Founded | 2005 |
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Type | Registered UK Charity |
Focus | Calling for systematic reviews of animal studies to determine the value of animal research to human health. |
Location |
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Slogan | Promoting systematic reviews for better healthcare |
Website | SABRE Research UK |
SABRE Research UK is a British charity raising awareness of the need to remove bias from the conduct and scientific evaluation of animal research. DEBATE It addresses this issue by calling for systematic reviews of existing animal studies (published results of laboratory animal experiments). The charity was constituted in 2005 in response to disquiet about uninformed opinions about the scientific value of animal studies and dissatisfaction with 'polarised positions in the debate about animal research'. The charity found that neither the proponents of animal research nor its opponents were able to produce sufficiently sound scientific evidence in support of their opposing cases.
The charity is independent from political parties, animal research advocacy groups, the pharmaceutical industry, animal rights groups or any other vested interests. It does not take a position on the moral, welfare or ethical use of animals in research. Its interests lie in the economic costs, the application and relevance of animal research to human health and how the results of animal experiments are analysed, evaluated and interpreted and the resulting data used to inform the design of clinical trials.
The formation of the charity followed the publication of an Education and Debate paper in the BMJ in 2004 which expressed concerns about the lack of scientific evidence to support the claims made by animal research advocates. The paper, itself a systematic review, was the first to call for systematic reviews of animal studies. It also called for the prospective registration of all animal research projects licensed by the Home Office. The authors were concerned that animal research is not conducted, analysed and reported (published) as rigorously as clinical research, which has reporting standards such as the CONSORT statement for randomised controlled clinical trials. These measures are considered important as they promote higher standards of research conduct through higher reporting standards.