PSYCHOTIC SCIENTISTS AT PORTON DOWN
'Pigs have been blown up, guinea pigs poisoned and marmosets
given anthrax in germ and chemical warfare experiments at the top secret
British military research base, it has emerged.
The campaign group that uncovered the details of the 'cruel
and grotesque' research projects by scientists at the Porton Down labs in
Wiltshire said that in some cases it appeared the animals had been given
nothing to ease their pain.
Many of the experiments involved substantial suffering and
led to the death of the animals, the British Union for Abolition of
Vivisection's investigation found.'
Live pigs were blasted with explosives and forced to inhale
mustard gas, and monkeys infected with anthrax during "disturbing and
cruel" experiments at Porton Down, it was claimed.
Scientists at the top secret military research establishment
in Wiltshire were accused of causing "substantial" suffering to
animals in the past two years.
The alleged evidence was collected by the British Union for
the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) from papers published in scientific
journals.
In one study, reported in the Annals of Surgery in 2010,
explosives were said to have been detonated eight feet from pigs that had been
anaesthetised, wrapped in blankets, and placed on trolleys.
The animals were said to have suffered blast injuries and
blood loss, after which an attempt was made to resuscitate them. Eleven out of
28 died, it was claimed.
Other pigs, which were eventually killed, suffered severe
lung damage after inhaling phosgene and mustard gas, two lethal chemical
weapons, according to the BUAV which added a number of experiments were funded
by US defence
agencies, or conducted in collaboration with them.
In a further experiment, funded by the US Defence Advanced
Research Projects Agency (Darpa), marmosets were infected with anthrax before
being treated with an antibiotic, it was alleged. Four animals died and those
still alive at the end of the study were killed and dissected, it was claimed.
This study was published in the International Journal of
Antimicrobial Agents last year. There were no reports of pain relief or other
supportive measures and the monkeys must have "suffered immensely"
before experiencing a painful death, said the agency.
Michelle Thew, chief executive of the BUAV, said:
"Although supporting the need to ensure the safety of soldiers and
civilians in an increasingly dangerous world, the BUAV is opposed to deliberately
causing suffering and death to animals in such disturbing and cruel
experiments. We believe it is totally unacceptable to treat animals in this
way."
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) based
at Porton Down said: "The remit to provide safe and effective protective
measures for the UK and its Armed Forces could not, currently, be achieved
without the use of animals. DSTL operates in strict accordance with the Animals
(Scientific Procedures) Act."
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