Genetically modified farm animals could be bred in increasing numbers to tackle problems like drug resistance, a leading scientist has said.
Stem cell geneticist Professor Robin Lovell-Badge predicted an increase in the use of "non-conventional" animals for live tests over the next few years.
Prof Lovell-Badge, head of stem cell biology and developmental genetics at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), told a London press conference that beasts of burden could allow genetic research to be directed towards new areas like the increasing problem of drug resistance.
He said technology is fuelling a rise in the number of genetically-altered animals which "allows us to design hopefully cleverer experiments to get to the bottom of a particular genetic disease and to create better models for other types of human disease".
"We will also, I think, because of these new technologies, see over the next few years an increase in the number of non-conventional species used in genetic alteration-type experiments beyond the usual mouse and zebra fish...because these methods in particular the Crispr Method seems to work in all species tried." he added.
"So these additional species will include farm animals and as such, the methods may be directed towards research designed to improve animal health, for example, disease resistance, just as much as it is directed towards human health."
The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2013, released on Thursday by the Home Office's Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU), shows that 82 per cent (3.374 million) of the 4.12 million tests on animals in the UK last year involved rodents, with fish the next largest group on 12 per cent (507,4000 tests).
However, there was a seven per cent increase in tests on sheep (up 2919) and 10 per cent increase in tests on pigs (up 350) compared to 2012.
But the number of tests on cattle and goats fell by 21 per cent and 58 per cent respectively in the same period.
Fears have long been raised that antibiotics are being routinely used on healthy animals, fuelling diseases resistance that has a knock-on effect on human health.
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