Animal usage by APHA under Animals (Scientific Procedures ) (ASPA) act in 2023
Updated 25 July 2024
漏 Crown copyright 2024
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at /government/publications/apha-use-of-animals-in-scientific-procedures/animal-usage-by-apha-under-animals-scientific-procedures-aspa-act-in-2023
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a signatory to the聽聽and committed to providing opportunities for the public to find out how animals are used in research at APHA.
This information provides the number of animals used in studies that were completed in 2023 and the reasons for their use. It excludes breeding mice and transgenic breeding mice where the modification to their聽DNA聽has had no effect on their health or welfare.
Except for research on wildlife and farm animal surveillance which are done in the field, animals are euthanised at the end of studies. Rehoming only occurs in exceptional cases. This is due to the nature of the experiments and infectious agents APHA works with to deliver its mission to 鈥渟afeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy鈥�.
The infectious agents used are generally subject to statutory controls, which puts restrictions on the ability of animals to leave the establishment site and therefore the ability to re-home animals.
APHA has an ongoing programme of work to replace its use of animals when scientific developments allow. APHA also works to minimise any potential wastage of animals by limiting the number of animals coming on site to only those that are necessary to undertake its experiments. The only animals bred on site are those that are not available through appropriately licenced suppliers.
As part of its 鈥楥ulture of Care鈥� for working with animals, APHA has codes of practice, working procedures and training programmes to define and enforce the high standards it must have for this type of work.
You can find more information in the Ethics Committee鈥檚 section of the聽Research at APHA page.
APHA is committed to eliminating severe suffering where at all possible in its use of animals for research.聽As part of this, in 2022 members of the ethics committee, and relevant project and personal licence holders, took part in a workshop led by the RSPCA on implementing the聽.
Number of animals used in studies and reasons for their use
| Species | Number | Severity | Reasons for use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 662 | 鈥� 659 mild 鈥� 3 sub threshold |
Most were used for the licensing of vaccines for protection of cattle against foot and mouth disease, to benefit global animal health.聽 Find more information about the major effect of the disease on the . A small number were used in the development of cattle vaccine against bovine TB, as part of聽Defra鈥檚 strategy to eradicate the disease by 2038. Bovine聽TB聽currently leads to the slaughter of 27,000 cattle in the UK per year. A small number were used on an ongoing basis as blood donors providing negative control blood for in-vitro work. |
| Domestic fowl | 672 | 鈥� 608 mild 鈥� 4 moderate 鈥� 60 severe |
The majority were used in avian influenza and Newcastle disease research as part of national and WOAH reference laboratory activities. These include provision of antigen, antisera and negative control material for animal health tests. Find out more about 础笔贬础鈥檚 activities on and information on bird flu: latest situation in England. A small number were used for research into . |
| Pigeon | 55 | mild | Pigeons were used for Newcastle disease research as part of national and WOAH reference laboratory responsibilities, as detailed under the reasons for using domestic fowl. |
| Ferrets | 18 | moderate | Ferrets were used for Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus infection model development. RVF virus can cause severe disease in both humans and animals. |
| Mice | 584 | 鈥� 560 moderate 鈥� 21 severe 鈥� 3 sub threshold |
Mice were used for research into transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in support of the national and WOAH reference laboratory activities. Read more about APHA activities in this area, both in-vivo and in-vitro, at . |
| Pigs | 70 | mild | Most animals were used for the licensing of vaccines for protection of pigs against foot and mouth disease, to benefit global animal health. A small number were used on an ongoing basis as blood donors providing negative control blood for in-vitro work. |
| Sheep | 14 | 鈥� 13 mild 鈥� 1 moderate |
The majority of sheep were used for ongoing blood donors for negative control blood for in-vitro work. One sheep infected with scrapie聽was used to supply materials to develop and maintain tests for 础笔贬础鈥檚 ongoing testing capability for scrapie surveillance.聽 Read guidance on scrapie. |
| Goats | 16听 | mild | Naturally-infected scrapie goats were used to supply materials for 础笔贬础鈥檚 ongoing testing capability for scrapie surveillance. |
| Rabbits | 216 | mild | Rabbits were used to produce polyclonal antisera for tests as part of . |
| Guinea pigs | 25 | non-recovery | Ex-breeding guinea pigs were used as blood donors for tests for porcine parvovirus (PPV). PPV is considered the main cause of reproductive disorders in pigs, including stillbirth, mummification, embryonic death, and infertility. |
| Grey squirrels and rats | 164听 | mild | Grey squirrels and rats were used for developing fertility control to聽support . |