Transparency data

Animal usage by APHA under Animals (Scientific Procedures) (ASPA) act in 2022

Updated 25 July 2024

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a signatory to the Concordat on Openness in Animal Research committed to providing opportunities for the public to find out how animals are used in research at APHA.

This table provides the number of animals used in studies that were completed in 2022 and the reasons for their use. It excludes breeding mice and transgenic breeding mice, where the modification to their DNA has had no effect on their health or welfare.

Except for research on wild life experiments done in the field, animals are euthanased at the end of experiments, with rehoming only occurring in exceptional cases.

This is due to the nature of the experiments and infectious agents APHA works with to deliver its mission “to safeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy”.

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.

To minimise any potential wastage of animals, APHA limits animals coming on site just to those 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 ‘Culture of Care’ 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’s section of the Research at APHA page.

APHA is committed to eliminating severe suffering where at all possible in its use of animals for research. 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 Roadmap to Reducing Severe Suffering.

Species	Numbers	Severity	Reasons for use
Badgers	21	Mild	Study of badger’s ecology and epidemiology as well as vaccines in response to the control of tuberculosis (TB) in badgers.
Cattle	714	• 708 Mild • 6 Moderate	Licensing of vaccines for protection of cattle against Foot and Mouth Disease to benefit global animal health. A small number were used in the development of cattle vaccines against bovine TB and atypical forms of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). This related to protecting animal health and the human food chain. A small number were used on an ongoing study as blood donors providing negative control blood for in-vitro work.
Domestic fowl	340	• 302 Mild • 3 Moderate • 35 Severe	Majority were used in highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle disease research as part of national and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) reference laboratory activities. These diseases by their nature can be both sudden and severe. Read the signs of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Although humane endpoints are in place to minimise the adverse effects, the speed of progression means that a percentage of birds exceed mild or moderate. A small number were used for the provision of antigen, antisera and negative control material for animal health tests.
Eggs over 2/3rds incubation	1,033	Sub threshold	Research into avian influenza and Newcastle disease as part of national and WOAH reference laboratory activities and other avian disease diagnosis.
Ferrets	106	• 100 Mild • 6 Moderate	Used in influenza and COVID-19 studies for protection of human health.
Horses	4	Mild	A small number were used on an ongoing study as blood donors providing negative control blood for in-vitro work.
Mice	649	• 599 Moderate • 50 Severe	Research into TSEs in support of the national and WOAH reference laboratory activities. Despite ongoing refinement work in certain circumstances, you can get sudden and severe adverse effects. Although humane endpoints are in place to minimise these adverse effects, the speed of progression means that a percentage of mice exceed mild or moderate.
Pigs	140	Mild	Licencing of vaccines for protection of pigs against Foot and Mouth Disease to benefit global animal health. Used in influenza studies for protection of animal and human health. Used to aid understanding of the immunology of protection in Classical Swine Fever. A small number were used on an ongoing study as blood donors providing negative control blood for in-vitro work.
Guinea Pigs	14	Mild	Production of blood required for porcine parvovirus and avian testing using haemagglutination inhibition test (HAIT).
Rabbits	216	Mild	Production of antisera for tests to protect animal and human health.
Sheep	21	• 16 Mild • 5 Moderate	The majority were used for research into TSE transmission and identification. Two were used for parasitology work relating to protecting animal health. A small number were used on an ongoing study as blood donors negative control blood for in-vitro work.
Squirrels	104	Mild	Wildlife management techniques.
Bats	22	Mild	Disease investigation in the wild bat population.
Rats	57	Mild	Wildlife management techniques.