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Animal testing at Leeds University
Virginia Newman made this Freedom of Information request to University of Leeds
The request was successful.
From: Virginia Newman
1 February 2011
Dear University of Leeds,
I would like to request, under the Freedom of Information Act, how
many animals have been tested on for any reason either by the
University itself, or on behalf of the University, in the past
year, either on campus or off.
Yours faithfully,
L. Mackenzie
From: Freedom of Information
University of Leeds
1 February 2011
Your message has been autoforwarded.
The University is closed between 24 December and 4 January, and we will respond to your email as soon as possible.
From: Jenny Foggin
1 February 2011
Dear L Mackenzie
I can confirm receipt of the request below; you should expect to receive a response by Tuesday, 1 March.
Best wishes,
Jenny Foggin
***************************************************
Jenny Foggin
Governance and Corporate Affairs Officer
University of Leeds
Secretariat
(0113) 343 1155
**************************************
show quoted sections
From: Jenny Foggin
2 February 2011
Dear L Mackenzie,
The data for 2010 is still being collated. A complete set should be ready by the end of the month, but I may not be able to guarantee that. Otherwise, we can provide data for 2009 much more quickly. Please let me know which approach would be more useful for you.
Best wishes,
Jenny
***************************************************
Jenny Foggin
Governance and Corporate Affairs Officer
University of Leeds
Secretariat
(0113) 343 1155
**************************************
-------------------------------------------
From: Virginia Newman[SMTP:[email address]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 2:28:19 PM
To: Freedom of Information
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Animal testing at Leeds University
Auto forwarded by a Rule
Dear University of Leeds,
I would like to request, under the Freedom of Information Act, how
many animals have been tested on for any reason either by the
University itself, or on behalf of the University, in the past
year, either on campus or off.
Yours faithfully,
L. Mackenzie
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From: Virginia Newman
2 February 2011
Dear Jenny Foggin,
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. If you could send us
the information from 2009 for now and then the information from
2010 once you have it that would be great.
Yours sincerely,
L. Mackenzie
From: Jenny Foggin
8 February 2011
Dear Ms/Mr Mackenzie,
1. The University of Leeds is not involved in any “animal testing” but carries out basic biomedical research using laboratory animals under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
2. The University’s Ethical Review Committee closely scrutinises all proposed research work before an application is submitted to the Home Office for a project licence. You may find it useful to refer to our policy on use of animals in research. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/20014/about/...
3. During 2009, a total of 19,493 animals were used for basic biomedical research, of which approximately 90% were rodents.
4. You may also find it helpful to refer to the Home Office website for relevant statistical information: http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/scienti....
5. The data for 2010 are currently being collated; I should be in a position to provide them by the end of this month (February 2011).
I hope this is helpful in resolving your query. If you have any questions about this email, however, please don't hesitate to contact me.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, you should write to Mr D Wardle, The University Complaints Officer, The University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the review/complaints procedure provided by the University. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Best wishes,
Jenny Foggin
***************************************************
Jenny Foggin
Governance and Corporate Affairs Officer
University of Leeds
Secretariat
(0113) 343 1155
**************************************
show quoted sections
From: Virginia Newman
8 February 2011
Dear Ms Foggin,
Thank you very much for your prompt response. Is it possible for
you to provide clarification on what 'basic biomedical research'
constitutes if it is not animal testing? I would also appreciate it
if you could state exactly which animals constitute the 10% not
made up by rodents?
Yours sincerely,
L. Mackenzie
From: Jenny Foggin
8 March 2011
Dear Ms/Mr Mackenzie,
Further to my email of 8 February, I am now able to provide (in the attached spreadsheet) both the most recent available data regarding medical research at the University using laboratory animals and a breakdown of the species of those animals involved between 2007 and 2010. I am sorry that it took slightly longer than anticipated to collate the 2009-10 data.
If you have any further queries, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Best wishes,
Jenny
***************************************************
Jenny Foggin
Governance and Corporate Affairs Officer
University of Leeds
Secretariat
(0113) 343 1155
**************************************
From: Virginia Newman
16 March 2011
Dear Ms Foggin,
Thank you for sending this through. Would it still be possible to
receive a definition of what exactly this medical research
constitutes? I would also be interested in knowing whether any
animals die as a result of this research although appreciate if I
should do a separate FOI request for this.
Yours sincerely,
L. Mackenzie
From: Jenny Foggin
16 March 2011
I don't think that a separate request is necessary; I can just act upon this email as though it were such a request.
Best wishes,
Jenny
show quoted sections
From: Jenny Foggin
11 April 2011
Dear Ms Mackenzie
I'm afraid that it's difficult to see how I can expand upon the definition of research that I provided previously. All research proposals involving medical research using animals are scrutinised and approved by a University Ethical Review Committee prior to their submission to the Home Office for further consideration. The Home Office has copies of recent research abstracts available on its web pages (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-res...) that you may find helpful, but these are not linked to individuals or institutions in order to protect researchers' anonymity. In addition, on-going research is also scrutinised by the Home Office Inspector during regular inspections of designated research facilities. (The majority of such visits are unannounced.) You might also find the information on these web pages interesting and informative: UAR - Understanding Animal Research (http://www.understandinganimalresearch.o...) and NC3Rs - National Centre for the 3Rs (reduction, refinement and replacement) (http://www.nc3rs.org.uk).
In answer to your second question, under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, any research animal found suffering is humanely killed if that suffering cannot be alleviated. All experimental animals are checked at least twice daily by trained staff for any adverse effects. Animals do occasionally die during research; any such death is investigated by researchers and the veterinary surgeon. The majority of animals used for medical research are humanely killed at the end of an experiment in order to carry out histo-pathological examination of their tissues. (Several method of humane killing of research animals can be found in the Home Office Guidance on the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.) Animal used in biological research in the wild or on a farm, for example ecological or dietary studies, are not killed but returned to the wild or to the farm at the end of each study after physical examination of animals by a veterinary surgeon or other suitably qualified person.
I hope this helps to resolve your request, but do feel free to contact me if you have any queries about this email, of course.
Best wishes,
Jenny
***************************************************
Jenny Foggin
Governance and Corporate Affairs Officer
University of Leeds
Secretariat
(0113) 343 1155
**************************************
show quoted sections
From: Virginia Newman
19 April 2011
Dear Ms Foggin,
Thank your for your response. I think what I was really looking for
in terms of a definition is what such medical research at the
University of Leeds tends to constitute, for example, the types of
research, and the role of the animals within this research. Without
such clarification it is difficult to understand the difference
between such research and 'animal testing' - if the research
doesn't involve the testing of drugs etc on animals then what does
it involve?
From what you have said about the majority of research animals
being killed at the end of experiments can I presume that the
majority of animals used in experiments conducted by the University
of Leeds are also killed at the end of them? Is it possible to have
a more exact figure?
Yours sincerely,
L. Mackenzie
From: Jenny Foggin
12 May 2011
Dear Laura,
My understanding is that you have now met with the University Vet and that he was able to discuss procedures with you. I am assuming, therefore, that there is nothing I would be able to add to elucidate the distinction further.
I also understand that he explained that animals used in the field or on the farm are generally returned to their habitat or herd, but that other animals are killed when work is concluded; and the difficulties inherent in producing precise figures.
I hope that your questions have been answered as a result of this meeting; it is also my understanding that the Vet has indicated his willingness to discuss any subsequent queries with you, should they arise.
Best wishes,
Jenny
***************************************************
Jenny Foggin
Governance and Corporate Affairs Officer
University of Leeds
Secretariat
(0113) 343 1155
**************************************
show quoted sections
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