UCD settles animal welfare citation
Media Coverage About SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation Now

ACTION ALERT:

Contact:

Dr. Robert Gibbens Director, Western Region, USDA
(970) 494-7478
[email protected] 
[email protected] 

SAMPLE MESSAGE:

Please LEVY a MAXIMUM FINE against University of California, Davis, for their blatant disregard of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) when their negligence killed two rabbits and a cat and injured several monkeys, and dogs. Their behavior must NOT be tolerated and MUST be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

 

UCD settles animal welfare citation
By Enterprise staff, DavisEnterprise.com, Apri 26, 2018

UC Davis will pay a penalty of $5,000 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to resolve a citation under the Animal Welfare Act.

The July 2016 citation described a procedure on a rabbit that was to be euthanized before recovering from anesthesia. The rabbit died under anesthesia when a valve was inadvertently left closed. As a result, according to UCD, staff have been retrained and the valves replaced with valves that are open by default.

In 2016, the Investigative and Enforcement Service of USDA had notified the university that it would conduct an investigation. UCD said it cooperated fully with the investigation process.

In March 2018, USDA notified UCD that it had determined a penalty of $5,000 for the July 2016 citation. UCD has accepted this penalty.

“While incidents like these are rare considering the scale of our research programs involving animals, each one is taken very seriously and investigated to prevent future occurrences,” said Cameron Carter, interim vice chancellor for research at UCD. “Our expectation is to provide the best possible care to any animal in our charge, treating their safety and welfare as paramount, and our committed staff goes to great lengths to ensure this.

“Unfortunately, some mistakes happen, but we are quick to learn from them and take appropriate actions to further improve care,” Carter added.

“The fine announced today is paltry, and has not deterred UC Davis from continuing to break the law,” said Michael Budkie, executive director of Stop Animal Exploitation Now, an Ohio-based nonprofit that monitors U.S. research facilities for violations of law and animal abuse.

“This lab has killed multiple animals in the months immediately following the $5,000 USDA fine. Two more rabbits and a cat have died.” Those incidents were mentioned in this Enterprise story earlier this month: https://wp.me/p3aczg-3k48

UCD said that oversight of animal use is heavily regulated by multiple sources. All research studies at the university involving animals require review and approval by the campus’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee to ensure ethical and humane treatment. This committee includes public representatives as well as faculty and staff. The IACUC also inspects facilities conducting animal research every six months.

The university also conducted a comprehensive internal review of animal care on campus in 2017 in preparation of transitioning the program to the Office of Research. The report found no systemic shortcomings in the animal care program but made a number of recommendations to further strengthen the program.

More information regarding research involving animals is at https://bit.ly/2qxEtTF

See also:

Return to Media Coverage