UPDATE – According to reports, animal rights protesters are now attempting to take the researchers to court on the ground of animal cruelty.

Scientists conducting high-altitude experiments on pigs in the picturesque Alpine valley of Őtztal in Austria decided yesterday to abandon their study after being overwhelmed by protesters and journalists (Der Standard).

The aim of the research had been to understand the conditions under which people caught in avalanches die. This would help rescue teams to more quickly recognize those among the buried who have no chance of survival, and provide better emergency treatment for those who might survive. The research team involved scientists from the United States, Germany and Norway as well as Austria, and the study was designed to use the minimal number of animals to get statistically unambiguous results.

The ethics committees of Innsbruck University – where Principle Investigator Peter Paal, an expert in avalanche medicine, is based – and the Federal Health ministry had both approved the study in which 29 anaesthetised pigs were to be placed under snow at 1900 meters and monitored. But the scientists drew local attention when they began their work in the mountains on Monday 11 January. A local newspaper report, claiming cruelty, was widely picked up and demonstrators began to make their way to the picturesque valley.

As the days went on, the scientists found themselves hounded by journalists (see Die Presse). “We were stunned to have so much attention, particularly when you consider the earthquake in Haiti – radio reports were being repeated every ten minutes,”’ says Paal, adding that he and his colleagues have been threatened with violence and received highly abusive emails.

“When we learned that protesters were making their way to the Őtztal, we decided just to stop,” says Paal. “We were worried about our own safety but also we didn’t want to cause problems for the village, which depends on tourism – or for local people who had allowed us to use their land.”

The health ministry continues to support the study, but the scientists are going to take time out to consider how to proceed. “We won’t do anything outside again,” says Paal. Trying to generate data of the same statistical power in a laboratory, though, will likely require a larger number of animals.

Posted on behalf of Alison Abbott.