Lincoln University and vivisection in Canterbury Produced by the National Anti Vivisection Campaign

Campaigners criticise secret vivisection experiments at Lincoln University Anti vivisection campaigners says when it comes to animal experiments, Lincoln University is the most secretive university in the country.

The National Anti Vivisection Campaign says Lincoln is the only university in the country to refuse to release even basic statistics about its animal research, claiming a risk their staff will be harassed. All other New Zealand Universities and many other animal research organisations have released figures showing the numbers and species of animals used in experiments last year. NAVC has complained to the Ombudsmens Office about the refusal of Lincoln to release its figures

NAVC spokesperson Mark Eden said "Lincoln University obviously has something to hide if it is afraid to release even basic statistics. The information we requested does not contain any personal details that could identify staff. Every other University in the country releases this basic information, so what is Lincoln hiding?"

Other Canterbury institutions using animals in experiments include Landcare Research, Canterbury University and the Christchurch School of Medicine.

Landcare Research conducts "pest control" research on animals including small numbers of cats and dogs. In 2003 painful experiments resulting in "severe" and "very severe" suffering were conducted on rabbits, rats, possums, mice, ferrets and fish.

Canterbury University used 6953 animals in 2003. Most were fish used in non invasive wildlife studies, but they also included 1500 tadpoles and numerous fish killed for teaching purposes. The Psychology Department killed 92 quail and over 1000 rats in "biological research".

The Christchurch School of Medicine uses rabbits, sheep, mice and rats in experiments. Very little detail is available about these experiments. 22 rabbits were used in a commercial research project. NAVC believes the sheep are being used in heart surgery experiments.

The National Anti Vivisection Campaign is the only organisation in New Zealand focusing solely on actively campaigning for the abolition of vivisection. NAVC opposes all harmful research on animals, on ethical and scientific grounds.

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