Scientists allegedly carried out cruel and unnecessary experiments on cats at the Tel Aviv University dental school to test the effectiveness of a product designed to regenerate bones following teeth implants, according to a story on Haaretz.com.
The situation came to light after photographs of two frightened, abandoned kittens in the school's animal laboratory were taken by an animal rights group. The photographs were reportedly taken via hidden camera in March 2009.
While the purpose of the research is unclear, the overwhelming majority of animal experiments the dental school has reportedly conducted over the past decade was to test one product: Ossix. Ossix is a synthetic biodegradable collagen membrane, enabling bone regeneration after tooth implants, the story noted.
Professor Haim Tal, D.M.D., M.Dent., Ph.D., head of the dental school, is said to have conducted comparative research with Ossix -- one on human subjects, another on cats, according to the story.
The experiments were done in the name of science and had been approved by a university committee for animal experiments, according to Dr. Tal.
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