Animal Experiments 2020

Dear Wendy,

I acknowledge receipt of your email received by this office on 25 January 2021.

Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has been allocated reference FOI21-036 which should be quoted in all correspondence. We will respond to your request within 20 working days starting the next working day after receipt, therefore you can expect to receive a response no later than 22 February 2021.

Please note that in order to fulfil your request we need to liaise with other teams across the University. Due to the current Coronavirus pandemic most staff are now working remotely, and it is likely that there will be a delay in responding to your request. Staff may not be able to assist as they may need to prioritise other work, cover for colleagues who are ill or be away from work themselves due to illness. However, we will do our best to meet this deadline and keep you informed should we be unable to do so.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and, if that is the case, we will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

Yours sincerely

University Secretary's Office
 
Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Cardiff University
 
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Friary House
 
Friary House
Greyfriars Road
Cardiff
 
Heol y Brodyr Llwydion
Caerdydd
CF10 3AE
 
CF10 3AE
 
 
 
E-mail: [email address]
 
We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.
 
E-bost: [email address]
 
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy'r Gymraeg neu'r Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi.

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Dear Wendy,

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated 24
January 2021.

For ease of reference, I have reproduced your questions below and set out
our corresponding responses.

 1. Did your university conduct experiments on animals in the year 2020?

            Yes

 2. If yes to the above question, how many animals were held on the
premises for research purposes.

            We do not hold this information.

 3. What species of animal were used?
 4. How many of each species of animal were used in experiments?

2020 total number of procedures Mouse  Rat  Rabbit Xenopus Other Fish
2020 total 33515 2735 2 20 2083
Sub threshold 20973 192 0 0 0
Mild 8859 581 2 20 1843
Moderate 2787 1925 0 0 240
Severe 705 6 0 0 0
Non-recovery 191 31 0 0 0

 5. What was the nature and outcome of these experiments?

The information you have requested is not routinely collated centrally. To
gather this information would involve contacting the individual research
teams and licence holders involved in research using animals and recording
their responses. It would take considerably more than 18 hours to collate
the information you require.  The University is not obliged to spend more
than 18 hours (as set by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection
(Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004) collating such information
and accordingly the exemption provided by section 12(2) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 will apply.

Please note that research takes place over many years and the output from
the 2020 experiments will be realised at varying timepoints over the next
few years.

 6. What are the Home Office licence classification for these experiments
in terms of pain, lasting harm, etc. if classified?

            Please see our response to question 3.

 7. Were the animals used for medical or non-medical research?

Further details on Animal Research at the University can be found here:
[1]https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/our-r...

 8. Which departments of your university were or are engaged in such
research?

Specific information regarding the departments conducting research
involving animals and the locations of animal research facilities has been
withheld under the qualified exemption in s38 of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 entitled Health and Safety. In reaching this decision
the University has considered the duty of care owed to staff working in
the facilities. Their health and safety requires the University to protect
and maintain a safe environment which includes the security of the sites
at which they operate. In particular, consideration has been given to the
effects of disclosure concerning:

i. the welfare of employees working in those facilities (which present
particular security risks) and

ii. the University’s ability to comply with its statutory responsibilities
to staff within Health and Safety legislation and

iii. the University’s general duty of care in respect of its staff and
students.

Disclosure into the wider public domain of the information withheld under
s38(1) would be likely to prejudice both the safety of licence holders as
well as other staff and students within proximity, as it is more than a
remote possibility that the information may be used to incite and target
acts of violence and/or harassment against such staff (s38(1)(b)). Indeed
evidence of this is demonstrated by the fact that previously, when news
stories about animal experiments have appeared in the media, the
University has received letters directed against staff and the wider
University threatening physical violence and destruction of property,
which have been passed to the police. Clearly, providing further
information in relation to locations would allow direct targeting and
would substantially increase the risk of such attacks being carried out,
endangering the safety of individuals.

In the context of this existing threat, Cardiff University takes the view
(of which the Information Commissioner is mindful, see ICO Decision Notice
– No: FS50108125 para 29) that for s38 to be engaged it is sufficient to
show that the publication of information might lead to an increased threat
to the health and safety of staff, the factor being always significant no
matter how small the risk.

For the exemption to apply under Section 38 of the Act a public interest
test must be considered. In the circumstances the University considers
that the public interest in disclosing information from which specific
facilities and individuals could be located does not outweigh the factors
the University has taken into account as above concerning the health and
safety of individuals and the duty of care the University owes to both
staff and students. As such, the exemption under s38 is applicable and the
information will not be disclosed at this time.

 9. How many animals, held on the premises, were killed without being used
for experiments?

Please see our response to question 5. All our research is carefully
planned and we have many safeguards in place. The welfare of animals used
in our research is paramount

If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you
direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.

I trust this information satisfies your enquiry. The University has a
Freedom of Information Complaints Procedure should you feel dissatisfied
with this response or the way in which your request was handled.
Complaints must be made in writing and must set out why you believe the
University has not met its obligations under the Freedom of Information
Act. You may email your complaint to [2][email address] where it
will be forwarded to the Head of Compliance and Risk who will be
responsible for overseeing the review.

If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your complaint, you
have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for
consideration. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the
following address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Cardiff University. If you require further assistance please feel free to
contact me.

Kind regards

University Secretary’s Office   Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Cardiff University   Prifysgol Caerdydd
Friary House   Friary House
Greyfriars Road   Heol y Brodyr Llwydion

Cardiff Caerdydd
CF10 3AE   CF10 3AE
     
E-mail: [3][email address]   E-bost:
[4][email address]
 
 
We welcome correspondence in Welsh
or English. Corresponding in Welsh Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy’r
will not lead to any delay. Gymraeg neu’r Saesneg. Ni fydd
gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw
oedi.

References

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1. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/our-r...
2. mailto:[email address]
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