Views On Animal Experimentation
This survey of public attitudes toward animal experimentation and awareness of the work of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) found that 32% of British adults lack trust in the regulatory system for animal experimentation. A majority (58%) felt that the rules governing animal experimentation are tough or that they are well enforced.
According to these research findings, in 2009, 63% of British adults said they trust inspectors of animal facilities to discover any misconduct that may be occurring, although 62% also felt that the unnecessary duplication for animal experiments may be taking place. Slightly more (65%) felt that they wouldn’t be surprised if unauthorized experiments were conducted behind closed doors.
Regarding general acceptance of animal experimentation, 70% said they could accept it as long as it was for medical research purposes, while 71% said they could accept it as long as there was no unnecessary suffering to the animals. Half of respondents agreed that such experimentation should only be conducted for life-threatening purposes.
People also tend to accept animal experimentation for testing chemicals that could harm people (48%) somewhat more than testing chemicals that could harm wildlife or the environment (39%).
On animal rights organizations, British adults consider the distribution of leaflets (70%), petitions (63%), and protest stickers/posters (61%) to be acceptable, although fewer believe that demonstrations outside labs (38%) are acceptable. In addition, many consider other tactics as unacceptable including road blocks (55%), verbal harassment (58%), or the freeing of animals (50%). Less than half of a percent condone violence or terrorism in protesting the use of animals in research.