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Media Coverage Animal rights group decries UCD primate practices Former primate center employee says she witnessed abuse By: Talia Kennedy A former employee of the California National Primate Research Center
came forward yesterday claiming she witnessed veterinarians malnourish,
euthanize and deny medical care to monkeys, including pregnant and
nursing primates, at the on-campus research facility. Cheri Stevens, who began working at the center in 2002 but
voluntarily resigned in 2005, spoke on behalf of the animal rights group
Stop Animal Exploitation Now at a press conference at Howard Johnson Inn
at 4100 Chiles Road in South Davis yesterday. Stevens said the monkeys being housed at UC Davis are not receiving
satisfactory care. "On one occasion I witnessed an infant primate being restrained past
the point of consciousness," she said in a statement. "One particular
incident resulted in the severe chemical burning of several male Rhesus
Macaques .? Animals received burns to their fingers, hands, arms, legs
and faces." Stevens said she recalled an incident in which an infant monkey she
felt particularly attached to was euthanized. "I was told there was nothing they could do for him so they
euthanized him," she said. "I could not believe it." SAEN's founder and executive director Michael Budkie said his
organization held the conference, which is part of the group's events
for the Oct. 7 through 15 National Primate Liberation Week, because "we
had information specific to UC Davis, including documentary evidence and
eyewitnesses." "We're here and we're here for a reason," he said. According to its website, SAEN aims to "expose the truth to wipe out
animal experimentation." Budkie said he challenges those who disagree
with his organization's stance to study the facts. "Read the evidence we present," he said. "We worked very hard not to
make unfounded charges." Budkie said he requested a meeting with Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef
to discuss Stevens' malpractice claims, but didn't receive a response. "There are no plans for UC Davis representatives to meet with this
group," said UC Davis spokesperson Andy Fell in an e-mail. "SAEN is
dedicated to ending all research involving animals, and we do not
believe that discussions with this group would be fruitful." Established in 1962, the primate center employs a staff of 300 and
spans hundreds of acres on the western edge of campus. Recent research
projects, which serve to provide solutions to human health problems,
have focused on AIDS and other infectious diseases, reproductive and
prenatal issues, brain malignancies, nutritional deficiencies, pulmonary
disorders, stress, social behavior and more, according to its website.
Worldwide, experiments conducted on animals have led to the development
of the polio vaccine, insulin and human organ transplantation, among
others. SAEN's claims are not the first to plague the primate center, which
houses about 4,700 primates. In May, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals named UC Davis
the fourth worst university offender in its laboratory treatment of
animal subjects. In August 2004, seven adult monkeys in the university's
care died when a mechanical failure caused the room they were housed in
to overheat, reaching temperatures upward of 115 degrees. After
determining that UC Davis was in violation of federal regulations
governing animal care, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined the
university $4,815 as a civil penalty for the incident. Fell said the university denies SAEN's claims of abuse. "The group's latest allegations appear similar to those made in
previous years; none has been found to be correct," he said.
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