Australian Zoo Animals Secretly Used For Experiments

by Sherry Morse

According to an investigation by the Herald Sun newspaper in Australia, many animals, including rare and native species, are being experimented on in secret at Melbourne zoos.

Documents obtained by the Herald Sun Newspaper under the Freedom of Information laws reveal that reproductive tests, surgical procedures and behavioral experiments are being conducted on animals at both Healesville Sanctuary and Melbourne Zoo.

Approximately 50 experiments were 'approved' during the last five years, but full details on only eight of those experiments have been released so far.

The experiments that have been detailed include the injection of hormones into endangered native mice to increase their breeding potential, implanting or attaching radio transmitters to a variety of species and developing poisons to kill pests.

According to documents from the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board, there were concerns about wild red foxes which were supposed to die quickly after eating poison bait around the Healesville Sanctuary but who appeared to have suffered a slow and protracted death.

The board also expressed concern over the unexplained death of a short-beaked echidna after he was fitted with a non-invasive radio transmitter.

Dr. Helen McCracken, who sits on the Zoo’s Victoria animal ethics committee, commented that she thinks it is difficult to balance the welfare of an individual animal with the needs of the entire species.

Zoo veterinarians, meanwhile, said they believe the experiments are necessary to find better ways of caring for animals in the future.

'Animals Australia' executive director Glenys Oogjes said she thinks there is a need for conservation-based research, but she expressed concern over the use of invasive or painful procedures.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals president, Dr. Hugh Wirth, called for a reduction in animal testing and for cooperation between institutions to cut down the frequency of replication of experiments.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.