Sydney hospitals and universities are conducting secret medical experiments on hundreds of primates, according to media reports.
Fairfax Media reported on Sunday that taxpayer funds had been used to complete surgical experiments, including the insertion of a pig’s kidney into a baboon.
NSW Health is reported to have denied the performing of whole organ transplants, despite the acknowledgement of the National Health and Medical Research Council that it has funded research for “whole organ animal-to-animal xenotransplantation”.
Fairfax reported that Sydney Local Health District said a baboon colony overseen by Royal Prince Alfred hospital “has helped medical researchers conduct important research which has contributed significantly to paving the way for new treatments of disorders such as pre-eclampsia, complicated diabetes, kidney disorders and vascular diseases”.
The University of Sydney told Fairfax that it aimed to reduce and replace the use of all animals in research.
A spokeswoman said they used about eight marmosets per year and “all procedures were performed on fully anaesthetised animals that were then euthanased – the animals were never aware of these procedures and did not feel any pain”.
“All researchers would prefer not to use animals in their research. However, in their quest to cure blindness, diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and many other illnesses, animal research is currently the best hope for finding a cure,” the spokeswoman said.
A Senate inquiry into the import of primates into Australia for medical research is set to report on its findings in early March.
The Greens senator Lee Rhiannon has proposed banning the importation of primates for research purposes and says research should not be secretive.
“Full details on the treatment of the animals used in research and the purpose of the experiments should be disclosed,” Rhiannon said.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
