After PETA approached the University of Kent detailing how animals suffer in cruel and ineffective sepsis experiments, the university has confirmed that it will not use animals in any future sepsis research. The decision marks it as the first UK institution to make this commitment to PETA.
Sepsis experiments: cruel and scientifically invalid
Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to infection that progresses rapidly and kills more people in the UK each year than breast, bowel, and prostate cancer combined. Despite many leading scientists agreeing that using animals in sepsis experiments is ineffective and hinders the development of human-relevant treatments for the condition, some experimenters in the UK continue to use these cruel, scientifically invalid tests on animals.
Researchers typically cut the animals open, and puncture their intestines so faecal matter leaks into their abdomen. They will then stitch them up and leave them to suffer as sepsis destroys their organs.
Mice and rats are intelligent, highly social animals who live in tight-knit groups and have complex social hierarchies. Animals used in sepsis experiments may endure fever, chills, diarrhoea, difficulty breathing, lethargy, disorientation, shock, and multiple organ failure before they are killed. PETA notes that sepsis in humans is distinct from sepsis in other animals, making the results of such experiments misleading and irrelevant to sepsis patients who desperately need effective treatments.
PETA persuades the University of Kent to end ‘gruesome’ sepsis testing on animals
PETA’s head of science policy Dr. Julia Baines said:
Slicing open tiny, terrified animals and forcing faeces to leak into their bellies is a gruesome and wholly unnecessary experiment that no institution should want to be associated with.
PETA applauds the University of Kent for protecting mice, rats, and other animals and urges other universities to follow in its compassionate and evidence-driven footsteps by banning cruel sepsis experiments.
PETA is calling on the government to end cruel sepsis experiments on animals.
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