UCL and nine other institutions together conducted half of all animal procedures - those used in medical, veterinary, and scientific research - in the UK in 2022.
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 2022.
These ten organisations carried out 1,434,403 procedures, 52% of the 2,761,204 procedures carried out on animals for scientific research in Great Britain in 2022. Of these 1,434,403 procedures, more than 99% were carried out on mice, fish and rats and 82% were classified as causing a similar level of pain, or less, as an injection.
The ten organisations are listed below alongside the total number of procedures they carried out in 2022. Each organisation’s name links to its animal research webpage, which includes more detailed statistics. This is the eighth consecutive year that organisations have come together to publicise their collective statistics and examples of their research.
Organisation
Number of Procedures (2022)
University of Oxford
209,544
University of Cambridge
206,992
The Francis Crick Institute
190,981
University of Edinburgh
154,764
148,050
Medical Research Council
136,732
King’s College London
123,228
University of Glasgow
108,204
University of Manchester
95,004
Imperial College London
60,904
TOTAL
1,434,403
64 organisations have published their 2022 animal research statistics
UAR has also produced a list of 64 organisations in the UK that have publicly shared their 2022 animal research statistics. This includes organisations that carry out and/or fund animal research.
All organisations 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: "Animal research forms a small but vital part of biomedical research at UCL, contributing to life-saving medical advances from cancer to dementia to Covid-19 and beyond. Our scientists use animals in their research only when necessary, while continually striving to develop new ways to replace animals in their research, reduce their usage, or refine their methods to mitigate harm, without detracting from the quality and potential impact of the 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 125 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 gradually 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: Magnetic seeds used to heat and kill cancer
Scientists at UCL have developed a novel cancer therapy, now demonstrated in mice, that uses an MRI scanner to guide a magnetic seed through the brain to heat and destroy tumours.
The therapy is called "minimally invasive image-guided ablation" or MINIMA and comprises a ferromagnetic thermoseed navigated to a tumour using magnetic propulsion gradients generated by an MRI scanner, before being remotely heated to kill nearby cancer cells.
Researchers say the findings, published in Advanced Science, establish ’proof-of-concept’ for precise and effective treatment of hard-to-reach glioblastoma, along with other cancers such as prostate, that could benefit from less invasive therapies. They say the therapy has the potential to extend survival, reduce recovery times, and to avoid traditional side effects by precisely treating the tumour without harming healthy tissues. Because the heating seed is magnetic, the magnetic fields in the MRI scanner can be used to remotely steer the seed through tissue to the tumour. Once at the tumour, the seed can then be heated, destroying the cancer cells, while causing limited damage to surrounding healthy tissues.
In the study, the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging team demonstrate the three key components of MINIMA to a high level of accuracy: precise seed imaging; navigation through brain tissue using a tailored MRI system, tracked to within 0.3 mm accuracy; and eradicating the tumour by heating it in a mouse model.
Ferromagnetic thermoseeds are spherical in shape, 2 mm in size and are made of a metal alloy; they are implanted superficially into tissue before being navigated to the cancer.
MRI scanners are readily available in hospitals around the world and are pivotal in the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer. The work at UCL shows that MINIMA has the potential to elevate an MRI scanner from a diagnostic device to a therapeutic platform.
Chris Lane
(0)20 7679 9222Email: chris.lane [at] ucl.ac.uk
- University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT (0) 20 7679 2000
