Infiltrada en el Búnker: a dishonest movie

The movie Infiltrada en el Búnker (Undercover: Inside the Bunker) uses a mixture of documentary footage, long fictional scenes and undercover film taken inside the research facility Vivotecnia in Madrid, Spain, and sets out to condemn the use of animals in scientific research. The film is almost entirely re-enacted by actors, including the main character representing the whistleblower, ‘Carlota’. Consequently, it is impossible to know what was actually filmed inside Vivotecnia and what is a dramatic recreation. Maybe that is the plan.   

The movie also gives a platform to a number of ‘activists’, interviewed at the beginning of the movie, to give the movie an air of respectability. However, what we are not told is that these are all convicted criminals, some having spent decades in prison, being found guilty of bombing and arson charges. The film's dishonest narrative becomes even more apparent in its final scenes, which conclude outside Marshall BioResources (MBR) Acres a dog breeding facility in the United Kingdom. ‘Carlota’ encounters groups of ‘activists’, also associated with criminal activity, targeting the company. MBR has been very transparent about its reasons for breeding beagles for biomedical research. Both these reasons and the welfare measures implemented are evident in this film. The company continues to face a criminally minded campaign masquerading as one interested in animal welfare. 

Inside the Bunker suggests that powerful forces in society are hiding the truth about animal research from public scrutiny and that breaking the law is the only way of obtaining the truth. On the contrary, European institutions have embraced a culture of openness with the public on animal research. In reality, the story of Vivotecnia and its outcome is well known. The movie provides nothing factually new; no new images or accusations are made. There is nothing added to the story that is not already in the public domain, except for the tired cliché of a deep conspiracy.   

When images and information filmed inside Vivotecnia were released in April 2021, EARA issued an immediate statement condemning the failures in animal welfare training, practices and management at the facility. The undercover footage had been edited, and we asked at the time for the unedited footage to be made publicly available. That request remains unanswered. The movie centres on ‘Carlota’, who carried out the secret filming and says she filmed for over 18 months, but there is nothing new shown in the movie that was not in the edited undercover video, maybe because the vast majority of what was filmed did not fit the narrative of institutionalised animal neglect.  

While the abuses were real and serious, they were also met with a swift judicial and legal response by the national authorities and the Spanish scientific community. The company was fined and has been subjected to deep structural changes, 24-hour surveillance and intensified inspections by the competent authorities. Despite the film’s emotive and dramatic perspective and claims of court actions, no judicial finding of systemic malpractice beyond the documented incidents has been upheld in Spanish or European courts. 

The film suggests that it’s impossible to know what happens inside research facilities: “Getting into an experimental research lab is practically impossible”, ‘Carlota’ says at one point. There are currently 170 Spanish institutions that are part of a transparency agreement committed to being open with society and the public about animal research, including organising public visits to the animal facilities. This fact would again challenge the film’s narrative.   

The dishonesty in the movie is laid bare when ‘Carlota’ claims that, “The concept of animal welfare is a very powerful ideological tool with which the animal business defends itself [and] the 3Rs are a way of whitewashing animal research.” High standards of animal welfare are fundamental to good science - you simply cannot produce reliable, reproducible research results without high standards of care.  

The 3Rs (replace, reduce and refine) are legally binding principles in all animal research, not voluntary PR. European Directive 2010/63/EU – and its Spanish equivalent RD 53/2013 - mandate documented application of the 3Rs in all protocols and inspections. Independent regulators review and enforce compliance, not research institutions.   

As these events took place before 2021 (see EARAs 2021 statement), some 4 years ago, one might ask why it has taken so long for the movie’s release. ‘Carlota’ says that the Covid-19 pandemic slowed production down. The irony of this, clearly lost on her and the filmmakers, is that animal models, many of whom are highlighted in the movie, were essential in safety and efficacy testing of the vaccines to halt the pandemic. But that uncomfortable truth would not fit into this flawed and dishonest film.  

If you have a media enquiry, please contact Kirk Leech, EARA executive director: kleech@eara.eu