A state agency involved in the EU’s largest research funding programme has received a complaint regarding the use of animals in experiments commissioned by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).

Enterprise Ireland acts in an advisory capacity to Irish applicants under the €95.5 billion Horizon Europe research and innovation fund.

The agency has confirmed that it has received a complaint from an animal welfare organisation regarding experiments performed on chinchillas at the direction of the RCSI in 2021.

READ MORE:Royal College of Surgeons Ireland criticised for commissioning 'cruel' animal experiments in US

The experiments were carried out at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in the US, meaning they were not subject to EU regulations aimed at reducing the suffering of animals in such research.

The Irish Anti-Vivisection Society (IAVS) accused the RCSI of "offshoring animal cruelty" after records released under freedom of information laws revealed that as many as 23 of the exotic rodents were subjected to significant suffering before dying or being euthanised.

The chinchillas had electrodes inserted into their heads and had their eardrums deliberately perforated in the course of the experiments. Several suffered eye and ear infections, while one was observed with discharge coming from its right ear and "whitish fluid" coming from its left.

The IAVS claims that eight out of 15 experiments conducted by the MCW continued beyond the "humane endpoint" at which researchers would be required to euthanise the animals under EU regulations due to excessive suffering.

EU rules require an animal to be put to sleep if they lose more than 20 per cent of their original body weight during an experiment. However, records show that this guidance was not followed in Wisconsin.

The IAVS has also accused the RCSI of breaching its own guidelines, which require experiments carried out abroad to be aligned with Irish regulatory and ethical requirements.

The research also appears to have been in breach of the EU’s Global Code of Conduct, which provides that research carried out in a country with inferior animal welfare regulations should be undertaken in line with the higher standards of the country of origin.

Enterprise Ireland confirmed that it was in receipt of a complaint from the IAVS but said it would respond to the complainant directly before making any public comment.

A spokeswoman for the RCSI said animal studies are only carried out when they are likely to lead to the improvement of the health and welfare of animals and human beings.

She said the research involving the chinchillas had been carried out at a recognised international facility that specialises in this type of research.

"Any RCSI-led animal research carried out in a third country is conducted in accordance with international research best practice and local regulatory requirements," the spokeswoman added.

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