Understanding Animal Research, an organisation promoting greater openness about animal research, has today released a list of the ten universities in the UK that conduct the highest number of animal procedures – those used in medical, veterinary and scientific research. These statistics are freely available on the universities’ websites as part of their ongoing commitment to transparency and openness.

The figures show that the ten institutions collectively conducted over one third of all UK animal research in 2017. All ten universities appear in the QS 2018 World University Ranking Top 200 and seven appear in the Top 50.

The top ten institutions conducted 1.32 million procedures, 35% of the 3.79 million procedures conducted in Great Britain in 2017. Over 99% of these procedures were carried out on rodents or fish, and in line with national data they were almost evenly split between experimental work and the breeding of genetically modified animals.

The ten universities are listed below alongside the total number of procedures that they carried out in 2017. Each institution’s name links to its animal research webpage which includes more detailed statistics. This is the third year in a row universities have come together to publicise their collective numbers and examples of their research.

Institution	Number of Procedures
University of Oxford	236,429
University of Edinburgh	225,366
University College London	214,570
University of Cambridge	157,975
King’s College London	121,741
University of Manchester	104,863
University of Sheffield	83,300
Imperial College London	79,492
Cardiff University	46,743
University of Glasgow	46,045
TOTAL	1,316,524

 

All universities are committed to the ‘3Rs’ of replacement, reduction and refinement. This means avoiding or replacing the use of animals where possible; minimising the number of animals used per experiment and optimising the experience of the animals to improve animal welfare. However, as universities expand and conduct more research, the total number of animals used can rise even if fewer animals are used per study.

 All ten universities are signatories to the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, a commitment to be more open about the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the UK. Over 120 organisations have signed the concordat including UK universities, charities, research funders and commercial research organisations.

Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which developed the Concordat on Openness, said: “The Concordat has fostered a culture of openness at research institutions up and down the country. Institutions now provide an unprecedented level of information about how and why they conduct medical, veterinary and scientific research using animals. Almost two-thirds of the university Concordat signatories provide their animal numbers openly on their websites – accounting for almost 90% of all animal research at UK universities."

These figures refer to procedures using animals for medical, veterinary or scientific research, as licensed by the Home Office.  The use of animals to test tobacco products was banned in the UK in 1997 and it has been illegal to use animals to test cosmetic products in this country since 1998.  A policy ban on household product testing using animals was introduced in 2010.  Since 2013, it has been illegal to sell or import cosmetics anywhere in the EU where the finished product or its ingredients have been tested on animals.

The Home Office recorded 3.79 million completed procedures in 2017, 1.32 million of which were carried out at the top ten universities. A total of 1.90 million procedures were carried out across all universities in 2017, representing half of all procedures in Great Britain.

 

Full table:

University	Total Procedures (2017)	Mice	Fish	Rats	Birds	Non-Human Primates	Other
University of Oxford	236,429	229,640	3,852	2,599	21	7	310
University of Edinburgh	225,366	169,324	44,415	6,948	3,464	-	1,215
University College London	214,570	120,368	87,373	5,950	-	-	879
University of Cambridge	157,975	134,118	18,747	3,511	48	39	1,512
King’s College London	121,741	86,108	32,201	3,171	-	-	107
University of Manchester	104,863	92,159	6,686	3,522	-	-	2,496
University of Sheffield	83,300	30,707	51,717	684	138	-	54
Imperial College London	79,492	70,891	4,120	4,013	111	-	357
Cardiff University	46,743	42,660	1,825	2,130	-	-	128
University of Glasgow	46,045	39,407	4,098	1,767	263	-	510
TOTAL	1,316,624					46

All numbers represent completed procedures on animals in 2017. The number of animals used may be slightly lower if some animals have been used in more than one procedure during the year.

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Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk / 0141 330 6557 or 0141 330 4831

First published: 16 November 2018