According to a new study, about nine percent of the experiments conducted on non-human subjects resulted in no scientific or medical benefit.

The study led by Sir Patrick Bateson, president of the Zoological Society of London, reviewed experiments over a ten year period, between 1996 and 2006. The study also found that a majority of experiments on monkeys between 1996 and 2006 did not have a significant medical impact.

The reason is that the most of these studies were focused on learning more about how the brain works, and may have increased knowledge without directly offering social and medical benefits.

The review also found that the experiments on monkeys were justified and most researches were of good quality. The review pointed out that the studies including experiments on vision, "led nowhere" and should never have been conducted.

Sir Patrick said: "In my view, the funding of work on non-human primates should not be continued if no effort has been made to demonstrate plausibly the potential medical and social benefits of the work."