Outcry as UK scientist flies to Africa for experiments on monkeys that are banned here
A British scientist has sparked anger by flying thousands of miles to Africa to do experiments on baboons that are banned in the UK.
Harrowing pictures show the intelligent and sociable creatures peering out of bare wire cages, babies clinging to each other for comfort and adults having pieces of their brain removed on the operating table.
In one distressing image, a newly-caught baby is suckling its mother as she is given an identification tattoo at the primate research centre in Kenya.
Experiments on baboons and other primates caught in the wild are banned in Britain due to concerns about the suffering involved in trapping and transporting them.
But an undercover investigation by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection has revealed that a Newcastle University scientist is flying to Nairobi to do work on baboons captured on the African plains.
The campaign group has accused neuroscientist Stuart Baker of bypassing British law and sidestepping the high welfare standards required in Britain.
Professor Baker says his work could lead to vital new treatments for stroke patients and provide insights into other brain conditions such as motor neurone disease and Alzheimer’s.
Some 150,000 Britons suffer a stroke each year and the condition is the biggest cause of severe disability, with more than half of survivors left dependent on others for help with day-to-day life.
Professor Baker freely admits the experiments wouldn’t be allowed in the UK but says that the welfare concerns behind the British ban do not apply to his work in Africa.
And he stresses that while animal welfare standards aren’t as high as they are here, they have improved greatly during his time there and that the centre is committed to making further changes.
The row surrounds the Institute of Primate Research in Nairobi, which Professor Baker has visited six times in the past two and a half years to do research on baboons caught in the wild.
He is interested in an area deep inside the brain called the reticular formation, which is critical in regaining movement after a stroke and, in particular, control of the hand and wrist, something that is needed for dressing and other everyday tasks key to independence.
Some of his experiments, filmed secretly for the BUAV and funded by the British taxpayer, involve cutting out pieces of the animal’s brain, before using thin electrodes to stimulate the reticular formation.
The experiments are done under anaesthesia. And, in line with welfare standards in the UK, the animals are put down before they wake up.
But the researcher has been accused of exploiting a cheap and plentiful source of animals.
Sarah Kite, the BUAV’s director of special projects, said: ‘If researchers respect the welfare standards of UK laboratories then they should not accept lower standards when using non-UK facilities.
‘It makes a mockery of UK law if researchers are able to just bypass policy and go overseas.
‘We are asking the Home Office to close this loophole and we are asking the Kenyan government to stop using wild-caught baboons.
The research industry talks about transparency and openness, but this is a dark secret. Most people would be appalled to know that UK researchers are going overseas to do research that wouldn’t be allowed in this country.’
Photos taken at the institute earlier this year by the BUAV show baboons being kept in bare single cages, despite the creatures being highly sociable animals that live in groups of up to 150 in the wild.
Video footage shows baboons pacing or circling in their cages. One, it is claimed, has been at the institute for 20 years.
Professor Baker told the Daily Mail that one of his reasons for going to work at the IPR, which studies conditions from malaria to infertility, was to improve animal welfare standards.
While almost all the baboons were kept in bare, single cages when he first went there, there have been big changes, including the building of large, split-level compounds with tree ‘climbing frames’.
It is hoped that the single cages will be completely phased out before long.
He admitted that doing animal research in Britain was very expensive and said that going to Kenya allows use of the large number of animals needed to advance his work.
However, he said that the reasons behind the ban on using wild-caught primates in the UK didn’t apply to his African experiments.
This is because the creatures are caught humanely and are not being transported thousands of miles. In addition, far from being endangered, baboons are a pest and those used in his experiments would otherwise have been culled.
Professor Baker said: ‘Once you go beyond the simple “you shouldn’t be using wild-caught animals”, I don’t think any of the reasons apply in this particular situation.’
He added that the part of the brain that is key to stroke recovery is so hard to reach that his experiments could not be done in any other way.
The professor said: ‘Stroke is a very important condition that affects large numbers of people in the UK.
‘We have got better and better at treating people with stroke. They don’t die from it but they are left with disability, and giving people an improved quality of life is really important.’
IPR director Tom Kariuki said it was ‘patronising’ and ‘insulting’ to suggest that the institute was not interested in animal welfare.
He added: ‘I would admit that some of our old cages may not meet current standards for space and welfare but our strategy is to throw out the old and bring in the new.’
He added that the IPR’s work is approved by the Kenyan government and said: ‘The removal of abundant animals from the wild is both a species management issue as well as a source of animals for much-needed medical research on diseases that impose a high burden on Kenyans and globally.’
A spokesman for the BUAV said: ‘Baboons are sociable, sentient and intelligent animals with strong family bonds.
‘This terrible suffering and mutilation is not necessary to improve the lives of people.’
Harrowing pictures show the intelligent and sociable creatures peering out of bare wire cages, babies clinging to each other for comfort and adults having pieces of their brain removed on the operating table.
In one distressing image, a newly-caught baby is suckling its mother as she is given an identification tattoo at the primate research centre in Kenya.
Caged: A baby baboon clings to its mother as they gaze out of their wire enclosure at the research centre in Kenya
Experiments on baboons and other primates caught in the wild are banned in Britain due to concerns about the suffering involved in trapping and transporting them.
But an undercover investigation by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection has revealed that a Newcastle University scientist is flying to Nairobi to do work on baboons captured on the African plains.
The campaign group has accused neuroscientist Stuart Baker of bypassing British law and sidestepping the high welfare standards required in Britain.
Professor Baker says his work could lead to vital new treatments for stroke patients and provide insights into other brain conditions such as motor neurone disease and Alzheimer’s.
Some 150,000 Britons suffer a stroke each year and the condition is the biggest cause of severe disability, with more than half of survivors left dependent on others for help with day-to-day life.
Professor Baker freely admits the experiments wouldn’t be allowed in the UK but says that the welfare concerns behind the British ban do not apply to his work in Africa.
Research: Neuroscientist Stuart Baker has been accused of bypassing British law
And he stresses that while animal welfare standards aren’t as high as they are here, they have improved greatly during his time there and that the centre is committed to making further changes.
The row surrounds the Institute of Primate Research in Nairobi, which Professor Baker has visited six times in the past two and a half years to do research on baboons caught in the wild.
He is interested in an area deep inside the brain called the reticular formation, which is critical in regaining movement after a stroke and, in particular, control of the hand and wrist, something that is needed for dressing and other everyday tasks key to independence.
Some of his experiments, filmed secretly for the BUAV and funded by the British taxpayer, involve cutting out pieces of the animal’s brain, before using thin electrodes to stimulate the reticular formation.
The experiments are done under anaesthesia. And, in line with welfare standards in the UK, the animals are put down before they wake up.
But the researcher has been accused of exploiting a cheap and plentiful source of animals.
Sarah Kite, the BUAV’s director of special projects, said: ‘If researchers respect the welfare standards of UK laboratories then they should not accept lower standards when using non-UK facilities.
‘We are asking the Home Office to close this loophole and we are asking the Kenyan government to stop using wild-caught baboons.
The research industry talks about transparency and openness, but this is a dark secret. Most people would be appalled to know that UK researchers are going overseas to do research that wouldn’t be allowed in this country.’
Photos taken at the institute earlier this year by the BUAV show baboons being kept in bare single cages, despite the creatures being highly sociable animals that live in groups of up to 150 in the wild.
Video footage shows baboons pacing or circling in their cages. One, it is claimed, has been at the institute for 20 years.
Professor Baker told the Daily Mail that one of his reasons for going to work at the IPR, which studies conditions from malaria to infertility, was to improve animal welfare standards.
While almost all the baboons were kept in bare, single cages when he first went there, there have been big changes, including the building of large, split-level compounds with tree ‘climbing frames’.
It is hoped that the single cages will be completely phased out before long.
Sedated: The baboons, which are caught in the wild, are put down after brain experiments
He admitted that doing animal research in Britain was very expensive and said that going to Kenya allows use of the large number of animals needed to advance his work.
However, he said that the reasons behind the ban on using wild-caught primates in the UK didn’t apply to his African experiments.
This is because the creatures are caught humanely and are not being transported thousands of miles. In addition, far from being endangered, baboons are a pest and those used in his experiments would otherwise have been culled.
Professor Baker said: ‘Once you go beyond the simple “you shouldn’t be using wild-caught animals”, I don’t think any of the reasons apply in this particular situation.’
He added that the part of the brain that is key to stroke recovery is so hard to reach that his experiments could not be done in any other way.
The professor said: ‘Stroke is a very important condition that affects large numbers of people in the UK.
‘We have got better and better at treating people with stroke. They don’t die from it but they are left with disability, and giving people an improved quality of life is really important.’
IPR director Tom Kariuki said it was ‘patronising’ and ‘insulting’ to suggest that the institute was not interested in animal welfare.
He added: ‘I would admit that some of our old cages may not meet current standards for space and welfare but our strategy is to throw out the old and bring in the new.’
He added that the IPR’s work is approved by the Kenyan government and said: ‘The removal of abundant animals from the wild is both a species management issue as well as a source of animals for much-needed medical research on diseases that impose a high burden on Kenyans and globally.’
A spokesman for the BUAV said: ‘Baboons are sociable, sentient and intelligent animals with strong family bonds.
‘This terrible suffering and mutilation is not necessary to improve the lives of people.’
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