On 17th February 2026 UAR policy advisor Chris Magee appeared on BBC One’s The One Show, taking part in a discussion about animal research and the non-animal alternatives to it.
The show kicked off with an introduction on the ethics and realities of biomedical research using animals and non-animal methods.
In the following discussions, Chris raised the Covid-19 vaccines as an example of how animal research can be crucial at certain stages of drug development and the risks we face if it is unavailable to scientists. He reminded viewers that researchers had to test their candidate vaccines in animals to evaluate safety and immune response before progressing to human trials, making sure they were both effective and safe for widespread use. When asked about whether an animal-free world research world might ever exist, Chris explained why, in his opinion, the life sciences are “decades away” from completely eliminating the use of animals. He explained that biology is extremely complex, and many medical questions still require the study of whole living organisms if they are to be resolved. While the alternatives that were featured in The One Show clip, such as cell cultures, organ-on-a-chip technology, computer modelling, and advanced imaging, are rapidly improving, they cannot yet fully replicate the interactions between organs, immune response, hormones, and long-term disease progression that occur in a complete organism.
Whilst not perfectly accurate (the article briefly claims that apes are used in research, which is untrue) we think Chris’s appearance on The One Show is an excellent example of how openness in animal research can counter misinformation and contribute to much healthier public debate and understanding. We encourage all our members to take a look.
Watch the one show segment on BBC iPlayer (segment runs from 1:40 - 6:30).
Last edited: 26 February 2026 10:29
