Governing the use of animals in research

Regulations set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986(opens in a new tab) require every UK researcher who wishes to carry out animal research to have three licences from the Home Office(opens in a new tab).

These are: 

• a personal licence for each person carrying out procedures on animals
• a project licence for the programme of work
• an establishment licence for the place at which the work is carried out.

Licence applications must show:

• the aim of the research and its value
• why there’s no alternative but to use animals in the research
• what processes and procedures will be undertaken 
• how appropriate welfare standards and the 3Rs(opens in a new tab) will be met. 

European Directive 2010/63/EU(opens in a new tab), which promotes both animal welfare and high-quality scientific research, was adopted in 2010.  

The directive became law in the UK on 1 January 2013 through amendments to the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986(opens in a new tab). 

We support the directive and have objected to the ‘Stop Vivisection’ initiative [PDF 2.02MB] which called for it to be repealed.

Our FAQs on European Directive 2010/63/EU [PDF 107KB] explain how and why animals are used in research and the legislation which governs this activity.  

• Research involving animals
• Wellcome policy on the use of animals in research
• How we influence and inform policy