Inhaling plastics fumes

Zeneca Central Toxicology Laboratory, Macclesfield, Cheshire

Approximately 200 rats were exposed to varying concentrations of methyl methacrylate, an industrial plastics ingredient, for up to 28 days. They were then studied for up to 36 weeks. Substantial damage was caused to their nasal passages (revealed by dissecting their heads) but rapid recovery was shown to occur in animals left to recover from exposure before being killed.

Methyl methacrylate toxicity in rat nasal epithelium: investigation of the time course of lesion development and recovery from short term vapour inhalation. Hext PM, Pinto PJ, Gaskell BA (Zeneca Central Toxicology Laboratory, Cheshire) Toxicology 2001,156(2-3): 119-28

Equine herpes virus

Intervet UK Ltd, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire

Seventeen pregnant Welsh mountain ponies were deliberately infected with equine herpes virus (EHV) in order to test the effectiveness of a prospective new vaccine. Six of the mares were vaccinated at four months into their pregnancy, another six were vaccinated between five and six months of their pregnancy, and six were unvaccinated 'controls'. All eighteen mares (except one who had already aborted her foal) were dosed intranasally with virus when they were nearly nine months pregnant (gestation is around 11 months). Most of the horses suffered fever and nasal discharge and some suffered conjunctivitis and infected discharge from the eyes.
As expected, all six control mares aborted their foals within three weeks of becoming infected. One mare in each of the vaccinated groups also suffered an abortion. In another parallel (as yet unpublished) experiment, all six control mares again lost their foals to late-stage abortions and three of them became jaundiced and unable to move properly.

Derivation and characterisation of a live equid herpes virus-1 (EHV-1) vaccine to protect against abortion and respiratory disease due to EHV-1. Patel JR, Bateman H, Williams J, Didlick S.

Beagles used to test Viagra

conducted by Pfizer Central Research, UK

In October 1998 the BUAV exposed horrific experiments on dogs and other animals by drug company Pfizer, to test the anti-impotency drug Viagra.
The BUAV revealed that Pfizer's researchers at Sandwich, UK, mutilated the penises of beagle dogs in order to investigate the effects of Viagra on pressure and blood flow to the penis. Under anaesthesia the dogs' penises were skinned and a needle inserted for recording pressure. A nerve to the penis was electrically stimulated repeatedly, and the effects of doses of Viagra studied.

Glass fiber and asbestos inhalation in rats

Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh

In a series of experiments to test the link between the absorption of glass fiber and the development of cancer, rats were confined in inhalation chambers and exposed to a glass microfibre - seven hours a day, five days a week, for up to a year. Then they were kept for a further year to monitor any recovery. Other rats were injected into the stomach with the fibers. 'Control' rats were kept in wire-bottomed cages for their natural life span to provide data on background tumour levels. 145 rats were used altogether. They were killed by carbon dioxide asphyxiation and their lungs examined for damage and remaining fibers. Animals suffered inflammation and fibrosis of the lungs, mesotheliomas and other tumours - known from human sufferers to be distressing and debilitating conditions.

Sponsored by the UK Mineral Wool Association, the European Ceramic Fibre Industry Association, Cape plc, BBA plc and Health & Safety Executive.

Pathogenicity of a special-purpose glass microfiber (E glass) relative to another glass microfiber and amosite asbestos. Cullen RT, Searl A, Buchanan D, Davis JM, Miller BG, Jones AD (Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh) Inhal Toxicol 2000,12(10):959-77

Royal Veterinary College, North Mymms, Hatfield, Herts

samples were taken from the jugular vein more than twenty times. On top of all this, the horses were injected nine times with the painful irritant bradykinin (the main constituent of bee venom) in order to produce a swollen weal, the size of which could be calibrated against the dose of carprofen.

Pharmacodynamics and enantioselective pharmacokinetics of racemic carprofen in the horse. Lees P, Aliabadi FS, Landoni MF.

PVC poisoning in rats

Huntingdon Life Sciences, Cambridgeshire

Researchers at Huntingdon Life Sciences, on behalf of Shell and BP, fed two different plasticizer constituents of PVC to rats over two generations, to see if their reproduction or offspring were affected. The phthalate plasticizers are used in cable, flooring, roofing and fabric coating products. Approximately 7,000 rats were used. All of them were killed by carbon dioxide asphyxiation, except very young pups, who were killed by injection into the stomach.

Two-generation reproduction toxicity studies of di-(C(7)-C(9) alkyl) phthalate and di-(C(9)-C(11) alkyl) phthalate in the rat. Willoughby CR, Fulcher SM, Creasy DM, Heath JA, Priston RAJ, Moore NP (Huntingdon Life Sciences, Cambridgeshire)

Hormone-producing in ewes’ unborn fetuses

London University

14 pregnant ewes were experimented on to see how depriving them of food affected the development of some hormone-producing parts of their unborn fetuses - with possible long-term health consequences. Half of the ewes were allowed only 85% of their recommended nutritional requirements for the first 70 days of their pregnancy. A little more than a month later, all 14 ewes were operated on to expose their uterus and partly remove their fetus. Tubes were inserted into an artery and a vein in the fetus, into the mother's uterus, and into one of the mother's veins. The fetus was then replaced in the mother's womb, the cuts made to the ewe were closed, and the tubes were used to take samples over a period of 2 weeks. On 3 occasions during this period, a bag was put over each ewe's head and for a period of one hour the amount of oxygen was restricted and the effect on substances in the blood of their fetuses was measured.

Hawkins P; Steyn C; McGarrigle HHG; Saito T; Ozaki T; Stratford LL; Noakes DE & Hanson MA (1999) 'Effect of maternal nutrient restriction in early gestation on responses of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to acute isocapnic hypoxaemia in late gestation fetal sheep'.

Featherless chicken slaughter

U.S. Department of Agriculture

To find out whether chickens’ feather follicles harbor harmful microbes during slaughter, USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists bred featherless chickens, who do not have feather follicles, to compare with feathered chickens. "By the use of artificial insemination, the offspring of featherless roosters and commercial broiler breeder hens were bred to produce both feathered and featherless chicks."
These birds were given Campylobacter bacteria orally a week before slaughter, during which slaughter "the birds were handled in alternating batches of four feathered and four featherless chickens." The researchers concluded that the presence or absence of feathers did not affect the level of breast skin bacteria.

USDA Agricultural Research Service

Cattle starved in Aberdeen

Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen

Five steers (one year old) were used in research on starved cattle. They had two tubes inserted into their stomachs. They were then deprived of all normal food while nutrients were supplied through one tube to their stomachs and samples taken through the other. Two of the steers were starved completely (given essential trace minerals and vitamins only) for two days; then they were allowed increasing amounts of glucose. The fate of the steers at the end of the experiment is not described. The results indicated that there is a species difference between cattle and sheep in the way they use some nutrients.

Orskov ER; Meehan DE; MacLeod NA & Kyle DJ (1999) 'Effect of glucose supply on fasting nitrogen excretion and effect of level and type of volatile fatty acid infusion on response to protein infusion in cattle'.

Fourteen month of brain tests on rams

The Medical Research Council Reproductive Biology Unit, Centre for Reproductive Biology, Edinburgh

12 adult rams were used in experiments to discover which part of their brain controls hormone changes in response to changing day-length. A part of each rams brain was cut out, and an aluminum foil barrier was put into his brain to separate two of its parts. As expected, this caused the rams to urinate more than usual, their testicles to malfunction, and they became fat. Even so, they were said to be in good health. The rams were kept permanently in rooms with artificial lighting. For the nearly 14 months of this experiment the lights were kept on for either eight or 16 hours each day. Twice each week a blood sample was taken from the jugular vein of each ram, and on three occasions a tube was inserted into their jugular vein and used to take 24 blood samples (at hourly intervals).

Post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome or Piglets given lethal virus

The Veterinary Sciences Division, Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland and Queen's University of Belfast

16 piglets were deprived of their mothers' colostrum and at one or two days old were infected with two types of virus (porcine circovirus type 2 and porcine parvovirus). The aim was to produce the symptoms of a severe illness, known as post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) that over the past decade has been affecting farmed pigs in various parts of the world. The piglets were infected with one or both viruses. Two piglets died during the experiment, and others became ill (they were lethargic, stopped eating, were reluctant to move, stood with their heads lowered, and became thin). The surviving piglets were killed three to four weeks after being infected, and samples of their organs were taken for examination. Some were found to have damage to their liver, kidneys, lungs, brain, lymph nodes, and other parts of their bodies.

Kennedy S; Moffett D; McNeilly F; Meehan B; Ellis J; Krakowka S & Allan GM (2000) 'Reproduction of lesions of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome by infection of conventional pigs with porcine circovirus type 2 alone or in combination with porcine parvovirus'.

Weighted balloons and glass spheres inserted into sheep

The Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth

21 adult sheep were used to research the control of contractions in the first part of their stomachs. While anaesthetized, 14 of the sheep had a hole 12cm across (nearly five inches) cut into this part of their stomach and were then fitted with a plastic plug. After two months or more, the sheep were trained to "stand quietly" while changes in pressure in four parts of their stomachs were measured using weighted balloons put into their stomachs. The remaining seven sheep were anaesthetized while probes were placed around arteries supplying their stomachs, to allow blood-flow to be measured. These sheep also had a water-filled balloon weighted with glass spheres pushed through a hole into their stomachs. The sheep then had various substances injected, and their stomach contractions were monitored and blood samples were taken for analysis.

Care AD; Abbas SK; Harmeyer J & Boivin R (1999) 'The relaxant effects of parathyroid hormone(1-34) and parathyroid hormone-related protein(1-34) on ovine reticulo-ruminal smooth muscle in vivo'.

Wind tunnel tests on chickens

The Roslin Institute in Edinburgh

80 broiler chickens at slaughter weight (six weeks old) were used to establish whether they were more likely to die during transport if they were wet. Each year more than one million broiler chickens die while being transported to slaughterhouses - many as a result of over-heating or from cold. The chickens were put in transport cages in a wind tunnel at different temperatures for three hours (representing the average transport time of 2.7 hours). Temperatures taken from their rectums or from a device implanted in their bodies showed that when they were sprayed with water they became colder, in some cases cold enough to have died from hypothermia.

Hunter RR; Mitchell MA & Carlisle AJ (1999) 'Wetting of broilers during cold weather transport: a major source of physiological stress?'

Undercover Sarah Kite of the British Union Against Vivisection (BUAV) worked in Huntingdon Research Centre (HRC) for eight months

“In one test, 48 beagles had their backs shaved then an anti-psoriatic cream applied every day for 30 days. This resulted in open sores and blisters on the dogs’ backs. The dogs had their bodies bound in tight sticky plaster and they had to wear large head collars to stop them pulling at the plasters as they were in pain. The beagles were just about to have more cream rubbed into the sores. Whilst cleaning out the cages, I regularly found blood, vomit and diarrhea on the floor. Many dogs were very ill. They were extremely thin with their fur standing on end. They were visibly shaking and often so scared they were unable to leave their cages."

A 3-year research, investigating which specific brain cells are active while using visual memory

"...When I went back to the animal house Yona took me to meet the researchers... It was in this way I met the researcher Volodya Yakovlev... From talking to him I discovered several things that amazed me... several years ago they found a monkey infected with Ebola in a primate breeding farm in the USA. The government burned down the entire farm - with the monkeys in it. They could have tested them one by one without harming the business, but the government does not care about private people's money. After several hours of discussion we went down to bring the monkey named Malish, the smallest and sweetest out of the four monkeys there. At that time his head was still normal (prior to any experiments) and he was just being trained... Several days later... They only wanted me to watch, so I could help in the following surgeries that were going to take place without any veterinarians present. Malish was lying down on his stomach on a special device that was attached to him through the ears, eyes and mouth. His head was fixed about 10 cm above the device... they shaved his head and cleaned it. They cut through the skin and flesh and exposed his skull. In the skull they drilled two holes using an electrical drill. In one hole they inserted a screw that is used to attach him to the chair and keep him immobilised, and in the second hole they inserted a chamber leading to the brain cavity. They inserted a steel wire into his eye to make him look straight. In order to fix the chambers inside the two holes they screwed 20 more screws in his skull using an electric drill... The surgery took 6 hours... The veterinarians explained such basic things to the researchers regarding the anaesthesia, that even as a failed veterinary technician I was astonished at their lack of knowledge. They were joking a lot among themselves. The researchers were telling about all kinds of medical screw-ups they did in the past which cost some monkeys their lives... they left me alone with Malish... Malish was sitting on the floor recovering from the anaesthesia. I closed all the doors and took pictures... before they came back. The researchers placed a plastic leash on Malish and put him in the monkey restraint chair, in which he was half standing and unable to move his head that is fixed upwards to prevent him from swallowing any saliva. He was left in that position until that evening, contrary to the law that forbids leaving him in such a position for more than 10 minutes... another surgery conducted on Malish. He was shivering for a week following the surgery... he simply could not recover. The next surgery... was only 3 hours. Malish was thrown into a frantic breathing distress and I was totally hysterical... they called him 'malish'.

...Several days later Jade (one of the other monkeys in the laboratory) underwent surgery. He had three holes in his head: one used to keep him restrained in the chair and two others used to insert probes. Tanya cleaned the holes with oxygen water that fermented inside his brain... Then she injected him with a substance that paralyzed his brain cells... That day she injected the substance to the wrong place. The monkey started drooling... He didn't do the assignments he was trained to do. Tanya didn't even know exactly where she injected the substance to... She said: 'This is very interesting, maybe it is worth checking'. That is typical - experimenting and making mistakes.

The following is by one of the three activists from shac Japan that have exposed the Japanese animal research industry in early march 2002

The bank of cages housed terrified, sad and totally broken cynomulgus monkeys, which had been imported from Vietnam. Some constantly spun in circles around their tiny barren cages, picking frantically at their already hairless bodies. Others were so terrified they tried to hide in the far corner of their cages. They were frozen with fear.

In one cage there was a large primate. I was horrified when I saw his head. A large metal plate had been bolted onto his skull. The whole device was inches thick and was surrounded by a thick pinkish -looking cement at its base. This monkey could not move as freely as the other one. It was continually gently picking at the base of the metal implant and shaking his head from side to side obviously in great discomfort. The weight of this device seemed to cause him to hunch forward. He peered at us from the back and through the top of his cage with huge worried eyes.

At Kyoto Furitu University, we found a mixture of animals in a large semi open farm type building. This building was in semi-darkness and stunk of urine and faeces. Along the far wall were about 6 cages. These contained fully-grown goats. Towards the centre of the room were 4 more cages containing large pigs, at the back and side of the room was another goat and one huge pig. All the animals had large screw -like devices protruding from their sides. When I looked closely I could see that the devices screwed extremely tightly and therefore digging deeply into the animals’ flesh. All of these implants were thickly caked in dirt. These devices can be unscrewed to reveal a tube leading directly into the stomach. Along the building opposite there were 3 or 4 beagles chained to kennels. These continually paced in small circles, occasionally stopping to look at us with their tails firmly down between their legs. As I approached one he slumped against the wall shaking with fear, his head was hung low and he was unable to look at me. He urinated with fear while I was there. Others attempted to bark, but were unable to do so, as they had been de-vocalised. Inside we found pigs in a similar condition. These must have been recently fitted as the wounds were still fresh - they were red, sore and weeping. The animals were in a great deal of pain.

Some of the beagles had large areas shaved on their backs. In the centre of their backs was a large bloody scar. These beagles were so young but their entire bodies were hunched up, their back legs were unable to take their weight properly. They looked as if they were being slowly crippled. They found it difficult to stand up on the uncomfortable floors. They were slipping and looked rather dazed and clumsy. I realized that these dogs were still puppies and remarkably some of them still had a playfulness in them. I knew that they had probably never played and certainly never would. Their short lives would probably soon be over and they would have known nothing but the life in these cages. On the opposite side to these beagles were mostly cross-bred dogs. At the end of the top row was what can only be described as a scrap of life. This small brown dog was shaking uncontrollably from head to toe. He was petrified by humans. He was so thin that every rib showed through his patchy rough skin. He was frozen still in a hunched position, staring at us with the most terrified eyes I have ever seen in my life. Due to his fear he was unable to control his bowels and sat in his own fresh faeces. I could see that under his chin was a wire protruding out. This was similar to the beagles opposite but maybe smaller.

The psychological damage to all those animals was obvious. They underwent hours of repeated experiments and were treated with no respect at all. We can see by the dates on the tapes that these experiments have been continuing for years. The animals at this university are bred in one building then taken to the next building to undergo possibly years of experiments and then they are killed.

NAVS undercover investigation from St Mary's Hospital Medical School in London

"Rats had tubes and screws fixed directly into the brain; tetanus toxin was injected into their brains to induce seizures in an attempt to mimic epilepsy. The animal's torment can barely be imagined; we filmed one of them constantly clutching at the electrode in his head, closing his eyes, clearly in distress

For rodents, life was like a factory farm. A breeding mouse would give birth to six litters in six months, and then killed. In just 34 weeks, our investigator estimates that he saw almost 2,500 animals being killed, or taken away to be killed, just because they were surplus to requirements. Most were suffocated to death with CO2, others had their necks broken. Babies had their heads cut off with scissors; their little heads and bodies simply dropped into a plastic bag, twitching and their mouths gasping".

Artificial strokes

Cambridge University

Nine marmosets were subjected to open-skull surgery to induce artificial 'strokes'. This was achieved by blocking and cutting the middle cerebral artery; hardly an accurate replication of the disease process in stroke patients, which takes many years to develop. Twenty-four hours later, four of them were operated on again to insert a mini-pump between their shoulder-blades for the delivery of an anti-stroke drug. This mini-pump device soon needed replacing, which meant a repeat operation for the animals and the introduction of another pump. In the first weeks after surgery, the monkeys often held the arm affected by the brain-damage close to their chest or left it to dangle.

Three weeks and ten weeks post-surgery the monkeys were put into small plexiglass enclosures and set various behavioral tasks, which included searching and reaching for marshmallow pieces hidden in plastic tubes. Twenty weeks after surgery all animals were killed and their brains extracted for analysis.

'Clomethiazole protects against hemineglect in a primate model of stroke'; JWB Marshall et al; Brain Research Bulletin, 2000 Vol 52, Issue 1, p21-29

Cats in vision experiments

Peripheral shift reduces visual sensitivity in cat geniculate neurones
Nottingham University

At Nottingham University, five cats were used in research on changes in vision sensitivity when the eye moves. They were anaesthetised and a hole cut through their skull to allow an electrode to be inserted into their brain, while a tube was inserted into their neck to allow artificial respiration. The cats were kept paralysed and 'lightly anaesthetised' during the experiment. Drugs were used to dilate their pupils (opening in the center of the iris of the eye) and to hold their eye-membranes open, and the response of a part of their brains to moving patterns recorded. Caution is expressed over comparing results from cats and primates. The work was supported financially by the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Vomiting ferrets

St George's Hospital Medical School, London

In an experiment funded by the Pfizer drug company, 18 ferrets were injected with loperamide, an opiate that induces vomiting. Some of them were pre-treated with an anti-emetic. Retching (up to 85 times), vomiting (up to 10 times), gagging, mouth scratching, intense licking and 'wet-dog shaking' episodes were counted for the following two hours.

The effect of the NK1 receptor antagonist CP-99,994 on emesis and c-fos protein induction by loperamide in the ferret. Zaman S, Woods AJ, Watson JW, Reynolds DJ, Andrews PL. (St. George's Hospital Medical School, London) Neuropharmacology 2000, 39(2): 316-23

Postnatal cardiovascular function

University of Cambridge, Departments of Physiology and Clinical Veterinary Medicine

Eight thoroughbred and seven pony mares were artificially inseminated, following ovulation-inducing hormone injections, to produce 'normal' pregnancies. Twenty six further mares (13 donors and 13 recipients) were used to establish 'between-breed' pregnancies; eight 'thoroughbred-in-pony' and five 'pony-in-thoroughbred'. On the day the foals were born, they all had a jugular vein catheter inserted under local anesthesia. At six days of age, a drug was infused via the catheter to induce a sharp drop in blood pressure. The foals' heart rate and stress hormone (adrenaline) levels were measured over the 40-50 minute duration of the experiment.

Postnatal cardiovascular function after manipulation of fetal growth by embryo transfer in the horse. Giussani DA, Forhead AJ, Gardner DS, Fletcher AJ, Allen, WR, Fowden AL Journal of Physiology 2003 547.1, 67-76

Food tests for brain-damaged marmosets

The Welcome Trust and the Royal Society funded experiments at Cambridge University that involved damaging the brains of at least 15 marmoset monkeys (the total used isn't made absolutely clear) and then putting them through a series of executed torments. The stated purpose was to establish which parts of the brain control functions such as choice, emotion and behavior. Four of the monkeys were 'sham-operated controls' - meaning that they were injected in their skulls with an inert chemical. This is despite the fact that the Home Office discourages unnecessary surgical 'control' procedures.

Having inflicted 'selective lesions' to various parts of the brain, the monkeys were set three kinds of tests. In one, they were trained to reach into a transparent box and retrieve a food reward. Another called for them to make food choices. The third test involved them being trained to press a computer screen to get a food reward. But having been conditioned to expect a reward for each screen touch, the researchers, without warning, withheld the rewards and counted how many times the brain-damaged monkeys would carry on vainly pressing the screen - some of them pushed more than 50 times.

'Inhibitory control and affective processing in the prefrontal cortex: neuropsychological studies in the common marmoset'; AC Roberts and JD Wallis; Cerebral Cortex 2000 Vol 10, Number 3, p252-62

Arthritis in mice

Arthritis the effects of hormones on inflammatory diseases like arthritis

Mice, male and female, usually supplied by Tuck or Harlan Olac, some batches of male mice are castrated, and some females given a hysterectomy, have pieces of cartilage implanted into their body which is supposed to imitate the inflammation caused by arthritis. This research was also practicing different castration techniques, such as castrating some mice by making an incision in the back, as mortality rates during the initial operation were high.
Female rats are supplied by the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, some 'virgins' and some who have previously had litters. They are injected in base of spine with a substance which, after a week or so, causes great inflammation of their leg (ankle) joints, especially the hind legs. The animals become crippled and painfully drag themselves around the floor; their normally pink feet turn an angry purple color. The injection site itself develops into a large scab and becomes very sore. Housed in tiny plastic boxes in groups of 4, they can't help treading on each other's inflamed joints, which results in continual fighting. When the inflammation eventually subsides the animals are killed (the experiment lasts approximately three weeks).

Funded by the Arthritis & Rheumatism Council, at St Bartholomew’s medical school

Decerebrated cats

Adaptive fusimotor reflex control in decerebrated cats - Brain Research at Newcastle University

Eight cats were used to investigate how nerve messages from the skin of their feet might affect control of their leg muscles. The cats were anaesthetised and arteries in their necks were tied. Most nerves to their left back legs were cut below their hip, and two recording wires were pushed into one of their leg muscles. The cats were placed with their heads held in a frame over a treadmill (machine which utilizes walking or running motion to produce rotational motion) held by pins in their hips and clamps on their left back leg. Part of their brain was then removed, and the anaesthetic was discontinued. Some local anaesthetic was applied near the pins in their hips and to the cut skin of their legs. With the treadmill running to make the cat's legs 'walk', the reaction to electrical impulses applied to a nerve from their foot was measured.

Parkinson - daily injections cause nerve damage

Guy's, King's and St.Thomas' School of Biomedical Sciences in London

In an attempt to mimic certain Parkinson's symptoms, 18 marmoset monkeys were nerve and brain-damaged through daily injections - over five days - of a toxic chemical. The animals suffered a range of motor dysfunctions, including freezing of movements, tremor, loss of control and unstable posture. They were also unable to vocalize.

The marmosets were then subjected to further nerve and brain damage through injections of another toxic chemical that is assumed to disrupt production of a hormone believed to work beneficially with Parkinson's drugs.

The injection of this second toxic chemical - known as NSD-1015 - caused several hours of vomiting in all the animals. Various drug treatments were then tried on the doubly-damaged monkeys to see which ones improved motor function.

The two categories of drugs being tried were L-DOPA and what are known as dopamine agonists. The monkeys' movements were monitored for up to 12 hours in tiny observation cages, to see which drugs were best at restoring some of the impaired movement.

Funded by the Parkinson's Disease Society.
'The effects of central aromatic amino acid DOPA decarboxylase inhibition on the motor actions of L-DOPA and dopamine agonists in MPTP-treated primates'; SA Treseder et al; British Journal of Pharmacology 2000 Vol 129, Issue 7, p1355-64.

"Fragment-simulating projectile" - Pigs subjected to blast injuries

36 large white pigs were subjected to blast injuries to investigate protection measures.
The blast was produced by plastic explosives cited less than one meter from the animal's chest.
The pigs were split into four groups to test different forms of protection. "After exposure to the blast-wave, animals were restored to consciousness and returned to the laboratory, wherein anesthesia was maintained for 1 hour. The animals were killed by lethal injection of barbiturates and submitted to post-mortem examination". Some suffered "severe or very severe blast lung damage", and intestinal injuries.
28 pigs were shot with a "fragment-simulating projectile" made of stainless steel and fired from a smooth-bore barrel. The wounds were inflicted to the right back leg, the shot being fired through several layers of "clothing". Although anaesthetized whilst being shot, the animals were then allowed to recover consciousness. They were monitored for up to 7 days for investigation of the injuries.

Radiation

The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Maryland, tested nine rhesus monkeys for irradiation. The monkeys were strapped in chairs and exposed to total-body irradiation. Within two hours, six of the nine were vomiting, hypersalivating, and chewing (opening and closing of the jaws). In another experiment, 17 beagles were exposed to total-body irradiation, studied for one to seven days, and then killed. The experimenter concluded that radiation affects the gall bladder.

'Gulf War Syndrome’ - experiments on guinea pigs by the Ministry of Defense, Porton Down

Researchers at Porton Down injected guinea pigs with ten different vaccines over a short period, in an attempt to simulate the 'worst-case' scenario potentially responsible for the mysterious illnesses in many Gulf War veterans. Before their medley of injections - which included yellow fever, plague, polio, typhoid, anthrax and cholera - the guinea pigs were administered a nerve-agent pre-treatment by means of mini-pumps. These were surgically implanted for 28 days and then surgically removed before the main experiment started. Most of the vaccines were injected, at various sites all over the body, but the polio vaccine was given by gavage (force-fed by stomach tube).

Over the next ten weeks, blood samples were taken from the guinea pigs' ears a total of eleven times, before they were killed. The study concluded that the combination of vaccines did not produce any 'significant effects'. Even though they did cause raised temperatures and swollen limbs, these effects were dismissed as 'local discomfort'.

Biological consequences of multiple vaccine and pyridostigmine pretreatment in the guinea pig. Griffiths GD, Hornby RJ, Stevens DJ, Scott LA, Upshall DG (Porton Down, Wiltshire) Journal of Applied Toxicology, 2001, 21(1):59-68

PFIB (perfluorisobutene) - Poison gas for military use

The poison gas PFIB (perfluorisobutene) which produces lung damage similar to that caused by the well known chemical warfare agent phosgene poisonous and colorless gas and is also known as a mask-breaker, in that it allows other chemicals to pass through gas masks, was tested on rats who were placed in an exposure chamber and made to breath the toxic gas.
Some of the animals had earlier been dosed with a chemical called N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as part of ongoing research into antidotes. (Other scientists report that NAC protects rabbits against phosgene). Rats receiving no antidote showed "signs of toxicity" (difficulty breathing - respiratory distress - according to earlier experiments) between 4-9 hours after exposure and 14 out of 22 animals died.

Airborne pathogens

Scientists at DERA "(Defence Evaluation & Research Agency) describe how they designed and built a device for exposing laboratory animals to airborne pathogens. Animals are put into a box made from aluminum which has an observation window at the top and airtight door at the front. Animals are exposed to an aerosol spray of the disease. To illustrate the method, DERA forced mice to breathe the St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus which is mosquito-born. The highest concentration of virus killed all the animals and of 60 mice infected with varying amounts of pathogen, 43 died. The scientists describe how "severely ill mice with signs of severe infection (low mobility, hunched posture and paralysis) were culled before death to minimize suffering". This is claimed to be a "humane end point".

In another part of the experiment, designed to obtain infected brain tissue, baby mice were inoculated with SLE virus directly into the brain. Again, the scientists describe how "Brains were harvested when the animals developed signs of paralysis (3-4 days)."

The Primate Equilibrium Platform

At Brooks Air Force Base in Texas, rhesus monkeys were strapped to a B-52 flight simulator (the “Primate Equilibrium Platform”). After being prodded with painful electric shocks to learn to “fly” the device, the monkeys were irradiated with gamma rays to see if they could hold out “for the 10 hours it would take to bomb an imaginary Moscow.” Those hit with the heaviest doses vomited violently and became extremely lethargic before being killed.

Maternal separation in rats

Experiments were carried out to see how repeated separation of mother and infant affected the behavior of rats when they became adult. The scientists wanted to investigate the long term effects because "The chronic sequelae of repeated separations have not been studied as extensively as the acute responses". The experiments began 5 days after the rats were born. Then, during the next 15 days they were subjected to ten 6 hour periods of separation from their mothers. The animals' behavior was then recorded in a variety of tests, leading the researchers to suggest "the potential utility of early maternal separation as an animal model of [human] depression".

The John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Psychopathology and Development. K Mathews was supported by a Welcome Trust Clinical Training Fellowship

Effects of nicotinic and muscarinic compounds on biting attack in cats

Predatory-like biting attack on a rat, as well as hissing, growling, and other threat behaviors, could be induced in normally non-aggressive cats by systemic administration of the muscarinic agonist, arecoline (7-12 mg/kg). In contrast to arecoline, nicotine was found to suppress aggressive behaviors. Systemic administration of nicotine (0.5 mg/kg) prior to arecoline injection resulted in a significant reduction in elicited attack and threat behaviors. Furthermore, nicotine (0.075-0.500 mg/kg) was found to produce a dose-dependent suppression of natural predatory behavior as well. This nicotine-produced suppression of attack did not appear to be due to the induction of general malaise, since attack suppression could be seen in the absence of general behavioral inhibition, and doses of nicotine resulting in complete suppression of attack had little effect on food intake.
The results indicate that muscarinic and nicotinic compounds can exert antagonistic control over some types of aggressive behaviors.

Berntson GG, Beattie MS, Walker JM.
Research Support, U.S. Government, Non-P.H.S (public health service)

Responses of guinea pig pups during isolation in a new environment

When guinea pig pups are isolated in a new environment, they show an initial active phase of behavioral responsiveness characterized by vocalizations and locomotor activity. One earlier study found that after about an hour, pups began to exhibit a second, passive stage of responsiveness marked by a crouched stance, eye-closing, and extensive piloerection. The present experiments tested the hypothesis that the responses during the second, passive stage result from the isolation experience activating pathways underlying the acute phase response, i.e., that behaviors of the second stage represent "stress-induced sickness behaviors".

The following was found: (1) the passive stage did not emerge if pups remained with the mother during exposure to a new cage.
(2) injection of lipopolysaccharide, which induces an acute phase response, also led pups to exhibit crouching, eye-closing, and piloerection; and, (3) isolation in the new cage produced a rise in rectal temperature, but did not affect peripheral or central levels of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-immunoreactivity.

Hennessy MB, Deak T, Schiml-Webb PA, Wilson SE, Greenlee M, McCall E.
Department of Psychology, 335 Fawcett Hall, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435, USA.

Behavioral, endocrine, immune, and performance measures for pigs exposed to acute stress

Weanling pigs were used to investigate the effects of three common stressors (and a control group) and differing social status on behavior, immunity, plasma cortisol, blood chemical, and performance measures. Eleven groups of pigs were tested. Each pen contained three pigs of dominant (DOM), intermediate (INT), or submissive (SUB) social status. Two weeks later, random pens of pigs experienced either a control treatment (CON) or they were stressed for 4 hours by shipping (SHIP), heat-stressed (HEAT) with overhead heat lamps in their home pens, or cold-stressed (COLD) by direct application of water and an air current. Treatments did not influence body weights; however, percentage weight loss during shipping was greater than for other treatments. Body weights were heavier for dominant pigs than for intermediate and submissive pigs. Social status had large effects on plasma cortisol, globulin, acute-phase proteins, body weight, and weight changes. Only acute shipping stress resulted in weight loss. Many immune and blood measures were not changed among acutely stressed pigs; however, the relationship between social status and mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation and natural killer cell cytotoxicity was disrupted during acute stress. The Pigs behavior was significantly changed by each stress treatment in a unique manner. During acute stress, behavioral changes seem to be the most consistent and reliable indicators.

T. A. Hicks, J. J. McGlone, C. S. Whisnant, H. G. Kattesh and R. L. Norman
Department of Animal Science and Food Technology, Texas Tech University, USA.

Monkeys brain-damaged to make them indecisive

A team of scientists at Oxford University investigated decision-making behaviour in a group of nine adult macaque monkeys. Three of the monkeys underwent surgery during which deliberate damage was inflicted on an area in the brain thought to be important in decision-making.

All nine macaques were coerced into undertaking various reward-guided tasks. They were trained to manipulate a joystick for 150 trials per day, repeated for five consecutive days. The monkeys were required to get a correct result 25 times in succession, after which the frustration level was increased, as the experimenters demanded a different 'correct' answer.

Based on a comparison between normal, and brain-damaged monkeys, the research team concluded that the damaged brain area is 'essential for learning the value of actions'.

Kennerley SW, Walton ME, Behrens TEJ, Buckley MJ, Rushworth MFS. Nature Neuroscience 2006; 9:940-947. 'Optimal decision making and the anterior cingulate cortex.' Funded by the Medical Research Council, the Clarendon Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society.

The role of the protein “p11” in depression – tested on “helpless” mice

Transgenic mice lacking the protein “p11” were forced to go through invasive and violent methods such as daily injections, electroconvulsive treatment delivered by ear clip electrodes, focused microwave irradiation, in which a powerful microwave beam is aimed at the head of the restrained animal, and etc. These methods are all depression tests, checking whether those mice are depressed and if so, what is their level of depression.

The existence of “spontaneous helplessness” was tested using what is called the “tail suspension test” – where the mice are dangled by the tail for six minutes using adhesive tape. They show spontaneous helplessness, meaning they don’t try to fight as much as mice that have the p11 protein or how science calls them – “helpless” mice.

Paul Greengard who led this test was the Nobel laureate in the year 2000.
Rockefeller University New York and Sweden’s’ Karolinska Institute

Gerbils Psychology tests in the University of Leeds

Gerbils were separated from their mates in an attempt to mimic human depression. According to a report in the scientific press, the gerbils became socially withdrawn and had "quite severe" altered sleep patterns when their life-long partners were taken away. The scientists wanted to find out what happened to the animal's brain chemistry when they became "depressed".

New Scientist, 1997, January 25, 18