Overview of UK Animal Research

Animal Research

In this lecture, Dr Chris Willmott (University of Leicester) introduces the use of animals in scientific research. To do so, we begin by: (i) contextualising animal research in the UK, analysing the species used and regulated, and the number of different species and animals of each species used; before (ii) looking at the ethical theories that govern opinion on animal research, including how public opinion on it has shifted, but also how itself has affected legislation in the UK; and then (iii) learning about the three ‘R’s of animal research; then (iv) continuing to understand the nuance of opinion by looking at the use of model organisms such as zebrafish; before finally (v) understanding the use of invertebrates in research.

Overview of UK Animal Research

In this first mini-lecture, we are introduced to the concept of animal research by first discussing the current state of it in the UK (as of 2022). We lay out the current legislation that regulates animal research, before looking at some of the animal species which are controlled under this legislation. Then, we look at the proportion of these animals used for scientific procedures, and trends of the use of these animals for research in the past 50 years.