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LAB ANIMAL LINE
Office of the University Veterinarian
406 Kinkead Hall
Research and Graduate Studies
University of Kentucky
(606) 257-2549
Vol. XI, No. 1
April
1999
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA/ALF RAID
On Monday, April 5, 1999, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) claimed responsibility for a
break-in at two buildings at the University of Minnesota during the previous night. Most
recent estimates place the damage at $3 million. University officials stated the damage
will seriously impede research on Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer and other diseases. The
vandals smashed computer equipment, microscopes, incubators, other expensive research
equipment, and spray painted walls. In addition, they released 116 animals from a research
lab (27 pigeons, 48 mice, 36 rats, and 5 salamanders). They destroyed or stole laboratory
equipment and research data. It is thought the vandals scaled the wall of one of the
buildings, climbed onto the roof and entered through a service door.
At least some of the stolen mice were transgenic models having been bred specifically
for generations to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The investigator using these
mice estimates her research has been set back two years.
Although the ALF claims that all released animals are placed in loving homes, many of
the stolen pigeons were located in a field, east of Minneapolis, Tuesday afternoon.
Fourteen have been recaptured. These pigeons were being used in behavioral research
studies (effects of immune system on behavior and memory). Eight of the rats were found,
but five had died.
In addition to the animal destruction, the perpetrators destroyed petri dishes
containing human cancer cells taken from patients in advanced stages of cancer; cells that
were being used in place of doing animal testing for drug studies on neurological
diseases; and human cells being used for research on a cancer vaccine for brain tumors.
Because of the cost of damage incurred, the "Animal Enterprise Protection
Act" applies, and any suspects will be subject to federal charges.
UC SAN FRANCISCO LABS ATTACKED
On Friday, April 23, animal rights activists protesting at the University of California
San Francisco (UCSF) during World Week for Animals in Laboratories, broke into three
research labs. Equipment was damaged, glass broken and four mice were released during the
attack. UCSF Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Ara Tahmassian said "probably
months" of research was lost. One of the labs broken into was involved in developing
alternatives to animal use. The three perpetrators, who confronted a UCSF researcher in
his lab, were arrested. One of the protestors is a staff organizer for In Defense of
Animals.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROGRAM
Principal investigators and researchers who have animal care and use protocols are
reminded that all personnel working with animals should be listed on the appropriate
protocols, and those personnel should be enrolled in the Occupational Health Program. The Occupational
Health for Animal Workers Education and Prevention document (10/98 version) can be
obtained by contacting the Office of the University Veterinarian (257-2549), or
downloading from the web site:
<http://www.mc.uky.edu/dlar/resources/occupational%20healtlh/occhlth.html>. The
names of personnel on animal care and use protocols should be kept current. Changes can be
made by completing an IACUC Modification Request Form, or submitting a letter
from the PI, indicating the names of additional personnel, to include years experience
with animal model, and years experience with the procedure.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REMINDER
In keeping with the theme of Occupational Health, the following practices have been
extracted from the 1997 National Research Council publication, Occupational Health and
Safety in the Care and Use of Research Animals:
a. Wear protective gloves and a laboratory coat or gown in areas where research animals
are housed.
b. Remove gloves and wash hands after handling animals, or animal tissue, and before
leaving areas where animals are housed.
c. Avoid the use of sharps whenever possible. Take extreme care when using a needle and
syringe for inoculating research animals, or when using sharps during necropsy procedures.
d. Keep hands away from mouth, nose, and eyes.
e. Never eat, drink, smoke, handle contact lenses, apply cosmetics, or
take or apply medicine in areas where research animals are housed.
f. Keep research animal room doors closed.
TRANSPORT AND COVER
Research personnel should be reminded of the need for sensitivity to public perception
when transporting animals in public corridors. Animals transported outside the animal
housing area should be in draped or covered cages. This covering provides a more secure,
less stressful environment for the animal, and protects passers-by from inadvertent
exposures to animal allergens. It also helps to prevent misconceptions caused by only a
partial understanding of biomedical research. The freight elevator, near the DLAR Main
Facility entrance, should be used for transport of animals between floors in the Medical
Center. There are several procedure rooms located within the animal facilities that are
available for use. If appropriate for the type of animal work being conducted, please
consider using these rooms. (These rooms can be reserved by contacting DLAR at 3-5885.)
DANGEROUS PRECEDENT
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, bowing to animal rights activist pressure, held a
public hearing on November 17, 1998, to discuss the possibility of halting animal research
being conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The research had
been approved by the UCSF Committee on Animal Research, finding the study to be humane to
the animals and of benefit to scientific understanding. UCSF staff members testified that
they were adhering to the Animal Welfare Act as well as other animal research guidelines.
Animal rights activists drawing attention to this research included the group In
Defense of Animals as well as celebrities and other activists. Sir Paul McCartney and
primatologist Jane Goodall both issued public statements objecting to the research. The
hearing loss research involved anesthetizing six squirrel monkeys, exposing them to 140 db
noises for two hours, followed by surgery to detect any resultant brain changes.
The appropriateness of the hearing is controversial, since it was called by a political
body composed of non-scientists. UCSF faculty and staff spoke at the hearing about the
importance of animal research, and activists from IDA also testified at the hearing. The
Board's decision was to "allow" the research to continue, but urged the
University to use alternatives instead of animal testing when available, and use animals
only when scientific merit has been demonstrated. The National Association for Biomedical
Research stated, "This hearing and resolution could have set a dangerous precedent
had it gone the other way."
* Excerpt from Lab Animal, Vol. 28, No. 2, February 1999.
USDA SUED TO INCLUDE RATS, MICE, AND BIRDS
Historically, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) secretary has chosen not
to exercise his authority to include rats, mice and birds under the Animal Welfare Act
(AWA). On January 28, 1999, a petition of the Alternatives Research and Development
Foundation (ARDF) and four individuals asking that rats, mice and birds be included in the
definition of "animal(s)" covered by federal Animal Welfare Act regulations was
published in the Federal Register by USDA. Public comments are due on or before
May 28, 1999.
On March 9, 1999, the ARDF filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
against USDA, demanding that rats, mice and birds be covered under current AWA
regulations. ARDF is affiliated with the American Anti-Vivisection Society.
RESEARCH DATA UNDER FOIA?
Legislation calling for public access to research data, including raw data and laboratory
notebooks, is presently pending. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has published a
proposed amendment to OMB Circular A-110 (64 FR 5684) in the February 4, 1999, Federal
Register. The proposed amendment would require Federal awarding agencies "to
ensure that all data produced under an award will be made available to the public through
the procedures established under the Freedom of Information Act" (FOIA). According
to congressional floor statements made in support of the provision, its aim is to
"provide the public with access to federally funded research data" that is
"used by the Federal Government in developing policy and rules." The language
would appear to limit the situations whereby FOIA requests could be used to obtain
research data, but legal challenges to OMB's proposed language are likely. The experience
of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and applicability of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA) is a useful lesson in this regard. FACA states that Advisory
Committees providing guidance to federal agencies on policy issues must have open public
meetings. NAS was sued by the Animal Legal Defense Fund when they chose to hold their
meetings for the revision of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals in
closed sessions. The result was a court ruling that the NAS meetings must be open to the
public. A similar legal challenge could make all research data developed under federal
awards subject to FOIA.
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU FLUNKS HSUS AND PCRM
Both the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine (PCRM) were cited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for their
failures to conform with the BBB's standards for charities. HSUS was cited for failing to
disclose the percentage of actual or anticipated portion of sales of its products that go
to benefit HSUS animal programs. PCRM was cited for the same violation, and also for
failing to produce an annual report describing the organization's purpose, programs,
accomplishments, charitable status, finances and governance.
*Excerpt from Americans for Medical Progress, AMP News, March 26, 1999.
Lab Animal Line is published by the Office of the
University Veterinarian
Creighton J. Trahan, D.V.M.
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