Кембридж университетінде маймылдарға жасалған тәжірибелер және заңдық даулар

Primate experiments

Cambridge University primate experiments came to public attention in 2002 after the publication that year of material from a ten month undercover investigation in 1998 by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV). The experiments were being conducted on
marmosets, and included the removal of parts of their brains intended to simulate the symptoms of stroke or Parkinson's disease. Some of the research was theoretical, aimed at advancing knowledge of the brain, while some of it was applied. The review ruled against BUAV on three of the four grounds, but on the remaining ground it found the Home Office had underestimated the suffering of the marmosets by categorising the experiments as "moderate," rather than "substantial." The Home Office announced a review of its procedures for categorising animal suffering.

As of October 2002, Cambridge University had three project licences, issued by the Home Office under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, permitting the controlled use of one New World non human primate species, the common marmoset, Callithrix jacchus. The licence authorised the use of animals bred specifically for research use at breeding establishments in the UK in experiments to study brain function in relation to human disorders. According to the chief inspector of animals, the experimental protocols involved "the training and testing of animals using a range of behavioural and cognitive tasks; then disrupting normal brain function by chemical or physical lesions; the subsequent administration of experimental treatments intended to minimise the functional defects or repair the damage caused; and further testing to evaluate brain function." The animals were killed at the end of the experiments, most of them for tissue analysis. Scientists using marmosets at Cambridge have published their work in peer reviewed journals. This includes discoveries relating to the role of the prefrontal cortex in behaviour, understanding learning and memory, modelling Parkinson's disease, and the role of the amygdala in conditioned reinforcement.

As a result of the information obtained during their investigation and in light of the subsequent review, BUAV applied to the UK's High Court for permission to seek a judicial review of the legality of the Home Office's interpretation of the Cambridge case, and the wider implementation of vivisection legislation. The 2007 review found in favour of the Home Office on three of the grounds. On the issue of suffering, the court found that the Home Secretary had unlawfully categorised the experiments as "moderate", rather than "substantial". The Home Office, given leave to appeal the decision, which it did successfully in April 2008 with the Home Office awarded costs.