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Using animals in research

As a veterinary laboratory committed to providing high quality applied research into the diseases of farmed animals, it is inevitable that the VLA will continue to use animals in its research. The responsibilities on scientists, veterinarians and animal carers that arise from this necessity to use animals are taken very seriously at all levels of the organisation.

We have our own Ethics Committee that reviews all of VLA's animal use for scientific purposes. It is made up of vets, animal care staff, scientists and non-scientists from across the Agency. In addition, there is an external lay member of the committee, recruited from the local community, who brings an independent view to the proceedings.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986

The VLA is bound by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which is administered by the Home Office. The Act applies the 3 R's* to all cases:


Replacement - if animal can be replaced by non-living alternatives then they must be.

Reduction - the number of animals used must be the minimum that is consistent with the production of meaningful results.

Refinement - all aspects of the animals' care and use from beginning to end of the study must be designed to minimise the suffering to those animals.

After this stage, each proposed study is subject to a harm-benefit analysis, in which the harms caused are weighed against the potential benefits resulting from the work. Only where the potential benefits outweigh the harms is a project justified and only then does the VLA undertake studies using animals.

*Russell W M S and Burch R L (1959) The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique. Methuen: London.