What happens in laboratories?
The government describes an animal experiment as a ‘procedure’ that is ‘likely to cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm’. Many experiments cause extreme suffering, often to the point of the animal’s death. Even when they are not being experimented on, animals suffer stress in laboratories where they are typically kept in barren containers or kennels, often in solitary confinement. After the animals have been used in experiments, they are usually killed.
- What kinds of experiments are carried out?
- How many animals are used?
- What types of animals are used?
What kinds of experiments are carried out?
Medical research: New drugs and surgical techniques intended for people are first tested on animals. In an attempt to recreate human diseases, animals are surgically mutilated, genetically modified, given cancer, infected with viruses and brain-damaged.
Psychology research: Animals are deliberately tormented, starved, given electric shocks, brain damaged and deprived of sleep to see how this affects their behaviour.
Product testing: Animals are poisoned and killed to test the safety of new agricultural and industrial chemicals, food additives, household cleaning products and cosmetics. They are force-fed substances, have chemicals rubbed into their skin or dripped into their eyes, and are made to inhale smoke or toxic fumes.
Other types of experiments include pain research (in which animals are burnt, scalded or injected with chemicals), warfare research (in which animals are maimed, shot, irradiated, blown up and poisoned with chemicals and gases) and veterinary research (for the development of new veterinary treatments).
How many animals are used?
Each year approximately 3 million animals are used in experiments in British laboratories. This figure does not include ‘wasted’ animals – those bred so that bits of their bodies can be used in research; animals rejected because they weren't ‘suitable’; or animals who were ‘surplus’ to requirements. If these were included in the annual statistics, the tally of animals used would increase by millions.
What types of animals are used?
Mice and rats are most commonly used in laboratory experiments, because they are small, cheap to house and easy to breed. Guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, dogs, primates (monkeys), birds, reptiles, pigs, sheep, cattle, chickens, horses and fish are also used.
Want to know more?
- Watch the How are animals used? section in our Wasted Lives film
- Read our report (July 2010) on government animal exp stats 2009
- Read the Home Office summary about the the 2009 stats
