More than 400 people from different countries and sectors took part in the survey commissioned by FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments) to measure understanding and awareness of the use of animals in testing and research for medical, chemical and cosmetic purposes, as well as alternatives to animal use. 

According to its findings, 42% of people see greater funding of alternatives as the most important factor in helping to end the use of animals in testing and research. 

“We are not yet able to ban the use of all animals in scientific procedures without halting some basic medical research and safety testing. We can however put more time and funding into developing alternative methods - a view held by 93% of the survey’s respondents - and encourage scientists in universities and industry, to question their use of animals and unlock the potential of more in vitro and in silico techniques to produce outcomes which are both scientifically valid and human-relevant.”  

Celean Camp, FRAME CEO, says: “Three-quarters of survey respondents view the pharmaceutical industry as being the biggest user of animals for research and testing, when it is in fact academia and university-led research. This is a very common misconception. Indeed, the most recent Home Office report on the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain (2018) tells us that 56% of the experimental procedures carried out in 2018 were for basic research, and 26% for regulatory testing purposes.