Today we are challenging Imperial College London in court for refusing to give information about the out-of-hours monitoring of animals kept at its laboratories.

In an undercover investigation at Imperial College in 2013, we revealed that the university only had staff to supervise animals between 8am and 5pm. This was even the case for animals who had just undergone surgery.

We asked for the information so we could find out if things have improved. Imperial College admits that it does not have staff working 24/7 but is refusing to give us more information.

Michelle Thew, CEO of Cruelty Free International, says: “Without appropriate out-of-hours monitoring, it is impossible for Imperial College to provide sufficient care to the animals kept at its laboratory. Our investigation at ICL in 2013 revealed that the monitoring of animals who had undergone experiments was often wholly inadequate, particularly out of hours and at weekends. Our report gives examples of animals found dead in the morning due to the failings on the part of key staff and the absence of overnight cover. We believe that the inadequate care standards must be addressed.”

In October 2014, the Home Office published a report that found a ‘generally poor culture of care’ at Imperial College. Animal research at Imperial has also been criticised by an independent review and a Government advisory body.

Read more about what we uncovered at Imperial College London.