UCL releases animal research statistics alongside fellow top institutions

UCL and nine other institutions together conducted more than half of all animal procedures – those used in medical, veterinary, and scientific research – in the UK in 2024.

The statistics are freely available on UCL’s animal research website as part of our joint commitments to transparency and openness around the use of animals in research.

This list coincides with the publication of the Home Office’s report on the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2024.

These 10 organisations carried out 1,379,399 procedures, 54% of the 2,637,578 procedures carried out on animals for scientific research in Great Britain in 2024. Of these 1,379,399 procedures, more than 99% were carried out on mice, fish, rats, and birds, and 82% were classified as causing pain equivalent to, or less than, an injection.

The 10 organisations are listed below alongside the total number of procedures they carried out in 2024. This is the 10th consecutive year that organisations have come together to publicise their collective statistics and examples of their research.

All these organisations, along with an additional 62 organisations that have also published their 2024 statistics, 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 institutions expand and conduct more research, the total number of animals used can rise even if fewer animals are used per study.

Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement), said: "Biomedical research at UCL can change people's lives for the better as we address some of the most pressing problems in global health, and we couldn't do it without animal research that has contributed to groundbreaking advances in treating cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and more. Our scientists use animals in their research only when strictly necessary, while developing innovative new ways to reduce the need for animals in their labs, to minimise harm, and to maximise the potential impact of our research."

All organisations listed 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. More than 130 organisations have signed the Concordat including UK universities, medical research charities, research funders, learned societies and commercial research organisations.

Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which developed the Concordat on Openness, said: “Animal research remains a small but vital part of the quest for new medicines, vaccines and treatments for humans and animals. Alternative methods are increasingly being phased in, but, until we have sufficient reliable alternatives available, it is important that organisations that use animals in research maintain the public’s trust in them. By providing this level of information about the numbers of animals used, and the experience of those animals, as well as details of the medical breakthroughs that derive from this research, these Concordat signatories are helping the public to make up their own minds about how they feel about the use of animals in scientific research in Great Britain.” 

Case study: Blocking brain damage may slow growth of brain cancer

Blocking brain damage triggered by a glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, may slow the growth of the cancer and allow the brain to keep working better for longer, according to new research in mice led by UCL researchers.

The study, published in Nature in August, found that early-stage tumours damaged parts of nerve cells called axons, and that the mouse brain’s natural response to this injury – breaking down and clearing away these damaged axons – accelerated the tumour’s growth.

Mice in whom this natural response was turned off, by deactivating the SARM1 gene, developed less aggressive tumours, lived for longer and maintained normal brain function that persisted to nearly the end of their lives. In contrast, mice whose brains responded to nerve damage as normal developed more aggressive tumours and progressive disability, the researchers found.

Drugs that block this response, by targeting SARM1, the protein that destroys damaged axons, are already being developed for early phase trials in neurodegenerative conditions in which axons are also damaged, such as traumatic brain injury and motor neuron disease. The researchers say that while more lab work is still needed, they hope to one day test such drugs in people with glioblastoma.

The average survival time after diagnosis of glioblastoma is about 12-18 months, even with the current best treatment. The researchers, based in the UCL Cancer Institute, say they hope their research could lead to a new way to delay or even prevent glioblastomas from progressing.

Links

• UCL Animal Research website
• Detailed facts & figures of animal research at UCL
• Understanding Animal Research news story
• Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2024
• Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK
• News story: Blocking brain damage may slow growth of brain cancer

Image

• Lab mouse at UCL (Credit: David Bishop, UCL)

Media contact 

Chris Lane

tel: +44 20 7679 9222

E: chris.lane@ucl.ac.uk