San Diego

An animal-rights group has infiltrated a leading US research university and unearthed what it claims is a mountain of incriminating video evidence of animal mistreatment.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) hopes to use the evidence to overturn a current congressional effort to exempt rodents and birds from tighter restrictions on research.

An employee spy with a hidden camera videotaped neuroscience experiments carried out at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from last December until March. The videotape shows possible violations of accepted practices for procedures using mice and rats, together with researchers' on-camera explanations of why they were breaking the rules.

The video shows neurological procedures on rodents that may not have been properly anaesthetized, experiments on rodents with diseases and injuries, and rodents that were still alive after being discarded as waste.

Senator Jesse Helms (Republican, North Carolina) has introduced an amendment to an agricultural bill that would block the extension of the Animal Welfare Act to cover rodents and birds. The act includes stringent standards for research on higher animals such as dogs, cats and primates.

The Helms amendment has been supported by many research organizations, who fear that the extension could block scientific projects and raise costs.

Tony Waldrop, a neurophysiologist and vice chancellor for research at the University of North Carolina, says that the university is conducting an investigation into the events shown on the videotape. “How the allegations came forward is not important,” says Waldrop. “If things aren't done correctly, we will deal with it.” Research on rodents and birds follow guidelines set by the National Institutes of Health, which says that it has not yet begun its own inquiry into the video.

http://www.peta-online.org