UK Researchers Get 'Slap On Wrist' For Cruelty To Mice

by Patricia Collier

Researchers in the UK who dosed more than 200 mice with "speed", making them "high", then exposed them to extremely loud music, causing some of them to suffer seizures and die, will only get a slap on the wrist and be told not to do it again.

That's the concern of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV).

The experiment, in which 19 of the mice died, was determined to be a "serious infringement" of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act of 1986, which was designed to protect the welfare of animals in research. Violators of the Act can be given prison sentences.

However, according to the Home Office, the project licensee in the mice experiment was merely "given a warning" and "required to undergo training," and the certificate holder was "asked to remedy defects in the record keeping systems in the department concerned."

Wendy Higgins, BUAV campaigns director, said that kind of "punishment" amounts to "a glorified ticking off." Higgins said this case demonstrates how those in charge of inspecting labs fail in their duties to protect animals from suffering.

"Countless BUAV undercover investigations in UK labs have revealed that researchers break the rules all the time, but they act behind closed doors, so no one ever gets to see," Higgins said. "What the report does demonstrate is that even where the Home Office does admit an infringement has occurred, the most that researchers are likely to get is a ticking off or a reminder not to do it again."

The Animal Procedures Committee (APC), which consults with the Home Office on matters of animal experimentation, said penalties for causing pain, suffering or distress to animals during laboratory testing are "too mild."

The mice study was part of a licensed project regarding Huntington's disease, and the results of the experiments were published in a scientific paper.

According to Higgins, had BUAV "not relentlessly pursued the case, the fact of their illegal suffering would have remained hidden forever."

A spokesperson from the APC said the study had gone "beyond the procedures covered by the license authorities," and that its members were "particularly concerned about this case."

The APC disagreed, however, with the general belief that few cases are prosecuted because of lack of interest by the Home Office.

"The Home Office told us that offenses that might, in their view, merit prosecution would be brought to the attention of the police," APC representatives said.

According to a Home Office spokesman, "There is on-going monitoring of license holders and certificate holders where appropriate."

"If something came up where there would be a realistic prospect of a conviction and it was in the public interest, obviously, the Home Office would refer it to the police," the spokesman said.

Wendy Higgins said those kinds of attitudes are at the very root of the problem.

"With such a poor record of monitoring and deterrent, animal researchers are literally getting away with murder," she said.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.