Animal research

Why we use animals in research

Until recently, it was a legal requirement in the UK that all medicines be tested on two species of live animals before use in humans. It is now longer compulsory where proven alternatives to animals have been accepted by regulators, but in practice these alternatives often do not yet exist. At Queen Mary we still use animals in these circumstances but avoid them wherever possible, and we are leading innovation in developing non-animal alternatives in research and medicine development.

How we care for our animals

Queen Mary is committed to the highest standards of animal welfare. We do our utmost to ensure that our animals live in a healthy, stimulating environment and our staff undertake stringent checks each day to make sure our animals receive the best possible care.

Regulation and ethics

The use of animals in research is very carefully regulated.

Any research facility that wants to undertake animal research in the UK must also apply to the Home Office for a licence and must have an Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Board (AWERB) to oversee the application of that licence.

Permission to use animals in procedures is only granted if researchers make a successful application to their institution’s Animal Welfare & Ethical Review Body (AWERB).

How we minimise the use of animals in research

We minimise the use of animals in our work as much as we can.

How we share information about our animal research

We set ourselves the highest ethical standards. Some of our work involves working with animals when there is no other alternative. We believe it is important to be open and transparent about this work.

Frequently asked questions

There are a lot of questions asked about the use of animals in research – and a lot of misconceptions.

News

Number of animals used in research

Every licence-holding research facility has to send the Home Office annual returns of how animals are used in its research. Below, you can see the returns we’ve sent over the past years:

Further information

• Home Office: Animal research page (technical advice)
• ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments)
• Understanding Animal Welfare
• Concordat on Openness in Animal Research
• PREPARE (Planning Research and Experimental Procedures on Animals: Recommendations for Excellence)