Using Animals for Testing: Pros Versus Cons

Originally written by Isabella Murray, updated by the editorial team on 1st April 2026

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Using Animals for Testing: Pros Versus Cons

Animal testing divides opinion like few other topics. Speak to a cancer researcher and they'll tell you how mice helped develop life-saving treatments. Chat to an animal rights campaigner and you'll hear about the three million procedures performed on animals in UK labs each year. Both perspectives reflect genuine concerns about scientific progress and ethical responsibility.

The Medical Breakthroughs We Can't Ignore

Nearly every medical treatment you've used was tested on animals first. Frederick Banting tested insulin on dogs in 1921, saving countless diabetics. Jonas Salk used monkeys to develop the polio vaccine. Even paracetamol went through animal trials before reaching pharmacy shelves.

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge from the Francis Crick Institute puts it bluntly: "We simply don't have the technology to replicate a whole living system yet." When developing a drug that travels through the bloodstream, gets processed by the liver, and affects multiple organs, a petri dish won't cut it.

Between 2007 and 2011, animal research contributed to 71% of drugs approved for neurological diseases. Cancer treatments, heart medications, antibiotics: the list continues.

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But at What Cost?

Animal rights groups argue we're inflicting suffering on sentient beings who can't consent. Home Office statistics show that in 2022, about 3% of procedures were classified as 'severe': major surgery or testing causing significant distress. Even 'moderate' procedures (36% of the total) can involve repeated blood sampling or food restriction.

Dr Julia Baines from PETA UK doesn't mince words: "Animals are not miniature humans. They have different metabolisms, different reactions to drugs. We're torturing them for results that often don't even translate to human medicine."

She raises valid concerns. The thalidomide disaster remains a stark reminder: the drug was tested on animals and deemed safe, but caused severe birth defects in humans. More recently, 92% of drugs that pass animal tests fail in human trials.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

UK Rules and the Three Rs

Britain has some of the toughest animal testing laws globally. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requires three separate licences: a project licence, a personal licence, and an establishment licence. Ethics committees scrutinise every proposal, weighing potential benefits against animal suffering. The Home Office conducts surprise inspections, and breaking the rules means criminal prosecution.

Most researchers follow the '3Rs' principle, developed in the UK by Russell and Burch in 1959:

Replacement: use alternatives when possible
Reduction: use fewer animals
Refinement: minimise suffering

The NC3Rs (National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research) invests millions into alternatives. Their funded projects have produced software reducing animal use in vaccine testing by 50% and developed synthetic antibodies replacing those traditionally produced in animals.

The Future and What You Can Do

Scientists are making strides in replicating living systems. Organ-on-a-chip technology creates tiny devices lined with human cells that mimic organ function. Machine learning predicts how chemicals might affect humans by analysing molecular structures. Scientists can grow mini-brains, mini-livers, and mini-guts in the lab: these organoids helped researchers understand how Zika virus causes birth defects without animal testing.

The cosmetics industry shows what's possible. Animal testing for cosmetics has been banned in the UK and EU since 2013. Companies now use artificial skin models and existing safety data instead.

Your stance might influence your actions. Medical research charities like Cancer Research UK openly discuss their animal research policies. Support organisations developing alternatives: Animal Free Research UK has invested over £10 million in alternative methods since 1970. Write to your MP about increasing funding for alternative research.

Procedures on animals in the UK dropped by 10% between 2015 and 2022. Investment in alternatives keeps growing. For now, we face an uncomfortable reality: animal testing saves human lives, but at a cost many find unacceptable.

Resources for further information:

Understanding Animal Research: www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk
NC3Rs: www.nc3rs.org.uk
Animal Free Research UK: www.animalfreeresearchuk.org
Home Office animal testing statistics: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals-great-britain-2022

The Next Step

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Ask About Animal Testing a Question

AboutAnimalTesting Editor 18/05/2026 at 6:57 pm

@bb Animal testing is the use of non-human animals in scientific experiments, usually to assess the safety or effectiveness of drugs, cosmetics, chemicals or medical procedures before they reach humans. Common species include mice, rats, rabbits, dogs and primates, though rodents make up the vast majority. In the UK it's regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which requires licences and the application of the "3Rs": replace, reduce, refine. So in practice it covers everything from toxicity screening to disease research. Worth a read of the Home Office annual statistics if you want a clearer picture of the scale.

bb 18/05/2026 at 6:33 pm

What is animal testing

AboutAnimalTesting Editor 17/05/2026 at 10:09 am

@Dog lover You're right that animals feel pain and distress, and it's a fair thing to be upset about. The honest answer is that researchers use them because human biology shares a lot with other mammals, so testing drugs or treatments on animals first is seen as safer than going straight to people. That said, UK law does require alternatives wherever possible under the "3Rs" (replace, reduce, refine). Worth a read if you want to see how it's actually regulated here.

Dog lover 01/04/2026 at 1:50 am

All animals have feelings! Why do people experiment on
these adorable animals?

Quandeal 20/12/2022 at 2:17 am

Do they animal test on chimpanzees cause DNA?

Mackaylah Waibel 23/03/2021 at 12:37 am

While some animal testing is not ok you also have to look at the bright side of this. Because of animal testing, many lives have been saved from diseases. Not just people but other animals too. While it is cruel and we need to search for other ways, we can't just deny the things animal testing has done for us. But anyway thank you for this article this really helped me with my assignment.

TeaSiS 04/03/2019 at 5:15 am

Who says animals don't have feelings too? Rats are known to show exhibit signs of altruism; putting themselves in harm's way rather than allowing another being to suffer. Infant Rats giggle when they are tickled. They become emotionally attached to each other, love their families, and easily bond with human guardians. Because mice and rats are not protected by the law, experimenters don’t even have to provide them with pain relief. Researchers at Newcastle University found that mice and rats who underwent painful, invasive procedures such as skull surgeries, burn experiments, and spinal surgeries were given post-procedural pain relief only about 20 percent of the time. In my eyes, it is NOT humane to torture willing to love and innocent animals just for the sake of finding some "cure" in any animal.

Chelsey 29/01/2019 at 6:55 pm

I think animal testing is wrong and people should find a better way to test cures and substances. It is’nt fair to animals they didn’t choose to be tested on. How would you feel if someone locked you in a cage and did some crazy experiments on you. I sure wouldn’t like it. I agree it could help solve cures and deaths but I think that things happen for a reason, and that their is probably a better way to get through cancer and other deseases. But people can’t take it out on animals. Animals have the right to life just like we do.

jazzyjessw 04/08/2018 at 7:19 pm

Animal testing can help save lives, but it can also be unreliable. Animals and people are not the same and only 19% of the 93 dangerous drug side effects can be predicted by animal tests. Animals are not above us but we are also not above them and they shouldn't unnecessarily (which it is in some cases) suffer when we wouldn't do the same for them. However, if animal testing could save a person I love then I can see why people agree with it but it is controversial.

Student 18/05/2017 at 12:21 am

This is actually really useful for my debate coming up!

ThinkAboutIt 13/12/2016 at 11:18 pm

Ok, so, people have to stop thinking morally, because if the phrase "We shouldn't mess with animals because we don't have any right to play with their lives" was true, then humans would have to be vegans, wear no animal fur or leather, and keep no pets. Scientifically, animals can have different reactions to medicines than humans because of that one percent of different DNA. I do want to stop animal testing, but it's never going to happen if people do not think logically. #devilsadvocate.

Ce-Ce 13/07/2016 at 2:38 pm

I really think the animals should be saved because they have lives too, and we can't keep treating them as not human beings. They have feelings of pain,hurt, and joy just like us humans.

Trayyyyyyyys boi 09/03/2016 at 5:19 pm

Studies published in prestigious medical journals have shown time and again that animal experimentation wastes lives—both animal and human—and precious resources by trying to infect animals with diseases that they would never normally contract. Fortunately, a wealth of cutting-edge non-animal research methodologies promises a brighter future for both animal and human health. The following are common statements supporting animal experimentation followed by the arguments against them.

“Every major medical advance is attributable to experiments on animals.”
This is simply not true. An article published in the esteemed Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine has even evaluated this very claim and concluded that it was not supported by any evidence. Most experiments on animals are not relevant to human health, they do not contribute meaningfully to medical advances, and many are undertaken simply out of curiosity and do not even pretend to hold promise for curing illnesses. The only reason people are under the misconception that these experiments help humans is because the media, experimenters, universities, and lobbying groups exaggerate the potential they have to lead to new cures and the role they’ve played in past medical advances.

Simza 16/02/2016 at 1:52 pm

It's wrong, animals don't have the same body types as us. Why let this continue? No matter what kind of testing, its wrong. Something they could respond good to, may be bad for us.

awesomeness 08/02/2016 at 8:27 pm

Yes we should keep doing genetic testing on animals

It has not only helped humans but animals to
- longer life span
- better health care
- Farm animals, household pets, wild species and endangered species
7 out of 10 most recent noble prizes in medicine were based on animal research
Animals and humans have very similar DNA

Billy 07/01/2016 at 11:32 pm

You guys need to realize that animal testing it itself is bad, but in some places it's needed. I think it's stupid that they test cosmetics on animals, because those aren't very important. However, when it comes to life saving drugs, I may not like it, but sometimes it's needed. I have however heard that there are alternatives to animal testing. But I will agree with using them for medical drugs and treatments, but I disagree with overdoing it (like using WAY too many animals for one drug).

Duhvid 07/01/2016 at 3:15 pm

Animal testing is needed. You know all those shots and vaccines you got? Most came from testing on pigs. It's a necessary evil that we have to keep going. Would you rather test on humans? Plus if anything animals will die no matter what, why not let them die in a controlled environment and let it benefit us

TiffanyNatasha 23/12/2015 at 11:37 am

I support the 3 Rs.
Replacement- conducting non-animal experiments instead.
Reduction- restricting the number of animals used in one particular study to what is absolutely needed.
Refinement- minimizing the pain and suffering the animals is subjected to.

In many cases, alternatives (more effective and less costly) are available. However, not for everything. The number of tests that"passed" the animal stage, but almost killed humans is ridiculous. As well as the number of test that the animals "failed" but proved to be beneficial to humans....

arrrrrrrrr 04/12/2015 at 4:51 pm

Animal testing is bad, but it is a necessary evil.

qwerty 07/11/2015 at 11:51 pm

I think animal testing for medical reasons is okay, but animal testing for other stuff is NOT OKAY.

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