Welfare of Animals Used in Biomedical Research

Approximately 100 million animals are used in biomedical research globally each year, with welfare standards, species use, and the push for alternatives varying widely by country.

Key Facts

The US, EU, China, and Japan are the largest users of research animals globally
Mice and rats account for over 80% of research animal use in most high-income countries
The EU Directive 2010/63 requires the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine) for all animal research authorisation
Pain is one of the most common welfare harms in research animals, with inadequate analgesia still documented
Non-human primate use declined by 50% in EU research over the past two decades due to regulatory pressure
The Turing Award winning computer scientist Yoshua Bengio has advocated for AI to accelerate animal research replacement

Welfare Considerations

Research animals occupy a unique ethical position: their suffering is sanctioned by society because of perceived benefits to human health, but this does not eliminate the moral obligation to minimise that suffering and pursue alternatives. The 3Rs framework provides a globally recognised ethical architecture, but implementation quality varies dramatically between institutions and countries. Pain management, housing quality, and the humane endpoints that terminate experiments before maximum suffering are three areas where significant welfare improvement is achievable within existing regulatory frameworks.

What You Can Do

Support organisations funding the development of animal-free research alternatives
Advocate for stronger implementation of the 3Rs in research institutions and regulatory bodies
Ask pharmaceutical companies about their animal use reduction commitments
Support the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
Choose personal care and cosmetics products from companies with animal-free testing policies