Home » Bulletin 2003
Report exonerates Cambridge University
The UK government has reported on allegations of malpractice in primate research at Cambridge University and stated that "No evidence has been found to support any of the BUAV's main contentions." In May 2002, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection produced a campaign report and video making a number of detailed allegations about research on marmosets at the University. The allegations called into question the severity limits and bands assigned to the projects, questioned whether the work should have been licensed and made claims about poor standards of care.
The Chief Inspector at the Home Office conducted an inquiry into these matters and his report on them was released in early February. He concluded that the severity limits and bands for these projects were correctly assigned. He also concluded that the assessment of the applications for the licences, and the decision to grant them, were correct and properly taken.
BUAV also claimed that there was widespread misallocation of severity bands in non-human primate research, so that the true amount of suffering was concealed. In view of this, the Chief Inspector also examined 37 other licensed academic projects where primates are used. He found the severity bands had been correctly assigned in all cases.
The Chief Inspector stated that the marmoset facility at Cambridge University met, and in some respects exceeded, the standards of housing and care set out in the relevant Codes of Practice. He concluded that there was a good culture of care within the establishment, with several examples of best practice in the housing and husbandry of the animals. The University of Cambridge has welcomed the report as confirmation that there was no evidence to support the allegations made by BUAV.