𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Nearly four million animals in the UK have this year been authorised for use in experiments despite Labour’s pledge to help phase out the practice. The Home Office authorised the use of up to 3.8 million animals between January and September for future experiments, figures have revealed.

This includes up to 36 rhesus monkeys who will have devices implanted into their skulls over five years so they can be restrained by the head in a chair to complete “video game” tasks to test cognitive abilities. Food and fluids may be withheld to motivate them to complete tasks for rewards such as fruit juice, official papers showed.

Green MP Adrian Ramsey said: “It’s incredible that just this year the Government has granted new licences for tests on almost four million animals. We now have modern, human-relevant models that replicate human biology far more closely than animals ever could. There is no reason to continue such cruelty. The Government must press ahead with its promises to phase out animal testing.”

So far this year, an estimated maximum of 310,668 animals have been authorised for use in future experiments with a maximum severity classification of “severe”.

This means around 8% of experiments are likely to cause the maximum level of pain, distress and discomfort that is allowed.

Alongside the 36 monkeys, the Government has approved 500 beagles, 500 domestic fowl, 528 guinea-pigs and 480 Syrian hamsters for the harshest of experiments.

This is alongside mice, rats, pigs, rabbits and fish.

Figures have revealed that only one animal experiment licence application has been refused by the Home Office since 2021.

Liberal Democrat MP Danny Chambers said: “As a vet, I know how much animals can suffer, and we should be doing everything we can to bring animal testing to an end.

“Advances in science are giving us increasingly effective alternatives, and the Government needs to accelerate that progress by encouraging investment in new technologies and helping researchers adopt them.

“Every experiment we can replace means animals spared unnecessary suffering. The Government’s pledge must be more than warm words. We need urgent, measurable progress towards making animal testing a thing of the past.”

Labour made a manifesto pledge to work towards phasing out animal testing.

This involves cutting the use of dogs and non-human primates in tests for human medicines by at least 35% by 2030.

The Labour Party said in its manifesto that it would “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”.

Last year the Government said that by the end of 2025, scientists will stop using animals for some major safety tests and switch to newer lab methods that use human cells instead.

Isobel Martin, public affairs director at Animal Free Research UK, said: “The Government was elected on a manifesto that pledged to work towards phasing out animal testing, but a year on, it is failing to show the urgency needed to deliver on that commitment.

“The strategy was an important acknowledgement that the future of research needs to move beyond animal experiments, but ambition must now be matched by much greater urgency. We cannot talk about phasing out animal experiments while continuing to authorise animal use licences on this scale.

“Britain has an opportunity to lead the world in human-specific research, using technologies based on our own biology that can give us better insights into human diseases. But that transition will not happen quickly enough without legislation to turn ambition into reality.”

A government spokeswoman: “Under this government, the number of scientific procedures involving live animals in Great Britain has fallen to its lowest level on record.

“Backed by £75 million, our roadmap, developed with the life sciences sector, businesses and animal welfare groups, will help phase out animal testing as new alternatives become available.”