The Ministry of Defence is considering abandoning deep-diving experiments which induce agonising decompression sickness in live goats after complaints from animal rights groups.
Live testing was suspended in March and a review committee of six experts is now examining alternatives such as computer-modelling techniques to duplicate the effects of "the bends" - the often lethal effect of nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream.
The tests, previously carried out by defence research company QinetiQ at a facility in Gosport, involve subjecting goats to various pressures in a hyperbaric chamber.
The results are used to help improve escape drills and equipment for Royal Navy personnel in case a submarine is stranded on the seabed.
The effects of decompression sickness, brought on by rising too quickly to the surface from the intense pressure encountered at depth, include joint pain, visual disturbances, loss of balance, breathing difficulties, paralysis and death. The animals which survived initial tests at Gosport were often used in a series of painful experiments for up to five years before being culled and undergoing post-mortem examination of their spinal cords and brain tissue.
Goats were used because their respiratory physiology closely resembles that of humans.
Hyperbaric tests with goats have been conducted since 1905. Critics say that the data collected from thousands of experiments over more than a century should be more than sufficient to justify ending live testing and provide a base for computer simulations.
The French navy has already abandoned its own live-test programme in favour of more humane methods.
An MoD spokesman confirmed: "A number of studies reviewing the need for further use of goats in this research programme are currently being undertaken.
"These studies take into account the MoD's duty of care to sustain the health and welfare of submarine crews and to provide them with the ability to operate safely and effectively.
"The teams are investigating a range of options for submarine escape and rescue, and life support, including and excluding animal experimentation. Any plans for further experiments using goats are subject to the findings of this review."
A spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front said: "We call on QinetiQ to halt these experiments and hand all surviving animals over to suitable animal protection groups."
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