We successfully took Imperial College London to the Information Tribunal to force them to disclose information about the care of animals kept at its research laboratories. 

And the findings were shocking, revealing that despite the College’s claims of ‘round the clock care’, there is still nothing like  24/7 cover by care staff of even the sickest animals.

Our undercover investigation of the College in 2012 revealed that they operated only a basic 8am to 5pm care staff regime for the animals, even after painful and cruel surgery such as double kidney transplants and induced heart attacks.

Imperial College London previously claimed a commitment to providing ‘round the clock’ care for all its animals, with at least one vet and five senior animal care staff on call 24/7.  However, our Freedom of Information request shows that there is never 24 hour care, and that most days animals are left unsupervised between 5pm and 8am, and even less on weekends and bank holidays.”.

The independent review commissioned by College – the Brown Inquiry – recommended an increase in staff and greater independent review of animal welfare out-of-hours and at weekends. They claim to have implemented all the recommendations made by the Inquiry, but we have now shown this to be untrue.

Michelle Thew, Chief Executive of Cruelty Free International, said: “It’s clear that it is business as usual at Imperial College London despite the findings of our investigation sending shockwaves through the animal research industry.

“It is inconceivable that hospital patients would be left unattended overnight after operations of the severity these poor animals were subjected to, such as painful gastrointestinal surgery or kidney removal.”

Find out more about our undercover investigation at Imperial College London