Animal research: fast facts
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Why are animals used in research?
Four main reasons:
- To advance scientific understanding
- As models to study disease
- To develop and test new medical treatments
- To protect the safety of people, animals and the environment.
Animals are needed to find out what happens in the whole, living body, which is far more complex than the sum of its parts.
Most major medical advances have depended in part on the use of animals in research.
Are there alternatives?
Most biological and medical research uses non-animal methods. While these are sometimes regarded as alternatives, they are normally used alongside animals to answer different research questions.
How is animal research regulated?
The law requires animals are only used when the information cannot be obtained in another way, and the results will be sufficiently important to justify the use of animals.
The UK is the only country in the world to have both local and national controls running at the same time.
The Home Office is re...
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