It would be nice to think that experimenters are providing analgesics anyway. But a 2009 survey by researchers at Newcastle University found that mice and rats who underwent painful, invasive procedures such as skull surgeries, burn experiments and spinal surgeries were provided with post-procedural pain relief only about 20 percent of the time.
Why is it that the majority of experimenters conducting such cruel procedures on mice and rats fail to provide pain relief? Given our extensive scientific knowledge--and common-sense understanding--about mice's and rats' ability to feel pain, it is clear that the problem in laboratories is not a failure to anticipate or detect pain. It's simply a failure to care.
Alka Chandna, Ph.D, is a laboratory oversight specialist for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; http://www.StopAnimalTests.com.
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