Animals in Science Regulation Unit
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit is responsible for administering and enforcing The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in England, Scotland and Wales.
About The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU)
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) is the act which permits the use of animals in scientific research and provides the restrictions around which animals can be used and for what purpose. At the heart of this act is the requirement to:
- only use animals in research when there are no alternatives
- use the minimum number of animals needed
- only cause the minimum necessary pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm to animals
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) is part of the Home Office and is responsible for administration and enforcement of ASPA in England, Scotland and Wales. Our activities include:
- providing advice on the regulations
- operating the licensing system required by ASPA
- assuring the compliance of licence holders with ASPA and the terms of their licences
In Northern Ireland, this responsibility is devolved to the Northern Ireland Department of Health, which reports its activities separately.
The purpose of ASRU is ‘to protect animals in science by maintaining compliance with ASPA’.
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Contact us
Use [email protected] for general enquiries about the work of ASRU.
Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986
The use of animals in experiments and testing is regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) adopting the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement).
ASPA is implemented by the Home Office in England, Scotland and Wales and by the Department for Health, Social Security and Public Safety in Northern Ireland.
Replacement, Reduction and Refinement
The government is committed to the replacement, reduction, and refinement of the use of animals in research - the ‘3Rs’.
The use of animals in scientific research remains a vital tool in improving our understanding of how biological systems work both in health and disease, and in the development of new medicines, treatments and technologies. Underpinning this research is a strong commitment to maintaining a rigorous regulatory system which ensures that animal research is carried out only where no practicable alternative exists and under controls which keep suffering to a minimum. This is achieved through robustly applying the principles of the 3Rs to all research proposals involving the use of animals.
Implementing the 3Rs requires that, in every research proposal:
- animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible
- that the number of animals is reduced to the minimum needed to achieve the results sought
- that, for those animals which must be used, procedures are refined as much as possible to minimise their suffering
The government is committed to ensuring that any licence we grant under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 must rigorously and demonstrably apply the 3Rs principles.
In 2010, the coalition government made a commitment to work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research and a delivery plan has been published. The plan shows how alternative methods can deliver fast, high-quality research that also boosts economic growth. We have now published a delivery report which describes the progress made on actions set out in the delivery plan.
Statistics
The full report of the 2020 statistics on scientific procedures on living animals was published on 15 July 2021.
You can also view previous reports in the Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals collection.
Annual reports
The annual report of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit describes its work during 2019, 2020 and 2021 in regulating work under ASPA.
You can also read previous annual reports in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual reports collection.
Guidance for the regulated community
Non-technical summaries
Publication of non-technical summaries is a legal requirement under ASPA. They are a statement, in non-technical language of the proposed programme of work and state the objectives, predicted harm, benefits of the programme and the number and types of animals to be used in the programme. They also demonstrate that the proposed programme of work will be carried out incompliance with the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement.
Below you will find non-technical summaries of project granted by ASRU including those that should be retrospectively assessed. We have published collections of non-technical summaries granted in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Details of project licences granted under ASPA in 2010 to 2012 are available on The National Archives.
Non-compliance under ASPA
You can read how potential incidences of non-compliance with ASPA are identified and dealt with and anonymised reports of substantial investigations.
Updates to this page
Published 2 July 2021Last updated 17 December 2024 + show all updates
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Added the Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual report 2023.
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Added 'Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2023'.
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Added Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual report 2022.
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Added a link to Non-technical summaries granted in 2024.
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Added 'Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2022 '.
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Added a link to non-technical summaries granted in 2023.
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Added non-technical summaries granted in 2022.
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Non-technical summaries for July-December 2021 published.
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Updated 'Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2021'.
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Added Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual reports 2019 to 2021.
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Added 'Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2021'.
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Remove the section on dealing with complaints and disagreements, add email contact.
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Added 'Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2020'.
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First published.