OVER 50,000 ANIMALS TESTED FOR ‘ESSENTIAL’ RESEARCH IN CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
MORE than 50,000 animals were experimented on at Cardiff University last year as part of “essential” research, we can reveal. A Freedom of Information request showed that 43,568 mice, 1,940 rats, two guinea pigs, 4,736 fish, eight pigeons and 10 amphibians were tested on between January 1, 2016, and December 31 the same year. That is a total of 50,264.
The university has been criticised for its animal experiments in the past.
In 2012 there was outcry when it was revealed that kittens’ eyes had been sewn shut for medical research.
“All of our research involving animals is aimed at the alleviation of human and veterinary disease through the advancement of medical, dental, biological and veterinary understanding,” a Cardiff University spokeswoman said.
“The use of animals in research remains essential. All animal-related research work at Cardiff University is carried out under the strict conditions imposed by UK legislation including stringent ethical scrutiny.
“We are fully compliant with and support the intention and purpose of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.”
The university said that without animal research there would be “no modern anaesthetics, hip replacements or life support for premature babies”.
The spokesman added: “There would be no heart or kidney transplants, no kidney dialysis or heart pacemakers, no treatment for diabe- tes, no vaccines for polio, diphtheria or malaria – or for animal diseases.
“Our research animals are maintained at the highest standards and used in minimum numbers.
“Cardiff University is fully committed to the principle of the 3Rs and, wherever possible, the use of animals is avoided and alternative methods are employed.”
The 3Rs – Replacement, Reduction and Refinement – were introduced to make animal experimentation more humane.
“At the end of an authorised series of procedures, some animals will be eligible for re-homing, release from the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act or return to the wild,” the spokeswoman said.
“However, most animals are killed in accordance with the legal conditions of the relevant project licences and this is done via a humane method. Cardiff University is committed to providing open and transparent information about our research involving animals and our standards of animal care and welfare.”
The spokeswoman said in May 2014 the university signed the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK.
Vet Dr Andre Menache has campaigned against animal experiments for more than 30 years.
“All of these Cardiff University animal studies share a common theme, namely, carrying out fundamental research dressed up as applied research,” he said.
Fundamental research, or basic research, is done to fill in knowledge gaps.
Applied research is undertaken to solve a problem.
“This trick is well known to animal researchers, who by now should know that the chances of discovering a medical treatment for humans based on animal experiments is around 0.004%,” Dr Menache said.
“The trick is to link the animal study to a human disease.
“It actually works to get funding for these animal studies.”
He urged Cardiff University to be “transparent and accountable to the UK public and to good science.”
“The way to do that is to invite outside scientists to take part in debates in front of students,” Dr Menache said.
“We’re not talking about cruelty or ethics, we are asking do animal experiments work?
“Second, I would say, have people on your animal ethics committee who represent the animal protection community.
“And people, for example, retired vets, who have been put forward by the animal protection community in the UK.”
The figures were uncovered by the Animal Justice Project.
Spokeswoman Rachel Ward said: “Following the success of our Campus Without Cruelty campaign, we have had many requests from the public for more information about these horrific experiments.”
She bemoaned that the experiments were not “few and far between”.
“We call upon them to join the rest of the medical world in abolishing these outdated and cruel experiments in place of real, humane scientific progress,” she said.