Today is Day 4 of Our Biggest Exposé Yet!

It's the 4th day of our 12 Days of Christmas University of Otago exposé! 

After 4 days of exposing gruesome experiments at Otago Uni, we can't help but wonder if they're wishing they didn't build that $50 million animal lab now...

Our investigation into the cruel experiments they've been conducting, which started earlier this week, has now uncovered a paper where rats had their ears damaged by being exposed to a loud noise to try and cause tinnitus. The animals were then subject to electric shocks combined with sounds to see how they would respond.

The experiment:

• A 110dB noise was blasted directly into the ear of sedated rats for one whole hour to try and damage their tiny ears and cause tinnitus. The noise volume was equivalent to a working chainsaw or an air-raid siren
• Before and after this, electrodes were stuck into the rat’s head to measure the damage.
• Later they were put in a chamber where sound was played, interrupted by silence. This silence was paired with an electric shock. These terrified animals would freeze in fear of being shocked
• Next it was tested if medication would change the results.

However, how rats respond to drugs, doesn’t tell us how humans will react. We simply are not 70kg rats — animal testing is both cruel and unreliable!

Graphic footage: Watch the video below to see what sort of things the animals used in the experiment we've exposed today would have had to endure... 

This is a visual representation we've created since obtaining real footage of these experiments is near impossible!

Here are three ways you can help today:

1. So that as many people as possible can hear about what the University of Otago is up to, please share one of our latest posts on Facebook or share our #OtagoExposed webpage with your friends and whānau! 
2. Sign our petition aimed at ending animal experimentation: Help us by calling on the New Zealand Government to start prioritising non-animal-based research methods and replacing the use of animals in science!
3. Grab one of our gifts that keep giving! We have a series of special Christmas packs that you can get for your loved ones, these contain special posters or prints.

Find out more

• Learn more about our 12 Days of Christmas campaign, which is exposing more cruelty at Otago. We will be uploading a new experiment that we are exposing to this page every day until the 12^th December.
• Find out why Otago University is at the centre of this campaign.
• Read more about this story in the media. 
• Access the the full paper we have exposed above on our references page.