A new poll by Ipsos MORI reveals the British public agrees that more work on non-animal research methods is needed. Sign our petition urging the government to take notice and end all experiments on animals. VIEW THE SURVEY RESULTS
Urge the Government to Commit to Ending All Experiments on Animals
Please commit to the EU's final goal of fully replacing the use of animals in scientific procedures to ensure that the UK is not left behind – in either animal-welfare standards or scientific innovation – in the wake of Brexit. Although EU Directive 2010/63/EU (the Directive) has been transposed into the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the UK has not formally adopted the EU's ultimate goal of replacing the use of animals in scientific procedures, as reflected in Recital 10 of the Directive.
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the government take this official step immediately, establishing a clear policy within a legislative framework, mandating an end to experimentation on animals, and providing a clear strategy and timeline for achieving this goal.
Redirecting funding away from unreliable and unethical tests on animals and instead investing in superior, non-animal methods will benefit humans, animals, and the future of science in the UK.
PCRM’s Defeat Cruelty campaign is in high gear, but we haven’t quite met our goal yet. I’m turning to you for help because you clearly care about the animals we are trying to save.
Support the Humane Retirement Act
On May 20, a bill was introduced in Congress that would help dogs and cats no longer needed in government research find loving families and start life anew. The Humane Retirement Act (H.R. 2850) would establish an adoption policy for dogs and cats used in research conducted at and funded by Public Health Service (PHS) agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control.
Although there is no formal policy establishing the private adoption of research animals, bill sponsor Representative Kathleen Rice, believes that “There’s no reason why research animals shouldn’t have access to a loving home once they’re retired. Many research institutions already do this.”
The Humane Retirement Act would make the animal care committees at PHS facilities responsible for assessing the health and temperament dogs and cats to determine if they are “suitable for adoption,” as well as make “a reasonable effort” to provide the animals an opportunity to be adopted.
While not entirely ideal, this bill could help give dogs and cats retired from research what they’ve always been so deserving of: a loving home and family.
Genomics institute to close world-leading animal facility
A global leader in genomic research, the UK based Sanger Institute recently announced it will be closing its animal lab facility. Noting a reduced reliance on mice, Sanger pointed to its increased use of “alternative technologies” as a reason for the closure. This move is quite notable, especially considering that mice are one of the most used animals in research involving genetic engineering.
One of the world’s top genomics centres — the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Hinxton, UK — has decided to close a 13-year-old laboratory dedicated to animal research that supplies mouse strains to thousands of genetic researchers worldwide. But some scientists worry that it’s too soon for Sanger to scale back animal research — and that the move will curtail the centre’s ability to do cutting-edge science.
Set up in 2006, the animal facility, which was built at a cost of £30 million (US$38 million), hosts mice, zebrafish, rats and frogs used in research, and employs about 70 people.
The institute says that the closure, announced to staff on 16 May, is a consequence of a move towards using alternative technologies, such as cell lines and organoids — 3D biological structures that can be grown in a dish — in genetics research, instead of animals. But Sanger scientists studying complex diseases such as cancer, which require an understanding of how genes interact in whole organisms, will still use mice in individual labs on-site until the facility closes in 2022 at the latest. They may also be able to use animal facilities at nearby institutions, such as the University of Cambridge.
“This decision has been driven by the institute’s scientific strategy” and was based on a rigorous review and consultation, says director Mike Stratton, who informed staff of the closure.
Global impact
The Sanger institute is most famous for its role in the Human Genome Project, decoding one-third of the sequence of human DNA. The institute is also well known for the part it played in a project in which researchers ‘knocked out’ every gene from the mouse genome one by one. It also created reference library of the genomes of mouse strains commonly used in research, which enables researchers worldwide to work out whether mutations they find in experiments are new or established.
The animal facility’s closure reflects the gradual reduction of animal research at the Sanger over the years, says Mike Turner, director of science at the Wellcome Trust in London, the biomedical charity that funds Sanger. The institute’s scientific strategy is shifting towards alternative projects, such as the Tree of Life, which will sequence the genetic codes of 66,000 species of UK plants and animals. Sanger is also a partner in the international Human Cell Atlas project, which will create reference maps of all human cells, he says.
“The current trend is to move towards in vitro systems to study human biology,” agrees Ramiro Alberio, a developmental biologist at the University of Nottingham, UK, who was not surprised by the closure.
But the decision has prompted questions among some biomedical scientists. They fear that Sanger will not be able to stay at the forefront of genetics research, which they say still relies on experiments using animal models of disease.
The closure is a “giant step backwards”, says Robert Weinberg, a cancer biologist at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who uses animals in his research. “I’m very surprised because this decision is so wrong-headed. It is premature by a decade or two. Sanger will fall behind.”
He says that as scientists learn more about the processes of diseases including cancer, they are increasingly realizing that genome analysis alone will not provide all the answers. Mice are particularly useful for studying complex tissues. “Mouse models are irreplaceable and have not been obviated by complex data sets,” he says.
The animal facility at Sanger is one of the best in the world, says Monica Justice, a molecular geneticist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. Justice says that the Sanger facility was set up to help scientists understand what mouse genes do, and that many mouse programmes in this field — called functional genomics — are ending because they have made progress, so there is less need for large mouse colonies like the one at Sanger. But she says that other institutes are expanding their mouse research — mouse models are increasingly used by scientists in preclinical research, for instance.
The changes could also dissuade mouse geneticists from working at Sanger, and such in-house expertise is crucial for a first-class biology programme, says David Beier, a developmental geneticist at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Previous turmoil
The closure comes six months after Sanger scientists voiced “grave concerns” about animal welfare at the facility in a letter to Sanger’s chief operating officer, Martin Dougherty.
In the November 2018 letter, an unsigned version of which Nature has seen, the scientists said that staff shortages were risking the facility’s high welfare standards and that the lack of trained staff meant animals were being culled because they could not be used. This violates ethical standards, as well as requirements laid out by the Home Office, the UK government department responsibile for animal research, said the letter. “The failings are such that we believe there is an imminent risk of Home Office infringements and potentially licence revocations.”
A Sanger spokesperson told Nature that it responded to those concerns, implemented a programme to address them, and notified the Home Office. The closure of the facility is not linked to welfare issues, said the spokesperson, and animal welfare is of the utmost importance at the institute.
Allan Bradley, a mouse geneticist who worked at Sanger until November 2018 and who helped to set up the animal facility, says it is regarded by scientists worldwide as a treasure. The facility has upheld the highest international standards of animal welfare over the past 12 years, says Bradley, who is also a former director of Sanger.
And, the deadline to join the Remembering Rodney Society is today—sign up as a Remembering Rodney Society member now.
Through the activism and fellow supporters, we have saved thousands of dogs, cats, rabbits, chimpanzees, pigs, and other animals from cruelty. Just imagine the impact you’ll have as our newest Remembering Rodney Society member.
You help will let us devote even more resources to defeating cruelty.
Specifically, you’ll help PCRM:
Launch ongoing public awareness campaignsOrganize ralliesFile lawsuits when programs violate the Animal Welfare ActKeep all our campaigns for people and animals going at full speed…and most importantly, save lives!
Plus, as a member of the Remembering Rodney Society, you’ll have a unique sense of satisfaction and pride knowing you are standing up for voiceless, suffering animals every day.
In addition to feeling good knowing your consistent support is leading to victories, you’ll also get special access to PCRM. You’ll be invited to my campaign briefing calls and you’ll be kept looped in on our ongoing efforts to save lives and modernize science.
Thanks again for your support. If you have any questions, please call our membership department: 202-527-7304.
The Sustainable Action Network (SAN), A Don Lichterman non-profit organization dedicated to building a global community raising awareness of corruption, injustice and the need for action across a full range of issues impacting people and animal/wildlife welfare around the world, such as conservation, climate change, campaign law, lobbying, government action and rescue work. SAN’s vision is to create safer world, free from political, environmental, and social oppression, where all the inhabitants of Earth can live in harmony within their own natural environments.
Our companies are known for creating products that enhance people's lives. Through Sunset Corporation of America and its companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving lives.
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