The use of animals in research is regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/14/contents). This applies to all vertebrate animals and cephalopods (e.g. octopus and squid).

 A regulated procedure under this Act is any procedure applied to a protected animal which may have the effect of causing the animal a level of pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm equivalent to, or higher than that caused by the insertion of a hypodermic needle in line with good veterinary practice. This is known as the threshold.

In addition, any genetically altered animal that is bred or used under the Act needs to be reported. Genetically altered (GA) animals may be natural mutants or genetically engineered (also known as genetically modified).

In order to undertake experiments under A(SP)A the individual doing the work must be trained and have been granted a Personal Licence by the Secretary of State. They must work under an approved programme of work, which is the Project Licence and the place where the work is done must have been designated by the Secretary of State as a scientific procedure establishment (though the granting of an Establishment Licence certificate). Licensing is operated by the Animals Scientific Regulation Unit (ASRU) which operates on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Home Office.

As a condition of being given a licence to conduct work under the Act, licence holders are required to submit an annual report to the Home Office for each project licence held.  This report includes details about the number and types of animals used in research, as well as the severity of pain, suffering, distress, or lasting harm experienced by the animals, categorized into severity categories. These reports, known as Annual Returns of Procedures, are typically submitted each January for the previous year.

There are 5 severity categories:

Sub-threshold severity- for example a GA animal with no harm caused by the genetic alteration.

Mild procedures – Transient and minor pain, for example an injection or the withdrawal of a blood sample.

Moderate procedures – moderate severity is greater than transient pain - for example surgery under anaesthesia (loss of consciousness) with analgesia (painkillers post-surgery).

Severe procedures – something that a normal human would not wish to endure (for example a heart attack).   Note that animals undergoing procedures that are found dead are classified as severe unless there is clear evidence that would support a lower category.

Non-recovery – where an animal has been put under general anaesthesia and does not wake up again so any suffering of the animal may endure is prevented once it is fully anaesthetised.

How many animals were used by the RVC in 2024?

In 2024, 5446 animals were used in research that was carried out at the RVC under a Home Office project licence. Mice, zebrafish and domestic fowl are the major species that we use.  The latter species is used for applied research, the aim of which is to develop new treatments that improve the welfare of commercially reared chickens globally.

Scientific Procedures

The figures below, show the numbers of scientific procedures that were carried out at the RVC.  These figures were declared to the Home Office as part of the 2024 annual return of procedures.

NB: The RVC cares for a small number of animals under Home Office project licences that have secondary availability at our establishment (so the licence is held at another establishment but the licence holders are authorised to carry out some of their work at the RVC). The figures on use of these animals are reported by the institutions where the PPL has primary availability.

The numbers of procedures carried out (per species):

The numbers of animals that had procedures carried out on them:

Of these animals, the following numbers were killed at the end of a procedure:

*3 client owned dogs died due to clinical deterioration following the natural progression of their severe disease and did not leave the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals.

CATEGORIES OF RELATED PROCEDURES

Each regulated procedure is classified under a category:

• Basic/fundamental: this research includes exploratory research which aims to improve knowledge of biology and the body, human or animal, to understand its functions.  It is research that aims to find out new information and then the next stage in the research process would be to translate this new information into a new treatment or procedure for an animal or person.
• Breeding and Maintenance: these are animals that are allowed to breed naturally but allowing them to breed may mean that offspring  have abnormalities, which means it is a procedure which is regulated under A(SP)A.
• Translational and applied research: Applied research requires the use of knowledge to help address a goal, such as understanding a disease pathway, identifying potential drug targets or investigating potential treatments. It may be an incremental step to achieving the goal. Translational research is similar to applied research, and in the reporting of animal research statistics is  grouped with applied research. In medical and/or veterinary research it is commonly seen as bridging the gap between ‘basic’ or ‘fundamental’ research and practical solutions that will benefit human and/or animal health.

Our procedures were carried out under the following categories

SEVERITY CATEGORIES

The following table lists the severity classifications of the procedures that were carried out:

83% of our procedures are sub-threshold, non-recovery or mild with less than 2% being classed as severe.

CLIENT OWNED ANIMALS

At the RVC we run studies under A(SP)A that involve client-owned animals, who are veterinary patients.  These studies involve procedures of recognised veterinary practice that cannot be undertaken under the Veterinary Surgeons Act (such as taking additional blood samples), as these tests are for research purposes, rather than for the direct clinical benefit of the animal involved in the study.  The client-owners all gave informed consent for their animals to be involved in these studies and they were returned to their care at the end of each procedure.  Involvement in these studies was voluntary and the owners could withdraw their animals at any time. A decision to do so, or a decision not to be involved in the study, did not influence the care the animal received in any way.

We also have a dog colony in which we are studying and looking after dogs that have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  As part of the management of this colony, we rehome puppies that are unaffected by this disease.

For more information on these types of studies and the animals involved see Research using Client-owned Animals.

The following numbers of animals were either rehomed or returned to their owners/herds:

* these were client-owned animals where their owners gave permission for their animals to be used in studies conducted under A(SP)A (see text for further information).
** These were teaching animals used for veterinary students to learn the best ways to handle and look after these species.

CASE STUDIES

We have put together a series of case studies that explain how and why we use animals in research at the RVC.

THE PROPORTION OF OUR FUNDED RESEARCH THAT RELATES TO ANIMAL WORK

As a measure of the proportion of our research that involves experimental animals, the amount of external grant funding used to cover the costs of purchasing and keeping the animals has been calculated as a percentage of the total non-pay spend from external grants. This is 14.5%

Trends in Animal Usage at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) since 2017

The numbers of animals that have had procedures carried out on them at the RVC each year since 2017

Numbers of animals killed following procedures carried out since 2017

Total numbers of animals rehomed/returned to owners/returned to herd since 2017

For details of animals used in previous years please see:

2023 figures

2022 figures

2021 figures

2020 figures

2019 figures  

2018 figures

2017 figures