Ricky Gervais is a notoriously outspoken dude. All cards are on the table when he’s doing stand-up or investigating Karl Pilkington but recent news of experiments performed on kittens has the star outraged.
So what kind of work in the name of science would have such an open-minded guy so upset?
News came out this week that researchers at Cardiff University had sewed the eyelids of kittens together to study how the brain responds to sensory deprivation. The motive was an attempt to help find a cure for amblyopia (lazy eye) in children, which can lead to blindness. More than 30 kittens were used for the research and after the testing they were put down. When the information about this came out many expressed outrage including Gervais.
“I am appalled that kittens are being deprived of sight by having their eyelids sewn shut. I thought sickening experiments like these were a thing of the past.”
Representatives from Cardiff stood by their work which ended in 2010. Their official statement reads:
“Cardiff University rejects the accusation this experiment is cruel or unnecessary. It is impossible to use any other kind of technique for this study. The work was approved by both the University’s ethical review process and the Home Office Animals in Science Regulation Unit as part of the licensing process.”
Veterinary expert Dr. Ned Buyukmihci told The Mirror, “The eyelid procedures would have been painful for the kittens. There are substantial differences in cats versus humans. There are established methods of obtaining information humanely.”
Top Photo: WENN
