what percentage of animal testing/experimentation is actually done for medical purposes (such as testing drugs), and not for testing food, cosmetics, household products, or for doing research on animal behavior. Please & thank you. I'm asking because one source says only 6 percent, while the other sources are saying that the majority of animal testing is for medical purposes

Public Comments

1. The difference is that defining "important medical purposes" is a subjective call and you can't be sure that work in another field will never be medically useful.
2. my dad is a doctor that makes medicine and tests it on animals and he says 37% is used for medical reasons.
3. Most of it. Some of it's done to make sure you don't burn your eyes out or have other unpleasant things happen. Odds are if you've been vaccinated for a dread disease, treated for one, or had any kind of surgery, you've benefitted from animal testing.
4. Although your question is simple, I'm afraid it's impossible to answer. Firstly, which animals? Animal testing goes on all over the world. Secondly, how do you define "important" medical purposes? I've read that literally 12 million animals are annually tested upon and then "destroyed" by scientific, corporate, and even military organizations (see link to article). I myself avoid spending one thin dime of my hard earned money supporting companies that needlessly test on animals (like cosmetics, shampoos, toothpaste, fragrance, and the like). I never thought that I'd become one of these vegetarian, only buy at The Body Shop or LUSH for makeup, etc.--but guess what? It's a matter of conscience. Good luck with your inquiry--you're sparking an interesting discussion.