[Oh my Ms. Coffey]

Animal lovers across Britain were outraged today after it emerged scientists were sewing up kittens’ eyes for a shocking experiment.

More than 30 kittens were used in tests funded by taxpayers to find out how the brain responds to sensory deprivation.

All of them were put down after the study. Five had their eyes sewn closed for up to a week.

Twenty-six new-born kittens were raised in darkness for up to 12 weeks.

Read More

I'm surprised this has not already been posted. As a kitten owner I though this was pretty disgusting, cats have such beautiful eyes.

[Elipsis]

Surely they were cats by the time they were put down?

[Tesphena]

It is important to understand sensory deprivation tbf. I'm sure the scientists didn't chose to blind kittens for fun, although I'm not sure why they had to be put down and not rehoused.

[123maz]

Thats horrible and really cruel, even Ricky Gervais spoke out about it.

[Oh my Ms. Coffey]

(Original post by Tesphena)
It is important to understand sensory deprivation tbf. I'm sure the scientists didn't chose to blind kittens for fun, although I'm not sure why they had to be put down and not rehoused.

They should have sown the scientists eyes.

[Cake Faced Kid.]

I disagree with animals being used for testing cosmetics, but this was for scientific purposes. Suppose this study (unrelated I know but theoretically speaking) shed light on a cure for cancer? No-one would give a **** about 30 cats, because people all over the world could benefit from this research. How are scientists supposed to make progress without test subjects? It is cruel, but it has a purpose.

[Tesphena]

(Original post by Oh my Ms. Coffey)
They should have sown the scientists eyes.

What a logical reaction.

The scientists were doing their job conducting work to provide information which could someday be beneficial to us. It's not like they were doing it for kicks.

[alexmagpie]

I don't like the idea of it either, but I can't help but feel that this wouldn't make the news if it wasn't cute fluffy kittens.

[MathematicsKiller]

They should have used rats. No one likes rats except the weirdos and the hippies.

[Oh my Ms. Coffey]

(Original post by MathematicsKiller)
They should have used rats. No one likes rats except the weirdos and the hippies.

Or wasps, nobody likes wasps.

[indiemusicftw]

What I don't understand is yeah sure this might be needed research (although i'm pretty sure this sort of research has already been undertaken anyway so don't see the need of doing it again), however why use kittens?

I mean people are going to argue "Oh all animals are the same " blah blah but fact is it's probably not right but humans have more of a bond with animals typically used as pets than other animals and so of course there's going to be more uproar if an experiment is done on a type of animal which is well known to have a bond with humans.

So i don't understand...i mean there not exactly the closest related animals to humans in the family tree so it's almost like they went...."hmmm which is the most innocent looking animal in the list....i know cats" and just went from there.

But yeah as i said I agree with research if it's beneficial....however i don't think this experiment was beneficial enough to be worth it

[Oh my Ms. Coffey]

(Original post by indiemusicftw)
What I don't understand is yeah sure this might be needed research (although i'm pretty sure this sort of research has already been undertaken anyway so don't see the need of doing it again), however why use kittens?

I mean people are going to argue "Oh all animals are the same " blah blah but fact is it's probably not right but humans have more of a bond with animals typically used as pets than other animals and so of course there's going to be more uproar if an experiment is done on a type of animal which is well known to have a bond with humans.

So i don't understand...i mean there not exactly the closest related animals to humans in the family tree so it's almost like they went...."hmmm which is the most innocent looking animal in the list....i know cats" and just went from there.

But yeah as i said I agree with research if it's beneficial....however i don't think this experiment was beneficial enough to be worth it

Because they are cold hearted bastards.

[Xotol]

(Original post by indiemusicftw)
What I don't understand is yeah sure this might be needed research (although i'm pretty sure this sort of research has already been undertaken anyway so don't see the need of doing it again), however why use kittens?

I mean people are going to argue "Oh all animals are the same " blah blah but fact is it's probably not right but humans have more of a bond with animals typically used as pets than other animals and so of course there's going to be more uproar if an experiment is done on a type of animal which is well known to have a bond with humans.

So i don't understand...i mean there not exactly the closest related animals to humans in the family tree so it's almost like they went...."hmmm which is the most innocent looking animal in the list....i know cats" and just went from there.

But yeah as i said I agree with research if it's beneficial....however i don't think this experiment was beneficial enough to be worth it

I doubt the scientists picked the kittens because they're the most innocent looking animals, and they just wanted to be cruel. I assume that kittens have unique features which make them necessary for this experiment, so the 'ethical review' allowed it to go ahead.

Perhaps not all that reliable from the DM, but here goes....

Cats are used in eye research because they have forward-facing eyes like humans, and are born with poor vision and ‘learn’ to see as their brain cells develop connections with the eye.

If this process falters in early childhood it leads to amblyopia, better known as lazy eye, which can lead to loss of vision, crossed eye or blindness in one eye.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz21aPsB7EM

Reinforced by the mirror article:

Scientists captured optical imagery from the kittens, whose eyes do not open naturally until seven days after birth, by putting a camera in their brains.

[Jordan_1]

Wish the people complaining would shut up. Most of them wouldn't give two ****s if it was frogs or mice instead of kittens. You think it's only cruel because kittens are cute? Idiots.

[TheQuietOne]

We were taught about this experiment with kittens in our A2 biology course. My whole class just giggled at the idea of kittens walking into things because their eyes were sewn shut.

We were also taught about an experiment done with monkeys - delivering baby monkeys a week or so early and injecting their eyes with something, then killing them when they reached the date they would have been full term, and dissecting their brains to find out more about the visual cortex. Not sure where and when this experiment was done though.

I know this research needs to be done and may well prove extremely useful, but at the same time it's such a horrible thing. I don't understand how people can take part in it.

[littlemissmidget123]

that is so awful - why cats though?!
why not rats or mice or rabbits or whatever?!
it may need to be done (though this is probably debatable) but this to me is a step too far in scientific research.

[Shabalala]

(Original post by littlemissmidget123)
that is so awful - why cats though?!
why not rats or mice or rabbits or whatever?!
it may need to be done (though this is probably debatable) but this to me is a step too far in scientific research.

What a ridiculous comment as someone above mentioned they use cats because they have forward pointing eyes like us and are born with poor vision and ‘learn’ to see as their brain cells develop connections with the eye.

and more importantly you are judging what animals right to live/not be tested on going by it's cuteness that is pathetic what makes it alright to test on rabbits and rats but not cats just because one looks cuter that is unbelievebly shallow, superficial and even barbaric.

[Tesphena]

(Original post by TheQuietOne)
I know this research needs to be done and may well prove extremely useful, but at the same time it's such a horrible thing. I don't understand how people can take part in it.

I'd easily be able to conduct the research knowing that projected outcomes of the experiments. Knowing about sensory deprivation is becoming more and more important. We can use it to understand how solitary confinement affects prisoners and how to treat those who have been taken hostage in the Middle East and held in complete darkness with no stimulus. There was a Horizon documentary on this a few years ago and it showed the kind of mental damage that long periods spent in those sorts of conditions can have on people. They kept some people in rooms with no light and no sound for only 48 hours and in that short space of time they started hallucinating and behaving really strangely, so if people are going to be kidnapped and subjected to that I think its very important we know how to help them when we get them back.

-edit-

The documentary is here.

I'm not an evil cat murderer, I have cats of my own, but I'm more concerned about human suffering than cat suffering; cute though they are.

[ALHammond]

It's horrible whatever animal were used. It seems that most people only care because they're cats.

[Xotol]

(Original post by TheQuietOne)
I know this research needs to be done and may well prove extremely useful, but at the same time it's such a horrible thing. I don't understand how people can take part in it.

Don't you think you answered your own query? Animal testing is a crucial part in drugs development.