At Plymouth University we use a limited variety of species in very small numbers. Details are in the tables below.
| Species | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodents | 355 | 395 | 1327 | 1639 | 2155 | 2516 | 2722 |
| Avian | 208 | 142 | 145 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fish | 3054 | 2319 | 719 | 476 | 540 | 65 | 804 |
2013
In 2012 the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry was disaggregated and Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry was formed. This was followed by a marked increase in medical and health research which uses rodents, hence the larger figures.
2014
Avian: This decrease marks the natural end of a research project.
Fish: This decrease marks both the closing of some research projects and the increased development and use of alternatives and methods to reduce the number of fish used.
2015
Rodents: This increase reflects growth in research groups and success in securing sources of funding for new projects.
2016
Rodents: Increase relates to newly funded research and the maturing of existing research projects. Less marked increase due to greater use of alternatives.
Fish: Decrease relates to the natural closure of research projects and use of alternatives.
2017
Rodents: This usage shows a slight increase since 2016, but reflects the growing number of research groups undertaking translational research at the University.
Fish: Total fish numbers are increased from 2016, due to the commencement of new research projects, but are in line with the use of previous years. Usage is still considerably less than 2011/2012 due to the use of alternatives.