Laboratory Rats: Part 1
Who’s the rat? I’m The Rat.
It takes a rat to elevate a puny human mind on the underexposed subject of animal experimentation. Therefore to help me convey this information, I have included the unique perspectives of my delightful does: Persephone, Ariadne, Olympia, Sweetness and Clarity. They were laboratory rats in a previous life.
Persephone’s Story
Hi! Call me Sephy. I’m 10 months old, I like chasing things and my favourite food is peanut butter. I never had a name when I was in the lab - I was just one long serial number. I was made to do endurance tests as part of a genetics study. I was repeatedly placed on a mini treadmill and if I didn’t keep running I would fall onto a grid which would give me an electric shock. I had to do this many times and the tests seemed to get harder and harder. I would get so tired that my body ached and in the end I would stay on the grid and get the shock. I was so miserable back then.
Ariadne’s Story
Hullo. Pleased to meet you. I’m Ariadne and I’m a slim white doe. I enjoy outdoor pursuits like climbing, foraging and orienteering. I like grooming my pet human and eating yoghurt drops. When I did time in the laboratory I was forced to undergo toxicity tests. I was injected with cellulose fibres which made my insides extremely painful and as a result I now have tumours. I was one of the lucky ones. There are loads of toxicity tests that my sisters and brothers have to endure. In some they have to breath in noxious gases, in others they are force fed nasty toxic substances which cause illness, suffering, pain or death. In the LD50 test, rats are given high doses of substances and only half of the group survive.
Olympia’s Story
Hi there! I’m Olympia, and I’m a “Zucker rat” which means I was specially bred to be obese so that I could be used in diabetes studies. I was solely a breeding rat myself, to provide the scientists with lots more test subjects. I can’t complain. I was fed well and all I had to do was raise countless litters. I don’t deny it was tiring work, with not much respite and the accommodation was terribly cramped, but at least I had the company of the little ones! Nowadays I enjoy eating out (as a Zucker I have a relentless appetite) and looking after my many nieces and nephews.
No Rest for Mum
As a breeder rat a mother will raise one litter after another until she is no longer fertile, and all within the confines of a small box like the ones here:-
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Note from The Rat:
Although this site is a little tongue in cheek, these accounts are based on fact, and there are plenty of well-documented cases of the experiments mentioned above. The following links show just a few examples:
