Millions of animals used for ‘disturbing’ scientific research

The Independent 13 March 2015

Campaigners say nearly 2 million animals were used for scientific research in British universities in one year – with many subjected to “distressing and disturbing” procedures, writes Steve Connor for The Independent.

Just six universities account for a quarter of all the animals used in scientific research in the UK in 2013, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act. The tests were performed mostly on mice and rats but also included monkeys, sheep, rabbits and fish, according to data collected by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, or BUAV.

Home Office statistics show that in 2013 there were 4,121,582 licensed scientific experiments carried out on 4,017,758 animals, some of which experienced “distressing and disturbing” procedures, the BUAV claimed. Of these, some 1.8 million animals were used in university-licensed experiments for scientific research. The University of Edinburgh topped the list with tests on 241,865 animals. It was followed by Oxford University (190,169), University College London (181,295), Cambridge University (169,353), King’s College London (132,885) and Imperial College London (130,358).
Full report on The Independent site

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