Ethical Issues – Animals in Scientific Research

Scientists have strong ethical, economic and legal obligations to use animals in research only when absolutely necessary. A lot of effort goes into trying to reduce the numbers of animals used, and trying to develop new methods to replace animals. As a result, the number of laboratory animals used annually in the UK has halved in the last 30 years.

Non-animal methods - tissue culture, computer modelling, studies of patients and populations - are very widely used. The word alternatives, often used to describe these non-animal methods, can lead to confusion because these methods are generally used alongside animal studies, not instead of them. All these techniques have their place, and it is rarely possible to substitute one for another.

Huntingdon has many in vitro techniques available.

Why is the use of animals necessary?

There are stages in any research programme when it is not enough to know how individual molecules, cells or tissues behave. The living body is much more than just a collection of these parts, and the need to understand how they interact or how they are controlled is essential. There are ethical limits to the experiments that we can perform in people, so the only alternative is to use the most suitable animal to study a particular disease or biological function.

Supporting Medical Research in the UK

The People's Petition gives a voice to the silent majority of people in Britain who want to show their support for medical research using animals in the UK. It's a campaign for people who believe that this research, carried out under stringent animal welfare standards, is essential to the health and quality of life of humans and animals.

Click here to sign The People's Petition and find out more.