Getting the measure of animal suffering

Published on Wednesday 1 October 2008 22:45

SCIENTISTS may for the first time be legally required to describe the level of suffering endured by animals in their labs.

Currently, institutions have to say in advance whether planned procedures are likely to inflict "mild, moderate or substantial" suffering on animals, but the degree of suffering actually experienced is not reported. The new system would make it necessary to grade animal suffering as "mild, moderate or substantial" after an experiment is over.

Out of a group of ten mice, for example, seven may have experienced "mild" suffering, two "moderate" and one "substantial". Under the new proposals, drawn up by experts on the Animal Procedures Committee, this information would have to be reported to the Home Office and to provide national figures on the actual experience of animals in UK laboratories.