The Home Office has published the latest Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain, revealing another increase in the number of procedures carried out. More than 3.79 million scientific procedures were started in Great Britain in 2011, a rise of 68,100, or 2%. This is the highest number of procedures carried out on animals in a year since the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) came into force. Unlike in the previous decade, the increase is not exclusively due to breeding and use of genetically altered animals, although they are still the largest group at 1,617,813. The figures suggest a possible shift toward fundamental research becoming the primary cause of increases in animal experiments. The change for fundamental purposes is indicative of the continuing rise in experiments conducted in universities and medical schools, where 50% of procedures are now conducted. These include studies on cancer, genetics, immunology and physiology. In 2002, for the first time, the number of procedures conducted in universities and medical schools overtook the number conducted in commercial organisations. Since then, the gap between university-based procedures and commercial establishments has continued to widen.
How the figures are defined Published totals in the Home Office summary refer to the number of procedures started, not the number of animals used. Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000 or 100, or to two
significant figures. The statistics document points out that the number of animals generally corresponds to the number of procedures, although, where an animal has recovered fully from a completed procedure and is used again, that is counted as a separate procedure. Therefore the number of animals used will always be slightly fewer than the number of procedures begun.
Home Office
Legal requirement to publish statistics The purpose of the annual statistical report is to satisfy the requirement in section 21(7) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) that the Secretary of State should publish and lay before Parliament each year, information about the use of protected animals in experimental or other scientific procedures during the previous calendar year. The statistics are compiled from returns, submitted by project licence holders at the end of each year, or on the termination of the licence when this occurs during the year. ASPA will be replaced in early 2013 when the European Directive 2010/63/EU is transposed into UK law. The Directive also carries a requirement that: ‘Member States shall collect and make publicly available, on an annual basis, statistical information on the use of animals in procedures, including information on the actual severity of the procedures and on the origin and species of non-human primates used in procedures.’
Fundamental biological research 35%
Breeding 43%
Fundamental research The rise in fundamental research poses a specific challenge to implementing the Three Rs, and developing alternative methods to replace animal use. It is particularly difficult to replace fundamental studies with non-animal alternatives because of their exploratory and knowledge-acquiring nature. There is also the added complication of the competitive spirit of academic research which makes collaboration difficult. The search for alternatives in toxicology has been driven by regulatory changes, but it would take a complete ban on animal experiments to drive such innovation in fundamental research. A wide scale change in attitude is needed toward actively looking for alternatives, rather than just finding them as a by-product of other research.
Toxicology and safety testing The number of procedures being carried out for safety testing and toxicology rose by 2% to a total of 399,000, mainly taking place in the commercial sector. Most of the toxicological procedures were conducted on rodent species and performed for pharmaceutical safety and efficacy evaluation. When toxicology procedures were carried out to meet legislative requirements the majority were done to meet a combination of such requirements. This means that there was less repetition of tests and signifies an improvement on historical practice.
Primary Purpose of Experimental Procedures on Animals in 2011 Veterinary medicine 5%
Human medicine or dentistry 13%
Protection of man, animals or the environment 3% Other 1%
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