Naturewatch Foundation
Naturewatch Foundation - Advancing Animal Welfare
Shocking new figures about regulation in British animal laboratories were published this week, and reveal that over 37% of licensed establishments had cases of non-compliance in 2022.
175 breaches of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 have been reported in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s (ASRU) latest annual report, which covers 2022. This is a 43% increase on 2021.
The report shows over half of cases (55%) related to failures to adhere to licence conditions, whilst 45% were linked to failures to provide basic levels of care, such as food, water and suitable facilities.
At least 16,000 innocent animals were affected by these breaches, including mice, fishes, chickens, primates, sheep and dogs. Of those, 1,063 experienced ‘adverse welfare outcomes’. In other words, they experienced more pain, distress, suffering or lasting harm than they were ‘meant’ to.
Examples include:
- Failures to give over 3,500 mice pain relief after a procedure;
- Over 700 fishes dying due to poor water quality or contamination.
- Procedures and substances being performed on or given to animals without authorisation.
- Breeding thousands more animals than permitted.
- Multiple cases of mice dying after their cages were flooded following equipment malfunctions.
- Animals experiencing injuries after becoming trapped, falling or following escape from enclosures.
Concerningly, most cases were dealt with using inspector advice or letters. There were no suspensions, revocations or prosecutions.
The report also reveals the ASRU received over 3,200 Standard Condition 18 notices in 2022. These are notices that licence holders should submit to the ASRU if breaches have or could have occurred. They’re not the same as non-compliances, but this high number of notices raises the worrying prospect that breaches could be occurring on a much bigger scale.
We’re extremely concerned that breaches have risen again in 2022, and that so many relate to failures to provide even basic care. In our view, this shows that existing protections for animals in labs are wholly inadequate and we’ll be seeking answers from the Home Office.
Ultimately, sentient animals do not belong in laboratories and failures like this show why animal testing must be replaced by humane, non-animal methods that don’t cause suffering.
To find out more about our ongoing work please visit our Animal Experiments pages.
The post BREAKING: More than one in three animal laboratories breached rules in 2022 first appeared on Naturewatch Foundation and is written by Morwenna.