Anti-animal testing campaigners are continuing to slam the University of Otago's new $50 million animal research lab as a backwards step.
A wall at the Great King site was graffitied early on Thursday morning with over 11,000 stapled cardboard hearts - each representing the life of an animal lost to research last year.
The group is planning to do a leaflet drop today and hold a peaceful protest at the current Hercus Building research site on Sunday.
Tara Jackson, director of the New Zealand Anti Vivisection Society, said other universities in New Zealand and the world have moved on from animal testing.
"The University of Otago deciding to invest fifty-million-dollars into a new animal lab now just seems really backwards, and we're concerned they're going to be solidifying a really outdated and inaccurate method of research."
In a statement, a University spokesperson said animal-based research was a vital component in scienfitifc advances, and all research is done as humanely as possible.
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