More than 43,000 animals, including mice and rats, were used for research in University of Birmingham labs last year.

Details released under the Freedom of Information Act show 40,870 mice, 1,480 rats, 1,220 fish and 90 amphibians were used in the university’s laboratories in 2013.

The statistics have led The National Anti-Vivisection Society to call on the university to ditch the practice and pursue “more reliable” research methods. Only six universities who responded to the FOI request used more animals than Birmingham.

Reported by the Birmingham Mail. You can read the full story here.

I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.