ACTION ALERT:
Contact:
Dr. Alexander N. Cartwright, Chancellor
University of Missouri, Columbia
[email protected]
Chancellor Cartwright,
Over two dozen animals died of either suffocation or dehydration at the University of Missouri, Columbia, due to negligence. Other animals were denied post-operative care, and multiple animals were victimized in failed attempts at euthanasia. You must launch an independent investigation to make certain that these incidents will never happen again.
Animal rights group says MU acted
irresponsibly in six research studies
By Kevin Ko and Ethan Burks, 1KOMU.com, May 1, 2018
COLUMBIA - An animal rights group said more than two dozen lab animals
died in MU research facilities over the past two years as the university
failed to provide proper care.
The Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN) organization is calling for an
independent investigation.
"At the conclusion of their investigation, we believe that any of their
staff involved with the abuse and negligence of animals should be
terminated," SAEN executive director Michael Budkie said.
MU spokesperson Christian Basi said the university has complied with all
laws and regulations and that every death has been reported.
"If we do have instances where we have a mistake that's being made that
compromises the care of the animal, it's reported to the national
government," he said.
KOMU received Health and Human Services documents addressing the animal
deaths highlighting six cases from February 2016 to December 2017. The
documents show five mice died of dehydration; 16 died after surgical
experiments and 17 died in cages with a restricted air supply.
The documents show the Health and Human Services' Office of Laboratory
Animal Welfare closed the investigations and we're satisfied that proper
protocol was followed by the university.
Basi said researchers and veterinarians are both present when animals are
subjected to testing. He said that's to ensure proper care is given towards
the animals by professional veterinarians who know how to handle them with
care.
Animal research approval is also a rigorous process, Basi said. A committee
must approve all animal testing before any experiments take place and if
anything goes wrong, veterinarians are to report any incidents to the
oversight committee.
Budkie said the university needs to set up a database to track the welfare
of its animals.
"If you can't follow the federal regulations and keep the animals alive then
you shouldn't be able to work with animals," he said.
Basi say the university believes animal testing is warranted and takes every
precaution to ensure the animals are safe.
"We take the responsibility of our research mission very seriously and
without the research, that includes animals, we would not have many of the
answers to the disease treatments that we do today," Basi said.
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