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Scientists comment on annual statistics on animal research, published by the Home Office.
Professor Clare Stanford (UCL), Chair of the Animal Science Group, said:
“The publication of these data is a testament to the UK’s commitment to openness and transparency about the use of animals in scientific procedures. The total number of animals used in scientific procedures is the lowest on record: this reduction most likely reflects a reduction in charitable income and a shift in funding to the use of in vitro alternatives, which is now making important contributions to biomedical research. Research using animals to find cures for serious human illness, such as cancer, dementia and poor mental health will be needed for the foreseeable future. However, it is good to see a reduction in the severity of the harms experienced by the animals this year, which is further confirmation of researchers’ commitment to the 3Rs.”
Dr Vicky Robinson, Chief Executive, NC3Rs, said:
“The number of scientific procedures involving living animals carried out in Great Britain in 2023 was the lowest since 2001. This years’ figure of 2.68 million continues the trend of decreasing animal use over the past decade. This is due to a variety of factors such as advances in the 3Rs. The NC3Rs has been driving innovation to replace the use of animals in science for 20 years, developing the capability of replacement approaches and increasing confidence in their use. Where animals are still required, we continue to work with the scientific community to identify and act on opportunities to reduce their numbers and refine their use to maximise both animal welfare and the quality of data from experiments they are involved in. It is important to recognise that while the use of animals is declining there are still emerging questions and challenges, including a number of drivers for animal research worldwide. These include pressures to test thousands of chemicals that are predicted to increase animal use by millions, the development of new types of therapies as well as global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The 3Rs provide a constant guiding principle to address these.”
Chris Magee, Head of Policy and Media, Understanding Animal Research, said:
“No animal is used if there’s an alternative, and the number used each year can go up or down depending on factors like investment in the UK biosciences. Numbers have been on a gradually decreasing trend since the mid-1970s. Last year’s drop does seem to be broadly in line with that trend, but we will be watching the numbers coming out of other countries to see if the reduction is real or simply a displacement of the work.
Other than that, things seem much as before. Just under half of procedures are breeding animals with particular genetic qualities and the rest are more traditional categories like medical research. Mice, fish, rats and birds are the most-used animals by far, making up 95% of research animals. Experiments which result in severe suffering continue to be relatively rare at 1.8% of all procedures (3% of non-breeding procedures). There was a slight decrease in the use of dogs. What appears to be an increase in the use of horses, which are used in mild procedures to produce things like snake antivenom, is down to each animal being used more than once rather than an increase in the number of horses used.
The number of amphibians used in research tripled in 2023, which is linked with ongoing efforts to treat and prevent diseases threatening amphibians in the wild. It is unsurprising to see that so much animal research is in areas like discovery (or ‘basic’) research into how biology works, immunology and cancer. There are more than 200 types of cancer, and 400 treatments for it, the vast majority of which translated from animal studies to humans.
Work to phase in non-animal alternatives for the safety tests required by regulators will help to reduce the numbers of animals used in this area (11% of total procedures in 2023), but the majority of animal procedures are for discovery and translational research for human and veterinary medicine.
We will always avoid animal use where we can, but these figures show that in a wide range of areas animal research remains the only proven way of saving and improving far more human and animal lives than are impacted by the experiments.”
Dr Mark Downs CSci FRSB, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Biology, said:
“The advancement of biological science and the development of biomedical treatments, for humans and animals alike, will require the regulated use of animals in science for the foreseeable future.
“Animal research remains a small but vital part of biomedical research dedicated to elucidating the mechanisms of infectious or non-communicable diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke or dementia, or the testing of potential new treatments.
“The UK life science community aims to achieve the expected benefits of doing research with animals, while minimising the harms caused to them, by maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare and by applying the principles of the 3Rs: replacement, reduction and refinement of animal studies.
“Validated alternative methods, such as human cell-based systems, organ-on-a-chip and computational methods, are being phased-in to complement or replace animal use in an increasing number of applications.
“The UK has a strict regulatory system that requires scientists and laboratory staff to show competence before they can perform animal experiments. Each research project is individually assessed and licensed by the regulator, and reviewed by local ethical review bodies, before it can proceed.
“The Royal Society of Biology supports the use of animals in research when no alternatives are available, and is committed to promoting openness and transparency in reporting the use of animals for scientific purposes”.
All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink: https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-the-release-of-the-annual-home-office-statistics-on-animal-research-2/
Declared interests
None received.