Open Days

27 & 28 June 2012

Over 14,000 perspective Oxford students came to visit the University over its two open days. SPEAK supporters were there on both days, with a number of  different demos taking place at some points, in order to inform the six form students about the animal suffering which occurs . Though strangely, the university’s maps that were given to the visitors were missing details of the laboratory...

All the other buildings in the science area were named and numbered so it could be clearly seen what they were, all that is, except Oxford University’s newly built laboratory that holds up to 16,000 animals at any one time and is responsible for killing over 400 animals every day. It’s almost as if the University is trying to hide its shameful secrets from the perspective students... So it was a good thing that SPEAK were there to inform and educate about the animal experiments that take place at Oxford and to answer any questions.

Inside the open day science lectures it was a different matter, however. Activists were informed that one lecturer was only too happy to talk about the glow in the dark mice and worms she helped to genetically modify. She even produced some to be looked at down a microscope. When one person asked why the worms weren’t moving they were told it was because the worms had been given a paralysing chemical. She went on to say that the worms didn’t like it, but as they were going to be killed anyway it didn’t really matter - such is the attitude of those who have the life and death decisions of sentient creatures inside this institution.

Many of those passing the different demos taking place throughout the open days, were visibly shocked to learn about the animal experiments carried out at Oxford University, and rightly so – they are cruel, they are unnecessary and they have no place in a modern, civilised world.