Porton Down: Secret UK military lab killed 48,400 animals in 7 years

Sean Rayment
Mirror
Sat, 27 Apr 2019 18:56 UTC

© AFP 2019 / Niklas Halle'n

Scientists have blown up pigs, infected monkeys with biological weapons and poisoned guinea pigs with nerve gas

Almost 50,000 animals have been killed in military testing at a top-secret government research base, the Sunday Mirror can reveal.

During a series of experiments, scientists blew up pigs, infected monkeys with biological weapons and poisoned guinea pigs with nerve gas.

Figures seen by this newspaper show 48,400 animals were killed at the Defence Science and Technology ­Laboratory at Porton Down, Wiltshire, between 2010 and 2017.

Animal rights activists claim the tests are unnecessary and the numbers being killed are "alarming".

© AFP/Getty Images

The Porton Down research centre near Salisbury

Jessamy Korotoga, of Animal Aid, said: "Animals suffer and die in so many different types of ­experiments, but there is something especially dark and ­troubling about warfare experiments.

"To deliberately expose live animals to compounds, simulated blasts and biological pathogens which are known, and indeed developed, to cause extreme suffering and death is morally unconscionable.

"A civilised society, in the 21st century, should not be involved in such macabre and terrible practices."

Our investigation found scientists shot, blew up, gassed and poisoned animals as part of the Ministry of Defence's weapons research programme.

In one experiment, guinea pigs had a nerve agent called VX applied to their backs to see how another chemical, known as bioscavenger, would alter the effects.

The rodents were observed after being poisoned and given a score for their symptoms, which included "gasping" and "writhing".

Animals not already dead at the end of the test were killed and dissected.

The Army has also taken part in "live tissue" experiments in Denmark involving pigs.

The beasts were shot in different parts of the body with rifles.

Army medics then fought to keep them alive.

The MoD defends the practice, claiming it provides doctors with vital training which has helped save the lives of British troops injured in battle.

Pigs were also killed in explosive tests at Porton Down as part of a research programme to develop more effective body armour for troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The animals were wrapped in body armour material before being seriously injured or killed by explosives. Scientists then studied the animals to assess which parts had been damaged or protected.

In further tests monkeys were injected with "biological weapons" like anthrax, while researchers recorded their pain levels and how long they took to die.

Others were forced to breathe mustard gas, which burns the lungs and causes severe blistering.

Porton Down is the same base where scientists confirmed novichok was used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March 2018.

Comment: As you'll see below, novichok likely originated in Porton Down, which just so happens to be near Salisbury.

The same nerve agent went on to kill Dawn Sturgess and poison her partner Charlie Rowley after he picked up a bottle discarded by two suspected Russian intelligence agents.

An MoD spokesman said of our findings: "DSTL is responsible for developing and creating indispensable technology to protect the UK and its armed forces.

"This could not, currently, be achieved without the use of animals in research. DSTL is committed to reducing the number of animal experiments."

Comment: Sputnik provides further details on story and the relevance of the site relating to the Skripal saga:

[...]

Porton Down laboratory entered the limelight in connection with the poisoning of former Russian GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in 2018. The laboratory ran tests to determine which agent was used on them, but Russia suspects that the nerve agent could have originated from Porton Down's own experiments, as it has historically dealt with such substances. Moscow demanded that London explain the nature of Porton Down's latest experiments, as the laboratory is located so close to Salisbury, where the Skripals lived.

The UK, in turn, has pushed a narrative of blaming Moscow for the attack without presenting any credible evidence supporting the accusations.

The laboratory is also known for past questionable experiments. Namely, it contaminated an entire island in order to turn anthrax bacteria into a weapon that could be used against German cities during the Second World War. Porton Down also conducted dubious experiments on British servicemen in a bid to develop protection from certain nerve agents. One such experiment led to the death of Ronald Maddison, aged 20, in 1953.

And for more insight into the nefarious activities Porton Down fosters, see:

• Footage of LSD trialled on UK marines, and other human experiments courtesy of Porton Down
• Inside Porton Down, the shady UK chemical weapons lab that developed VX, used innocent civilians as guinea pigs
• Porton Down: Lab behind Skripal poison probe has dark history of secret government-run human testing
• Porton Down, Base AL/499 and bizarre accounts of other mysterious phantom bases