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‘The Grind must end’
Hope for campaigners as first-ever cruelty charges brought against Faroese dolphin hunters.
11 December 2025
Animal protection NGO Cruelty Free International is again calling for the strengthening of the law protecting animals used in experiments in the UK after a new report highlighted that over 22,000 animals were involved in breaches of law in 2024.
The data are included in the annual report by the Home Office’s Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU), which regulates the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
There was also a 24% rise in the number of active licences for the use of animals in projects in 2024.
The 2024 report detailed cases of non-compliance including five cases of animals being kept alive beyond humane endpoints, involving 37 mice.
In a further three cases animals were kept alive with adverse welfare effects or killing was delayed, leading to unnecessary suffering, involving one dog, two mice and one rat.
Seven unweaned mice pups were starved to death after their mother was removed and killed
A mouse swallowed a gavage needle – a tube that is forcefully inserted down an animal’s throat to administer a substance to the stomach. This is more evidence that the gavage procedure causes harm to animals, as Cruelty Free International’s previous analysis has already shown.
A rabbit was found emaciated after inappetence went unnoticed.
Four mice and one rat died and a further three mice and one monkey sustained injuries due to their tails getting trapped.
A hamster and a mouse were found to have been put in the bin alive in separate cases. The mouse was later killed.
20 mice died following the flooding of their cage.
The report states that there were 146 cases of non-compliance in 2024 involving a total of 22,204 animals.
That is an increase by 38% from the 16,062 animals affected in 2022 (in 2023 the number reported was 154,094, however most of those related to a single case involving over 100,000 animals).
The report also explains that the 146 reported cases of non-compliance, involving 45 establishments, is down from the 169 cases across 48 establishments reported in 2023 and 175 cases across 51 establishments in 2022.
There was a failure to provide adequate care, including provision of food and water, in 63 cases, down from 96 in 2023.
The remaining 83 cases were due to licensing failures. ‘Adverse welfare outcomes’ – including more pain, distress, suffering or lasting harm than was authorised in the licence – were experienced by 189 animals; this represents a fall of 66% from 2023.
Across the 146 reported cases for 2024, the actions taken by the Home Office included 139 instances of advice being given by an authorised inspector, 36 letters of reprimand being issued and two compliance notices.
Out of the 146 cases, 110 were dealt with purely through inspectors providing advice.
The ASRU is the regulator that oversees the use of animals in research and testing in the United Kingdom according to the UK law, which permits the use of animals in scientific research and controls which animals can be used and for what purpose.
It stipulates that animals are only used in research when there are no alternatives, only the minimum number of animals needed are used, and only the minimum possible suffering or lasting harm is caused.
In 2021, a new audit system was introduced to replace the old inspection programme. It relies heavily on self-reporting.
The report states that: ‘Although non-compliance may be detected during an audit, it is not primarily an enforcement activity but a monitoring and educational activity’.
Without a system of proper inspections and enforcement it is likely that many incidents remain unreported and unidentified.
In 2024, 68 establishment audits were conducted. However, only 3% of cases of non-compliance were identified by audits and 69% were self-reported.
As part of the Home Office’s regulatory reform, the audit programme has undergone a review with further changes expected through 2026 and 2027.
Cruelty Free International is strongly urging the Home Office to instate a robust system of inspections to ensure cases of non-compliance are not missed.
Aside from the serious issue of non-compliance, the report also details that in 2024 there were 472 new animal testing project licences issued – a rise of 3% from 2023. The number of active project licences has also risen, from 1870 to 2,315 at the end of 2024.
Overall, Home Office statistics show that there were over 2.64 million uses of animals in laboratories in Great Britain in 2024 – a decrease of just 2% on 2023.
In November, the government released its strategy to phase out animal testing, ‘Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods’, as part of its 2024 General Election manifesto commitment.
‘Yet again, the cases in the ASRU report illustrate a systemic failure to protect animals and a lack of sufficient care for or interest in the wellbeing of animals used in laboratories. The very least these animals, which are ultimately condemned to suffer and die in experiments, deserve is consideration for their welfare. We call on the regulator to properly enforce the law and to step up their monitoring and inspection efforts – allowing animals to die through pure negligence should result in more serious consequences than a letter of advice.
‘The scale of animal use in laboratories in the UK, in combination with the suffering detailed in this latest report, underlines the urgent need for the work to transition to animal-free approaches in science – we look to the implementation of the UK government’s replacement strategy to turn the tide.’
DR EMMA GRANGE
Cruelty Free International’s Director of Science and Regulatory Affairs
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