The British Public Supports Non-Animal Research

A new poll by Ipsos MORI reveals that the British public wants more non-animal research methods.

Here are some of the key findings of the survey:

• A staggering 75 per cent of respondents call for more work on non-animal approaches.
• Sixty-six per cent are concerned about the use of animals in experiments.
• Thirty-two per cent don’t trust the regulatory system that governs animal experimentation.
• Support for an outright ban on animal experimentation is at a 16-year high, at 27 per cent.

Millions of experiments on animals are conducted in Britain every year, despite growing concern among the general public. The government continues to fall short when it comes to investment in innovative, non-animal alternatives, and this must change.

Research shows that results from experiments on animals have many limitations, including the following:

• They poorly predict human responses to medicines.
• They’re difficult to extrapolate to human conditions.
• They have low reproducibility – i.e. if an experiment on animals is repeated, the results won’t necessarily be the same.

In contrast, a growing section of the scientific community is advocating for non-animal methods because they have multiple benefits, including the following:

• They’re usually human-relevant and therefore more predictive of human responses.
• They can be cheaper than tests involving animals.
• They tend to be reproducible and more efficient.

And most importantly, animal-free approaches are exactly that: free of animals, sparing them immense suffering. We support any scientifically sound method that doesn’t involve subjecting animals to cruel tests, and it’s no surprise that the British public wants more non-animal research, too.

You Can Help

Sign our petition urging the government to commit to ending all experiments on animals: