

Ethics
The use of animals in research is regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 Amendment Regulations 2012. This law protects all animals used in procedures for scientific purposes and lays out guidelines as to how the animals should be housed and cared for.
Home Office licensing
There are three licenses needed from the Home Office to carry out animal research:
- An establishment license for the place at which the work is carried out.
- A project license for each individual research project which should outline what work is to be done and why animals are required for it.
- A personal license for each researcher that outlines the techniques and procedures that can be performed on the animals.
Related links
- Home Office information research and testing using animals
- Home Office guidance on Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act
The 3R's
The University of Surrey has embedded the principles of the 3Rs in relation to animal research:
Replacement
The University strives to replace animal research with alternative methods wherever available, including imaging, computer and mathematical modelling, human volunteer studies, cell culture methodologies etc. The University was recently awarded a grant of £424,344 for a bovine alveolus model to replace cattle in the study of host-pathogen interactions in bovine tuberculosis.
Read our feature on tackling tuberculosis with a model cow lung to see how the University is using alternatives to animals in its research.
Reduction
The AWERB always ensures that experiments using animals are designed to use as few as possible to answer the scientific question being addressed. The ability to extract as much data as possible from an experiment is paramount, and through data archiving, researchers can also reanalyse data from prior experiments.
The University is reducing the number of animals kept in the facility through an appropriate breeding strategy and has received funding of £434,851 for reducing animal use using Dictyostelium to study the genetic basis of Mycobacterium bovis intracellular infection in collaboration with the University of Geneva.
Refinement
The animals are housed under strictly controlled conditions in the facilities and all scientific procedures are carried out in a humane fashion. As part of the approval process, the effect of any experimentation on animal welfare is a major consideration and the research is designed to minimise the use of invasive or distressing procedures wherever possible, and anaesthetic and analgesics are always used where appropriate. A new method of handling mice using tunnels have come about to ensure better welfare and reduce stress.

Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body
The Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB) reviews applications to use animals for research. AWERB oversees the establishment’s use of animals and encourages high standards of animal welfare, creating a culture of care, discussing ways in which the 3Rs can be actively implemented and by sharing experience and best practice.
The core responsibilities of the review body are as follows:
- Advise staff and researches on matters relating to the welfare of the animals in relation to their acquisition, accommodation, care and use
- Advise on the application and implementation of the 3R’s (see below)
- Ethical evaluation of all projects involving animals by weighting the harms and benefits of the research before submission to the Home Office
- Establishing and reviewing processes for monitoring, training and reporting
- Retrospective reviews of research projects carried out in the facility, the effects on the animals should be taken into account
- Reviews of the progress and outcomes of ongoing projects and whether there are further opportunities to implement the 3R’s
- Advise on re-homing schemes.
You can find below the minutes from our last 6 meetings. Older minutes may be available upon request.
Related bodies
The links below are provided for further information, the websites do not give information on behalf of the University of Surrey and the University accepts no responsibility for the content of the websites.
- National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
- Understanding Animal Research
- RSPCA
- Laboratory Animal Sciences Association (LASA)
- Institute of Animal Technology (IAT)
- Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW)
- Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME)