Image caption Cromwell, 73, was released from jail on Thursday afternoon

Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell has been arrested at an American university over a cat torture protest.

The Babe actor was held for disorderly behaviour after protesting at the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents meeting on Thursday.

Cromwell, 73, and an animal rights group activist held signs showing a cat with metal implanted in its head at a UW-Madison laboratory.

They were released from jail on Thursday afternoon.

The director of the university's Research Animal Resources Centre said government agriculture officials have found their claims to be false.

In a statement posted on the university's website on Thursday, Eric Sandgren said: "Today's events are just another attempt by outside activists to draw attention to a cause.

"They have attacked and distorted this research - which has very real benefits for people who are deaf - from every angle imaginable. Exhaustive independent investigation by the USDA, which regulates the use of animals in research, concluded that Peta's allegations are baseless," he said.

University police sergeant Brent Gruber said Cromwell was arrested and ticketed on a misdemeanour charge of disorderly behaviour.

Cromwell was nominated for an Oscar for his role as farmer Arthur Hoggett in the 1995 film Babe, adapted from Dick King-Smith's novel The Sheep-Pig.

Other starring roles include the 1996 drama The People vs Larry Flynt, The Green Mile alongside Tom Hanks and The Artist in 2011.