Do you care about the uni killing 160,000 rodents a year?

Animal rights activists have attacked the uni for “cruel and pointless” experiments on animals that would otherwise be household pets.

The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) singled out Edinburgh for criticism after it emerged Scottish unis tested on 600,000 animals in 2013.

And last year The Tab revealed Edinburgh had slain 226,341 animals in 2012 – more than any other uni.

Although Marchmont residents won’t have much sympathy, the campaigners were most worried about an experiment the uni carried out on rats.

The rodents were subjected to a gradual increase in carbon dioxide until suffocation to observe their stress and fear levels.

Researchers claim this study was done within the rules of Home Office and EU animal testing laws.

Those who live in Marchmont might be in a favour of reducing the number of these about

A university spokesman said: “The University of Edinburgh uses animals in research programmes only when their use if justified on scientific, ethical and legal grounds, and when no alternatives are available.”