Animal rights groups say they are alarmed at the increasing number of animals being "manipulated" in research, testing and teaching.
The 341,520 animals used last year was the highest number since records began in 1989 and Hans Kriek, from Save Animals from Exploitation, said the rise was shocking.
Nearly 40 percent of the animals died or were euthanased, including 1 percent of the 2327 reptiles used, 23 percent of the 31.053 birds, 4 percent of the 78,93 sheep, 4 percent of the 804 cats, and 5 percent of the 792 dogs.
"The sharp increase in the number of animals experimented upon shows that the Animal Welfare Act is not working and the commitment to reducing or replacing the number of animals used in experiments is simply spin," said Green Party spokeswoman Sue Kedgley.
The National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee's latest statistics showed 38.5 percent more animals were used in 2008 than in 2007, which in turn was down 22.6 percent on the 318,489 used in 2006.
The 2003 total was 320,911 and the 2000 figure 324,395.
The number of animals manipulated "for animal husbandry purposes" soared by 233 percent, from 18,419 in 2007, to 61,297 in 2008, and there was a 250 percent increase in the animals sourced from farms. National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee's chairman John Martin, said fluctuations in the numbers were largely due to a three-year reporting cycle for long-term projects, and possibly more scientific work being conducted in New Zealand.
Reports for animals used in long-term projects are not required every year but usually when the project is completed or ethics approval expires.
But the committee's annual report noted that Agriculture Minister David Carter still has "under consideration" its repeated call in recent years for for the definition of "manipulation" to include those animals killed for research purposes, or foetuses operated on in the first half of gestation - when genetic engineering is usually done.
The number of transgenic animals used increased 4.7 percent last year.
The committee said rodents made up most of the animals judged to have suffered moderate (85.4 percent) high (84.4 percent) and very high (99.9 percent) impacts.
The other two species suffering very high impacts were 18 sheep used for veterinary research, and a shark used for basic biological research. The committee last December changed its previous severity ratings for five grades of "impact". This year just over 6 percent (21,233) animals were judged to have high or very high impact - the equivalent of "severe" or "very severe" suffering ratings.
Most of the rodents in these two grades - were used for testing the safety and efficacy of animal health products to meet regulatory requirements, the committee said.
The numbers of animals dying or euthanased as part of the manipulation jumped to 135,120 in 2008, a big lift on the previous year's 118,010 animals.
