The Home Office has formally inspected Charles River Laboratories and sanctioned it for violating animal welfare regulations. The action follows a complaint filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
PETA uncovered shocking allegations regarding the extreme suffering and death of rats at the company’s Elphinstone location, near Edinburgh, after being approached by a whistle-blower who worked there.
Because of the severity of the incidents reported, PETA is urging the Home Office to revoke Charles Rivers Laboratories’ licence to experiment on animals.
According to the whistle-blower, the company reportedly crushed approximately 100 to 120 live rats – including pregnant females – in a rubbish compressor and administered the wrong dose of a compound to rats who were used in a cancer experiment.
It allegedly forced other rats to inhale a highly toxic compound in doses that exceeded the agreed maximum – and consequently, one distressed female chewed off an entire toe. More information about the reported welfare violations can be found here.
“Charles River Laboratories apparently can’t be trusted to follow the minimal laws that protect animals in laboratories, and the punishment should fit the crime,” says PETA Science Policy Adviser Dr Julia Baines.
“PETA is calling for the Home Office to revoke the company’s licence to inflict pain, misery, and death on animals immediately and for money to be invested in a new wave of science – one that’s effective, human-relevant, and animal-free.”
The Home Office confirmed that inspections have taken place and that ‘appropriate sanctions’ have been applied.
Charles River Laboratories responded: “The survival rates for major diseases are at an all-time high due in part to the discovery of new medicines and therapies. The use of animal research models remains a vital component of these discoveries and is required by international regulatory agencies.
“We are deeply committed to animal welfare and exceeding international standards for the care of research models under our stewardship. We are committed to the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) and, when possible, our goal is to reduce the number of animals used.”
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on” – notes that across the UK, millions of animals are locked inside barren laboratory cages, poisoned, burned, cut open, traumatised, and infected with diseases while they suffer from extreme frustration and loneliness.
Few experiments – no matter how painful or irrelevant – are prohibited by law, and almost all animals used in tests are later killed.
PETA supports the use of scientifically and ethically sound methods that better protect humans, animals, and the environment. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.
