Public Consultations on the Use of Animals in Medical Research (1999 and 2005)
Since the late 1990s the MRC has been tracking the public’s attitude toward the use of animal in medical research, working with other UK organisations whose work sometimes involves animal research.
What the public said in 1999 and 2002
In a 1999 survey conducted by the market and opinion research organisation Ipsos MORI, 84 per cent adults in the UK said they could justify the use of animals for certain applications or providing that certain conditions were met. By 2002, when Ipsos MORI conducted a similar survey on behalf of the MRC and other members of the Coalition for Medical Progress, the percentage of ‘conditional acceptors’ in the UK had risen to 90 per cent. Respondents said they could accept the use of animals in research providing at least one of four conditions was met:
- The scientific experiment must be for medical research purposes.
- The scientific experiment must be for research into life-threatening diseases.
- There is no unnecessary suffering for the animal/s.
- Researchers use non-animal alternatives whenever possible.
Public trust in 2005
In 2005 the Coalition for Medical Progress commissioned Ipsos MORI to repeat several of the questions from the 1999 and 2002 surveys. The public’s response to one of the questions, about how much people trusted the system in place to regulate the use of animals in research, showed that levels of trust had increased since the earlier surveys. In 1999, 65 per cent of people agreed with the statement "I have a lack of trust in the regulatory system about animal research". By 2002 this had fallen to 50 per cent and in 2005 to 36 per cent.
Another question in the 2005 survey, about people’s trust in scientists, found that 52 per cent said they trusted scientists not to cause unnecessary suffering to the animals used in research. This compares with 39 per cent in 2002 and only 29 per cent in the 1999 survey.
To view the full reports on the 1999, 2002 and 2005 surveys visit the Ipsos MORI website