University admits lab animals left alone overnight

A LEADING university has been accused of trying to cover up the suffering of lab oratory animals left to languish in pain after undergoing experiments.

Imperial College London had claimed the animals, mostly rats and mice, were provided with “round the clock” care.

But Cruelty Free International, which works to stop animal experiments, said ICL’s claim was false, after successfully taking a case to the Information Tribunal.

ICL was compelled to disclose the truth about out-of-hours care of animals, leading to it admitting that although an “on-call” vet was available, animals taking part in experiments were mostly left on their own between the hours of 5pm and 8am.

A previous undercover investigation by CFI in 2012 led to an independent inquiry and recommendations to increase staff and pay more attention to out-of-hours animal welfare at ICL.

The university had claimed to have implemented all the recommendations of the inquiry, commissioned by ICL.

Michelle Thew, chief executive of CFI, said: “It’s clear that it is business as usual at Imperial College London, despite the findings of our investigation.

“The College’s claims of ‘round the clock care for all animals’ should mean just that. ”

ICL said in a statement: “The health and welfare of research animals are of paramount importance to Imperial. The College employs more than 50 members of staff to care for animals.

“The College complies with the Home Office’s regulations concerning out-of-hours care and works closely with the Home Office as regulator.”