UK Bioscience Sector Coalition

The UK Bioscience Sector Coalition (UKBSC) comprises an organisational membership that reflects the perspective of academia, industry, learned societies, animal welfare specialists, research charities, and research funders involved in animal research.

UKBSC was initially established in 2008 to enable a unified input and 'joined up voice' across the biomedical sector on the implementation of the UK law on the use of animals in research (ASPA), and on the implications of the revision of the EU Directive EU 86/609 into the revised Directive 2010/63.

The overall aim of the Coalition is to represent the collective views of the bioscience sector with an interest in the use of animals in research, recognising that good science and good animal welfare go hand-in-hand.

The main objectives of UKBSC are:

• Convening a network of stakeholders, representative of the breadth of the UK bioscience sector with an interest in the use of animals in research, and with a common aim to promote excellence in science and in animal welfare, which go hand-in-hand.
• Providing a forum for collation, discussion, and synthesis of expertise and evidence-based advice, and delivering this directly to UK policymakers and regulators.
• Forging and maintaining effective and efficient links with UK policymakers and policy advisors covering the use of animals in research (under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986), in order to advise the development of evidence-based policy and implementation ongoing.

The Coalition is co-chaired by a senior member of the academic research and funding community, and a senior member of the industry community.

A secretariat is provided by the Royal Society of Biology. If you are an external body with a direct involvement in the use of animals in research and have general queries about UKBSC, please write to us at UKBSCSecretariat@rsb.org.uk.

The use of animals in research

The RSB is a signatory to the Concordat on Openness on the Use of Animals in Research in the UK. This is a commitment signed by over 120 life science organisations to be as open as possible with the wider public about the involvement in the use of animals in scientific, medical, and veterinary research in the UK.

The RSB does not carry out or fund animal research directly but supports the use of animals in research under UK regulations and when no alternatives are available. We actively support the progress towards reduction, refinement, and replacement of animals used in research (referred to as the 3Rs) wherever possible.

Most research using animals in the UK is regulated by the Home Office and can only be performed with a license. UK regulations are considered amongst the most comprehensive and rigorous in the world. Proposed experiments are subject to thorough ethical review at the application stage and regular review thereafter.

Scientists who conduct research on animals need to be appropriately trained beforehand in order to apply for a Home Office licence. The RSB accredits these training courses.