Rats Tortured for Flawed Science

World Rat Day (4 April) celebrates one of the world’s most misunderstood species.

Despite being empathetic, loyal, and affectionate, rats are widely used in experiments. Often kept in barren cages without enrichment and removed only to be experimented on, monitored, and, ultimately, killed, rats in research and teaching facilities suffer immensely.

From chemical tests done to approve ingredients for cosmetics to “curiosity experiments” that serve no practical purpose, rats are consistently treated like nothing more than inanimate laboratory equipment.

Here are five shocking experiments using rats – and how you can help these gentle, clever animals.

Rats Injected with Chemicals to Simulate Parkinson’s Disease

In various laboratories in the UK and Sweden, over 200 rats were injected with chemicals that caused damage to their brains to simulate the effects of Parkinson’s disease.

After damaging their brains, experimenters force-fed the rats amphetamines. They then strapped the rats into harnesses and placed them in a bowl. The rats would spin uncontrollably in circles, which experimenters took to indicate severe brain damage. Experimenters also injected human cells directly into the rats’ brains, likely causing the animals extreme stress, confusion, and pain upon awakening.

During the experiment, some rats had to be killed due to complications from the surgery, while others were excluded because the cells had been injected into the wrong part of their brains. Most of the rats lived with the brain implants for 39 weeks, but about a dozen were killed early because they became too weak and were showing signs of severe pain and suffering.

At the end of the experiment, all remaining rats were killed, and their bodies were dissected.

Rats Deliberately Given Seizures to Mimic Tetanus

In the Czech Republic, experimenters subjected 35 rats to extreme procedures to induce seizures. Some were given a chemical that triggered convulsions instantly. In contrast, others had a tetanus neurotoxin injected directly into their brains, forcing their bodies into violent muscle spasms and rigid paralysis, mimicking the effects of tetanus in humans.

Experimenters exposed the rats’ skulls and drilled holes so that electrodes and sensors could be implanted into their brains, nasal cavities, and abdomens to track their reactions.

The powerful seizures that ensued caused the rats’ bodies to jerk uncontrollably, rear up onto their hind legs, or lose their balance and collapse. Many rats also showed signs of severe distress, their breathing slowing to a near stop before gasping for air in desperate, rapid bursts.

Two rats died during the experiment, and after more than two weeks of seizures and suffering, the remaining rats were killed.

Rats Deliberately Brain Damaged

In an experiment involving an experimenter from the University of London, rats were put to sleep via injection before a thread about the size of a human hair was pushed into one of their neck arteries, blocking blood flow to the brain.

The thread cut off oxygen and nutrients to the animals’ brains, which caused them to suffer a stroke-like condition. After one hour, experimenters pulled it out, allowing the blood to flow again, causing additional damage to the brain. Afterwards, the rats were placed alone in small cages for 24 hours.

The resulting brain damage made it hard for the rats to move or even respond to their surroundings. The experimenters tested how well the rats could move by observing whether they could walk, use their limbs, or would collapse. Rats scored the lowest if they could not move at all.

The rats were then killed, and their brains were checked for damage to the brain tissue caused by swelling, indicating injury from the experiment.

Baby Rats Given Electric Shocks

A senior lecturer from the University of Central Lancashire joined other experimenters in designing a disturbing experiment that took place in India. Experimenters locked groups of three four-week-old baby rats in tiny plastic cages. Some formed the control group, but others endured repeated exposure to electromagnetic radiation from a mobile phone, placed inside their cages, and left ringing on silent mode for an hour every day for an entire month.

After the end of the month, experimenters put the rats through a fear test. During this test, they zapped the rats with an electric shock when the animals naturally retreated to the dark side of a half-lit cage.

The next day, the experimenters forced them back into the test chamber to see if they remembered the trauma, measuring how long it took before the rats dared to enter the dark side again, tracking their fear, hesitation, and panic. Many rats were frantic with fear, defecating more often – a known sign of distress.

Finally, experimenters broke the rats’ necks and dissected their brains.

Chronic Stress Experiment on Male Rats

Imagine being subjected to relentless, unpredictable stress every day. This is what 72 male rats endured in a recent experiment aimed at understanding the impact of chronic stress on behaviour and recovery in the Netherlands. Half of the rats were exposed to harsh conditions like lights being turned on at night, wet bedding, social isolation, tilted cages, deafening white noise, blinding strobe lights, and even water deprivation. These stressors were applied randomly over two weeks, leaving the rats in a constant state of anxiety and fear.

But the ordeal didn’t end there. All the rats were then put through distressing behavioural tests, including one where they had to choose between staying in a dark box or facing unpredictable electric shocks to their feet.

You can Help Rats!

The experiments described here are disgusting – but they’re not rare. All over the world, every single day, rats and other animals are being forced to ingest poisons, receive electric shocks, paddle in water-filled beakers, and more.

You can speak up for animals used in cruel experiments by only ever buying certified cruelty-free products and by supporting the actions below.