Victoria Derbyshire: BBC 5 Live Broadcast from Animal Testing Lab

On 4th December, Victoria Derbyshire presented a BBC Radio 5 Live Broadcast from an Animal Testing Lab.

A poll commissioned for the BBC radio channel, showed that 31% of adults believe that the government should ban animal testing for medical research and 70% believe mice should be used for research of certain conditions like Alzheimer’s.

ComRes undertook a telephone interview of 1,000 adults and also found that the public’s attitudes towards testing depended on which animals were being used, with 56% saying they were happier with the use of mice for disease research than dogs, monkeys and cats.

Latest Home Office figures show that, in 2011, around 3.7 million animals were experimented on, with 2.7 million of these being mice and the remaining million, other rodents, cats, dogs, monkeys, fish and birds.
During the broadcast,  Derbyshire  gives an honest portrayal of animal testing, speaking to the scientists making new breakthroughs, showing how the mice live and also talking to listeners and those against animal testing.

The broadcast can be heard on the Victoria Derbyshire programme on BBC iPlayer Radio.