"Art" Student Freezes Rat to Death

Animal rights activists are appalled a fine arts student at Canterbury University (New Zealand) was allowed to freeze a rat to death for an arts project.

The student, Oscar Enberg, had wanted to slit the rat's throat and then stuff its corpse with butter, but revised his plans after discussing them with his supervisor. Instead he bought a rat from a local pet shop and put it in a cardboard box, which he then put in a freezer, removing the animal only once it had frozen to death. His plans to use the dead rat's corpse for an art work were also scuppered.

Instead, Enberg's entry in the university's sculpture show in Christchurch last month was two baby rats caged in a small clear plastic box, separated by a wooden partition, unable to see each other. It was withdrawn soon after going on display on advice from the student's lawyer.

A complaint was placed with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which investigated and found there was a prima facie case to answer. However, it decided against prosecuting Enberg, instead issuing him a formal written warning.

Canterbury University did have a "very robust" process in place regarding the use of animals for teaching, testing and research but because it was never envisaged that the fine arts department would use animals in such a way, it appeared the department was not aware of the restrictions. Canterbury University deputy vice-chancellor Ian Town said a lack of awareness of the strict rules governing the use of animals meant the art project was not subject to the university's normal ethic review procedures.

The university had co-operated fully with the SPCA's investigation and accepted the outcome.

Town said disciplinary action had not been taken against the student: "We felt that the student had been appropriately censured - we've taken this as a learning experience."

Source: stuff.co.nz