Secret lab notes reveal dog cruelty at HLS

Mark Townsend

Sunday, February 22, 2004

The Observer 

Beagles have been gassed until they passed out in

secret tests to monitor the effects of a chemical

which was banned more than 15 years ago.

Confidential documents reveal how the bodies of dogs

would convulse violently during recent experiments at

the controversial Huntingdon Life Sciences laboratory.

The news has reignited the debate over the use of

animals in experiments. Campaigners vowed last night

to escalate their attempts to close down the

Cambridgeshire site while scientists defended the

experiments as essential. 

Scientists used the dogs to test the effects of HCFC

chemicals which, because of their ozone-depleting

properties, Ministers agreed to begin phasing out

under the Montreal Protocol in 1987. They have been

banned in foams and solvents but still exist in old

equipment. 

Detailed papers leaked to The Observer record how the

bodies of beagles would shake and sway as the

creatures displayed various symptoms of agitation

until they finally lost consciousness. The effects

increased markedly the greater the dose of the

chemical, a refrigerant once widely used in aerosols

and fire extinguishers. 

Protesters claim the tests - to measure the effect of

hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) on the heart - were

futile because the substance is being taken out of

use. However, scientists at the laboratory said the

experiments were crucial to understanding the effects

of the chemical on people. 

The laboratory, which is protected by a 10ft security

fence, is the target of an intense closure campaign by

the animal rights organisation SHAC (Stop Huntingdon

Animal Cruelty). Protests against the laboratory began

after a TV documentary in 1997 that showed HLS staff

kicking a beagle and hurling it against a wall. 

Last night a spokesman for the controversial group -

which has been at the centre of allegations involving

violent and intimidatory tactics against HLS staff -

condemned the experiments as 'disgusting'. He warned

that support for the laboratory's closure had reached

a historical high with 2,000 hardcore members prepared

to battle until the site is shut down. 

'In these experiments you can see dogs struggling,

vomiting and passing out. Where are the politicians

condemning these experiments?' added the spokesman. 

Details of the tests come weeks after a proposed

flagship laboratory at the University of Cambridge was

abandoned because of the cost of defending the

building against protesters. 

During the beagle testing, which ended last year,

scientists fed HCFC 22 through pipes to gas masks

attached to the faces of male beagles seven to eight

months old. Their notes record the dogs enduring

varying degrees of discomfort from 'pawing of mask',

jerking of heads, 'whole body tremors' and an

inability to focus properly. 

Ultimately some of the dogs lost consciousness after

being exposed to the gas for up to 14 minutes during

the experiments, conducted last summer. Some beagles

appeared 'subdued' after the tests. A spokesman for

HLS said the dogs did not suffer lasting effects and

could be re-used in later experiments.

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