Protest against 'cruel' animal tests
A CONVERTED ambulance was parked outside the University of Bristol in a protest against alleged animal cruelty.
Animal rights group Animal Aid claim the university is conducting "manifestly cruel" experiments on genetically modified (GM) mice which have yielded "worthless" results.
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The university denies the claim, and says the research is necessary.
People passing the ambulance yesterday were shown a three-minute film which includes footage of a variety of GM mouse experiments.
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The ambulance is stopping at numerous locations around the city and the university campaigning to bring an end to the experiments.
Adrian Stallwood, scientific consultant at Animal Aid, claimed the university was injecting acid into the mice's paws and severing nerves to evaluate pain.
He said: "Many of the Bristol experiments involve manifestly cruel physical and psychological torments, and all to no purpose.
"Using GM mice to mimic human disease, whether at Bristol or any other research centre, is not delivering meaningful healthcare advances."
He added that the experiments were "not relevant" to advancements in human pain control and called for more humane alternatives to be explored.
A University of Bristol spokesperson said: "It is very important that people are aware of the facts of the matter.
"Neuropathic pain in humans can cause significant pain and distress and this is what this research is seeking to address.
"The nerve experiments described only provoke mild to moderate degrees of pain in mice, testing periods are short and the mice are freely able to withdraw from the stimulus at any time.
"The analogy would be stroking an area of sunburn after a long day on the beach. If it were possible to progress the research in other ways, then, of course we would."
Comments
by KEEPRSRCHAFLT
Friday, March 01 2013, 1:28PM
“Unfortunately Animal aids video contains numerous extrapolations, exaggerations and inaccuracies. It also shows they cant tell the difference between a mouse and a rat. See the page below.
http://tinyurl.com/bo84m3j
The UK Science community is currently under assault from these activists. At the moment no ferry company and most airlines are refusing to transport animals for medical research this is in response to threats of bad PR by activists. Ironically this action will probably result in longer journey times for the animals involved and more breeding of rare GM strains in the UK. Challenge this by signing our petition tinyurl.com/saveresearch.
The UK has the most stringent research animal welfare laws in the world under ASPA 1986.”