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Thank you for raising your concerns about the use of animals at UCL via the PETA UK universities campaign.
At UCL we are committed to openness around its animal research. Each year we present information about our research, the type and number of animals used, and our commitments to animal welfare on our website. This includes our support and commitment to the 3Rs: replacing the use of animals with alternative techniques, or avoiding the use of animals altogether; reducing the number of animals used to a minimum; and refining the way experiments are carried out, to make sure animals suffer as little as possible. When an alternative method is available, UCL is legally required to use it. However, we are not yet at the point where these techniques can entirely replace the need for animals in research.
Practically all the drugs available today have been discovered or developed due to animal research, and we would not have vaccines, cancer drugs, blood pressure medication, insulin, or inhalers without this work. Research using animals continues to be necessary and makes a vital contribution to the understanding, treatment and cure of a range of major diseases in humans and animals. Technological advances are offering us an increasing range of alternatives to animal research, and the UCL is committed to the development of these techniques.
More information about UCL's animal testing policies, practices, data and case studies, is available at UCL's Animal Research website.