Elite uni denies claims of lab tests on stray cats

By Huang Yuli (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-11 07:55

Peking University went into damage control mode on Monday when its Health Science Center denied allegations that students had conducted experiments on stray cats in laboratory classes.

The university was responding to an undercover investigation by a Beijing News reporter who claimed 20 students in two groups under the guidance of a teacher had dissected two cats.

The reporter claimed to have witnessed experiments on the cats connected to blood pressure and the workings of the eye, and quoted the teacher in the story.

The teacher reportedly said the cats had been supplied by dealers who traded in feral and stray cats. The teacher allegedly said it was very difficult to obtain cats bred specifically for laboratory testing in Beijing.

After the class, the dead cats were put into plastic bags and burned, together with other dead laboratory animals.

An employee of the laboratory animal office at the university, who would not reveal her name, told METRO cats were not among animals bred at the university for testing.

"We provide animals to different departments for experiments and also departments at other universities, but we only provide rats, monkeys and dogs; cats are never involved," she said.

However, when asked about the photos and story in Beijing News she immediately said she was new in the office and not familiar with the case.

A staff member with the Beijing Administration Office of Laboratory Animals said using cats from unidentified sources did not meet the provisions of the regulations on laboratory testing.

The man said experimenting on strays was against regulations and, if proven, institutions can be ordered to stop such activities and, in serious cases, the animal-testing license can be revoked.

Zhao Xu, head of the Cat Aficionado Association in Beijing, was shocked by the newspaper report.

"If it's verified, then cat lovers such as me would be really shocked and angry that such a well-known university was involved in such a scandal," she said.

"Hundreds of thousands of stray cats live in the city; you can't just grasp them from the street and kill them. Using this logic, if the classes are taught in rural areas, would they stoop so low as to take protected wild animals such as the panda or Siberian tiger?"

She said there are rules in place to protect stray cats from being abused in medical experiments but stronger laws are needed.

"Bad news about abusing and killing stray cats emerge every now and then," Zhao said.

She said her organization and others were pinning their hopes on draft animal protection legislation still under discussion.

"It's nowhere near enough to depend on ethical restrictions or public opinion; it's more than necessary to bring in stronger animal protection laws."