Rat Trap: The capture of medicine by animal research – and how to break free (Troubador Publishing) is a fascinating new book by Dr Pandora Pound, Research Director at Safer Medicines Trust. In her groundbreaking study, Pound exposes the failures of animal testing for human medicine, why it continues to be used despite these failures, and what scientists can and should be using instead.

In an interview for Redbrick Sci&Tech, Pound talked about how the common defence for animal testing – that it is necessary for medical research and saves human lives – is wrong. In fact, the opposite is true: far from helping humans to live healthier lives, animal testing in drug development has actually led to serious health consequences and even fatalities in humans. What a revelation; many people are only persuaded to accept animal testing’s role in medical research because of the belief that it is a necessary evil to save human lives. When this misconception is lifted, it becomes clear that animal testing is nothing more than systematic, legitimised animal abuse – abuse that has no benefit to humans at best, and can be deadly to humans at worst.

Pound expands on this in Rat Trap. In a neatly organised structure, she details the origins of animal testing and how it became entrenched in academic and pharmaceutical research systems, despite the consistent failure of animal experiments in medical research. Pound doesn’t just let us take her word for it – she refers to a huge range of studies to highlight the ineffectiveness of animal testing, as well as the cases of serious harm that have resulted when animal experiments fail to detect drug toxicity in humans. The key problem with animal testing is species difference – even seemingly small differences can drastically change how a drug interacts with the body. The solution, as Pound explains, is what is termed human biology-based approaches. Including organs-on-chips and in-silico modelling, these methods of drug testing have been shown to be much more effective for human drug development.

Rat Trap is, of course, full of scientific information and research findings; thankfully, Pound writes in a clear, accessible style that illuminates the subject for the general, non-scientific reader. Although Pound’s central message is clear – animal testing in medical research is failing us and things must change – it is not made clear what the average reader can do next. There is some talk about signing petitions, but providing some more actionable steps would have been a useful ending to the book. Additionally, while Pound is evidently a very informed and intelligent researcher, at one point she refers to autism as a disease to be cured, which is obviously hurtful for any neurodivergent reader.

Overall, however, Rat Trap is a well-researched and knowledgeable book that is truly eye-opening. If you’ve ever felt uneasy about animal testing, Rat Trap gives you all the information you need to counter the claim that animal testing is a ‘necessary evil.’ Clearly written and accessible to all, this is an informative and insightful read.

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