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Animal lovers across Britain were outraged today after it emerged scientists were sewing up kittens’ eyes for a shocking experiment.

More than 30 kittens were used in tests funded by taxpayers to find out how the brain responds to sensory deprivation.

All of them were put down after the study. Five had their eyes sewn closed for up to a week.

Twenty-six new-born kittens were raised in darkness for up to 12 weeks.

Comedian Ricky Gervais led the fury.

He said: “I am appalled that kittens are being deprived of sight by having their eyelids sewn shut.

"I thought sickening experiments like these were a thing of the past.”

The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection’s Michelle Thew added: “This is unacceptable cruel research.

"The public will be shocked to learn of publicly-funded experiments where kittens have been subjected to this.”

Researchers insist the experiments at Cardiff University are humane and took place in a bid to find a cure for lazy eye in children, which can lead to blindness.

Scientists captured optical imagery from the kittens, whose eyes do not open naturally until seven days after birth, by putting a camera in their brains.

But US ­veterinary expert Dr Ned Buyukmihci said: “The eyelid procedures would have been painful for the kittens.

"There are substantial ­differences in cats versus humans. There are ­established methods of obtaining information humanely.”

Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council Ralph Cook added: “It’s an academic producing a paper which is meaningless and can’t be transferred to humans.

"Vivisection is completely wrong.”

But the university defended the experiment, which ended in 2010.

A statement said: “Cardiff University rejects the accusation this experiment is cruel or unnecessary.

"It is impossible to use any other kind of ­technique for this study.

"The work was approved by both the University’s ethical review process and the Home Office Animals in Science Regulation Unit as part of the licensing process.”

(Image: Wales News Service)

For: Tom Holder, founder of animal research advocacy group Speaking of Research

There are some areas of science where the only way to treat human illness is to use animal models.

Childhood amblyopia is one such area. With two to four per cent of children in the UK being affected by the condition this is one such disease where we must use animals to alleviate human suffering.

In the Cardiff experiment all research on the kittens was done under anaesthetic and strictly adhered to Home Office laws on animal welfare.

The history of animal research is a catalogue of medical breakthroughs that includes vaccines for polio and meningitis and treatments for asthma, diabetes and HIV.

All these breakthroughs could not have happened without the limited use of animals for which there were no alternatives.

Methods such as computer modelling play a vital part in research but cannot replace the careful use of animals.

Against: Ingrid Newkirk of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

NOT only is sewing shut the eyes of kittens ­ethically and morally abhorrent, it is so crude and cruel that it sets science back decades.

The kittens will suffer from having their eyes sewn shut and will also experience psychological distress from being reared in the dark.

We learn far more about what happens in humans by investing in state-of-the-art research methods that provide reliable data on human experience.

Cardiff University will only draw international ridicule for this kind of cruel, archaic and failed approach.

The fact the Home Office granted a licence for the tests is a sign public opinion counts for nothing in regulating experiments.

The secrecy clause in the law that keeps the public from finding out what kind of misery their taxes are funding must be removed.

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