Last month an experiment conducted five years ago at Otago University which involved strapping live pigs to a surgical table and shooting them in the head to study so-called back spatter made international headlines.

Photo: 123rf

So how common are animal experiments in New Zealand; is it really necessary for tens of thousands of animals to die each year at our universities in the name of science; and, how do you weigh up the benefits of the experiments against the rights of the animals?

Joining Noelle McCarthy to discuss these and other questions are: Dr Virginia Williams, chair of the National Animals Ethics Committee; Hans Kriek, the executive director of animal rights group SAFE, and Dr Mike King, a lecturer in animal and environmental ethics at Otago University.