Animal Free Research UK is calling on the
government to take immediate action to replace animal
experiments with modern and humane methods that produce better
results for patients.
Home Office figures published
today reveal that over 3 million scientific experiments
were conducted on animals in Great Britain in 2021 – up 6% on
2020.
The use of dogs was up 3% year on year - and up by 24%
in the last decade – with more than 4,000 experiments
carried out on 2,600 canines, the figures show.
The use of cats has increased by 6 per cent and horses up by 29
per cent, while the use of non-human primates (monkeys) is
up by 17% - with 90% of these primates imported from Africa and
Asia.
The increase in animal use comes at time when the availability of
human relevant methods – so-called New Approach
Methodologies (NAMs) including artificial intelligence,
organ-on-a-chip and stem-cell culture - are at an
all-time high, and are championed for producing more accurate
results in the quest to treat illnesses including cancer and
heart disease faster and better.
Dr Jarrod Bailey, Animal Free Research UK’s Science
Director, said: “These statistics make for distressing
reading – with animal research heading back to ‘business as
usual’ in Britain.
“For example, most dogs and monkeys are used for regulatory
purposes, such as the testing of new drugs – yet that’s despite
there being substantial scientific evidence and acceptance that
this does not and cannot predict human safety and efficacy.
“Some of the biggest areas of animal research are neuroscience,
the immune system and cancer – yet these are acknowledged as some
of the biggest areas of failure in terms of the translation of
animal research to human benefit.”
Also of concern is that in 2020 and 2021, the Home Office did not
refuse any applications for project licences to carry out
experiments on animals even though there is a legal obligation to
use modern alternatives wherever possible. This raises serious
concerns about the way animal research is
regulated.
Despite the increase in animal use, Animal Free Research UK
believes patients and the public must take heart from the
cutting-edge, human-specific innovative research methods being
developed, and widely used, around the world, such as those
demonstrated at the charity’s Modernising Medical
Research Science Conference in Birmingham this
week - June 28-29.
Dr Bailey added: “These New Approach
Methodologies can replace the use of animals and are much more
likely to generate the breakthroughs that patients so urgently
need.”
He said the UK Government must step in and take decisive action
to support and accelerate this move towards human relevant
innovation.
He added: “As a first meaningful step, it
must appoint a Minister for Human Relevant Science to champion
the transformation of medical research for the benefit of both
people and animals.”
Notes to Editors:
Dr Jarrod Bailey is available for interview: Please call
or email Animal Free Research UK Media and PR Manager Peter
Simpson – peter@animalfreeresearchuk.org tel
07803 051 848.
About Animal Free Research UK:
- Animal Free Research UK is a charity with a mission to
cure human diseases faster without animal suffering.
- We believe pioneering lab technology is rendering animal
testing redundant.
- We are working for medicines to be developed without using
any animals by 2040.
- We fund
cutting-edge medical research that replaces animals and
is more relevant to humans.
- We award grants to scientists at leading universities
and hospitals to develop new technologies and make new
discoveries about human diseases without using animals.
- We work with policy makers and the public to drive
forward regulatory and legislative change that benefits people
and animals.
- Our Scientific Advisory Panel includes
leading medical researchers who
are innovating cutting-edge animal
replacement technologies.
- Our patrons are actors Joanna Lumley OBE, Dame Judi Dench and
Carol Royle, and musician Brian May OBE.
Stats and Facts:
- Each year in Britain around three million
animals (2021 Home Office stats) are used in
research including for human medicines and diseases .
-
Yet more than 92 percent of new medicines that
look promising in animal tests fail in human trials because
they are unsafe or do not work in humans due to significant
differences in our genetic makeup
- Every minute of every day, over 5
animals are used in research in the UK
- Animal Free Research UK has awarded grants to over
260 projects including on cancer, Alzheimer’s, asthma, diabetes,
and heart disease since our foundation in 1970
- We are creating new generation of animal free researchers and
funding Animal Replacement Centres of Excellence
(ARCs)
For more information visit www.animalfreeresearchuk.org
