In recent years, the University of Edinburgh has been at the center of controversies regarding animal testing. It was revealed that in 2012, the university killed more animals for research than any other UK university. The descriptions of some recent experiments are gruesome, and create a worrying image.

We'd like to have an informed debate on the topic amongst the students and public. For this to happen, the university should disclose all their project licenses for animal testing (with names, addresses and genuinely confidential information removed).

Dr. Katy Taylor, Head of Science at the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), writes that "tests [at Edinburgh uni] have involved forcing rodents to inhale diesel fumes to investigate their harmful effects (already known), deliberately inflicting high levels of stress on baby animals to see if having a stressful childhood cause mental health issues in adulthood (already known) and restricting the food of rats to see if it makes them more ‘horny’ (do we need to know?).

The public will be forgiven if they thought such speculative and apparently cruel research was a thing of the past. Such experiments are not in need of urgent replacement; they don’t need to be conducted at all. Much of what animal researchers in universities wish to know is already known based on ethical research in humans. Desire to prove the principle in animals should not be a valid reason for causing harm. These experiments will not have a beneficial effect on human health and as a largely publicly-funded body people have a right to discover the extent of animal suffering behind closed doors.”