ON Thursday last week, I was honoured to present a petition of 10,000 signatures of protest to the Ministry of Defence on behalf of the animals who are being senselessly killed by the Government.

The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) has been exposing the Ministry of Defence animal testing laboratory in Porton Down, since before Christmas. It's an utter disgrace that these experiments should be allowed to happen in the first place, but, furthermore, these experiments are being paid for with taxpayers' money, yet we have no idea what is going on.

Thanks to the NAVS, some of these experiments have been brought to light. The Government must act now and do something to stop these unnecessary experiments taking place.

Some of these experiments the NAVS exposed are --

Testing mustard gas on pigs by using an electric sander to rub off their skin before exposing them to the poisonous gas

Testing the deadly nerve gas sarin or monkeys after drilling holes in their skulls to place electrodes for observation once exposed

Bleeding pigs to 40 per cent of their blood volume and injecting faeces to cause peritonitis

Dosing ferrets with poison and causing them to vomit for 24hrs while the researchers stood around and watched

Giving rabbits herpes to test a vaccine which was known would never be suitable for humans

Exposing over 400 mice with the plague -- a virus which caused the Black Death in the 14th century

The problem is that these experiments are all done in secret and scientists are not publicly accountable. Many of the researchers didn't even explain how the experiments apply to warfare, and there are alternative testing methods available for all of them, so there is no reason for animals to suffer.

We need Freedom of Information on animal experiments so technical details of experiments are open to the public before they take place, and organisations like the NAVS can challenge them before they take place.

I urge people to support the NAVS. Please ring them on 020 8846 9777.

It is no good to say that animals are only used when absolutely necessary, because these experiments demonstrate that this is just not the case. If the Government is spending our money, then we have a right to know what is going on.

Samantha Robson (PC

Vicky Hagen in 'The Bill')