Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act

Animal Research in the UK

The use of animals in research in the UK is controlled by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (A(SP)A) .

This Act replaced the “Cruelty to Animals Act” which had been introduced in 1876. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act introduced numerous changes to the ways in which animal research was controlled and included the provisions of the 1986 EU Directive 86/609/EEC.

This Directive was revised in 2010 (2010/63/EU) and this required the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act to be amended (enacted 2013) to comply with the new Directive.