Uni loses battle over animal testing

Newcastle University has lost a court battle against protecting information about their use of animal testing

Following a lengthy legal battle costing £250,000 Newcastle University has been ordered to release governing licenses on their experiments on primates.

The British Union of the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) first placed a Freedom of Information request (FOI) in June 2008, asking for details of the licenses held by researchers who conduct vivisection work on macaques.

This was rejected by the University on the grounds that it would endanger staff and prejudice research interests.

The University then embarked on a legal battle lasting over three years with the aim of protecting the information, which they claim for regulatory reasons is required to be kept confidential.

However, the University has now released the details to BUAV “solely as a result of a Tribunal order obliging it to so” after it noted the “strong public interest in animal welfare and in transparency and accountability” in relation to the animal experiments.

“It is simply not true that the University is required to keep the licences confidential.” said BUAV The Information Tribunal and Upper Tribunal decided that the University was free to do whatever it liked, including FOI disclosure, with the information in the licences. The University has now abandoned its appeal to the Court of Appeal on this point, so clearly recognise it is without merit. There never was the slightest prospect that the Home Office would prosecute the University for complying with a Tribunal order for disclosure premised on the fact that no criminal offence could be committed by the University by complying with a FOI request.”

The papers BUAV requested contain details of two licenses granted by the Government to University researchers for projects, which required some work with primates. The work was aimed at increasing understanding of brain function and to potentially find treatment for ADHD and other attention and learning disorders.

The research has lead to over 20 papers being published, supporting efforts that could lead to new and better treatments in the future.

Originally reported in The Courier in November 2010, BUAV logged a FOI after the publication of articles by three researchers documenting ‘highly invasive’ brain experiments on macaques.

These experiments involved implanting electrodes into the animals’ brains to record activity while they were repeatedly forced to undergo various tasks.

A letter leaked to The Courier last year graphically detailed why authorities in Berlin refused to grant an unknown Newcastle University professor permission to carry out similar work in Germany in 2007.

These experiments were deemed unethical because they caused “considerable suffering” to the macaques, who share “fundamental basic cognitive functions with humans”.

This suffering was deemed unethical as it included repeated body and head restraints and a severe regime of water deprivation to motivate the monkeys to perform tasks.

However, BUAV also claims that there is a lack of practical benefit from the experiments, and that the scientific research papers do not identify any benefit for human health from the research.

BUAV believes that the primates can be replaced by human volunteer studies using non-invasive imaging machines, such as Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Machines.

Professor Chris Day, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University explained the decision: “This has never been about wishing to ‘hide’ information, indeed we have been very open about our very limited research using primates and the results of that research. Our primary concern throughout this process has been a duty of care to our staff and adherence to the Home Office regulations, which made it potentially unlawful to release these licences.

“On the one hand we were asked to comply with the ruling of a Tribunal, which stated information had to be released, on the other there was the threat of prosecution from the Home Office if we did release that information. We have a duty to protect the welfare of our staff in this matter. However, the Home Office has confirmed this morning that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute the University provided that disclosure is confined to compliance with the strict terms of the Information Tribunal order. The University is grateful for that reassurance and this vindicates its decision not to release any information at an earlier stage.

“The University has been caught in the middle and pursuing this through the proper channels has cost over £250,000 in legal fees. We have now released to BUAV an edited version of the project licence, complying with the finding by the Freedom of Information Tribunal. Some information has been redacted to protect the health and safety of employees and to protect intellectual property. We have a duty to protect the welfare of all our employees and that is why we have taken these steps in relation to this case.

“The work being carried out in Newcastle is fundamental research into the human brain which will increase our understanding and may lead to further treatments for diseases and conditions in the future.

“Like all animal research conducted in the UK, the work at Newcastle is strictly regulated. It is only allowed when there is no alternative, the animals must be properly cared for and each study must be fully justified. It would be illegal to use animals if there was no potential benefit. In this case the project involved finding out what brain chemicals are involved in cognitive functions such as attention, learning and memory. The brain areas involved are only found in humans and primates and it is impossible to investigate brain chemicals in humans using non-invasive techniques such as FMRI. As part of the experiments the primates were rewarded with a juice drink for carrying out tasks.”

Michelle Thew, BUAV Chief Executive, said:

“We are delighted with this ruling. Once again, the courts have dismissed Newcastle’s attempts to hide the truth about its animal experiments. For well over three years, Newcastle University has tried every which way to avoid providing us with information. These are highly controversial and invasive experiments carried out on monkeys at a public institution. The public has a right to know what is happening to these poor animals and why”.

BUAV are now in possession of the information and will be issuing a statement once the documents have been analysed.