St. Andrews experimented on 269 seals in 2017

The University of St. Andrews has been performing tests on seals in recent years, and it seems that none of us knew about it.

The University of St. Andrews claim that they are open about their animal reasearch policy. They reveal openly on their website that they carried out 3,247 'procedures' on 3,183 animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act in 2018.

Research concerning animals carried out by the university covers the areas of protection of the natural environment, animal biology and reproductive systems, nervous system, animal behaviour.

This number is relatively low compared to other universities, our rival Edinburgh testing on 224,653 animals in 2017, however what will no doubt cause outrage is that fact that a large number of the animals we test on in St. Andrews are seals.

In 2018, the university tested on 88 seals, in 2017 on 269 and in 2016 on 278. Interestingly, this number appears to be on the decline, however with the construction of the new Marine Research Centre, this could increase.

This however pales in comparison to the number of mice that are tested on by the university. In 2018, 2,397 mice were used in tests which included research into human conditions such as Alzeimers and Motor Neurone Disease. It is not suggested that similar testing is done on seals. According to the universtiy: "research is directed at understanding the causes and effects of changes in seal abundance and distribution, work that helps to inform policy-making decisions and the conservation management of these important top predators."

The Tab have contacted the University of St. Andrews for a comment.