Scientists say they care about animals and there are strict rules about how they experiment on them.

Twenty-one science organisations have signed an agreement to be more open about their use of animals in testing, teaching and research.

Auckland University education lecturer Sally Birdsall was involved in developing it.

She told Kate Hawkesby scientists are keen for more people to understand how the process of using animals happens.

“And how the regulations actually mean that they can’t just do what they want, they’re heavily regulated.”

More than 315-thousand animals were experimented on in New Zealand in 2019.

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