'Scientific purpose' in UK animal research law (and why we should care)

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act regulates research involving animals in the UK. To be covered under the law, an activity must be deemed to be done for a ‘scientific purpose’. But what does this mean? What happens in grey areas, like experimental veterinary treatments and recreational ‘citizen science’ like tagging birds?

I argue that the boundaries of the law are somewhat flexible and not purely based on ‘purpose’ alone. Rather, the law’s boundaries are shaped by past and present researchers consciously or unwittingly responding to factors like historical precedent; risk, cost, and workload management; institutional and professional identities; and research design.

In addition to being academically interesting for legal studies and science and technology studies scholars, this boundary-work has real-world implications for what and how science is done, who does it, and animal welfare. It also has implications beyond the UK, with similar questions arising around the world.

Ally Palmer is a postdoctoral researcher in Biology and Social Sciences at the University of Auckland. An anthropologist by training, her work is interdisciplinary and examines social and ethical issues in human-animal relationships, especially in conservation.