In 1998, the Labour government announced a ban on cosmetic testing on animals. They also declared that the notorious LD50 test would only be used "in the most exceptional scientific circumstances".

Unfortunately, in December 2003, animal liberation volunteers working on an inside tip-off exposed both of these positive commitments to be nothing more than a lie.

Using data provided by the informant, three activists circumnavigated the tight security of Wickham Laboratories, and gained access to the animal unit, via the roof. As they had been told, hundreds of mice were lined up in tiny cages, undergoing botox experiments.

The mice were all removed to a safe-house, and the paperwork was taken away for analysis.

Despite being pre-warned, the activists were shocked by what they read. Up to 600 mice were being killed every single day in LD50 tests, designed to assertain the toxicity of every batch of Botox going onto the market.

In a subsequent article in the Daily Mail, prompted by the Wickham raid, Ipsen Biopharm (the company resposible for the tests) stated that a considerable percentage was being used for cosmetic purposes. Because Botox has some medical uses, they were able to test as much as they like, without ever having to specify where it was going.

Unfortunately of the 700 mice liberated, only 40 were given a proper chance of freedom. Days after the raid, the safe house was searched by police, and the mice returned to the lab, where they were used in further experiments. The 40 who had already been rehomed are living out their natural lives in freedom and happiness.

Whilst the government lied about their commitment to a ban on cosmetic tests, it was only the actions of animal liberation volunteers which exposed this horrific waste of life.

Now it is up to us to take action, and call on the government to uphold their promise, and use the far more reliable, and not to mention ethical, Snap-25 assay.