ACTION ALERT:
Contact:
Richard Feldman, President
Animal rights group says U of R
neglects lab mice
By Tianna Manon,
WXXINews.org, May 3, 2018
Are lab mice at the University of Rochester being mistreated and dying
from neglect?
That’s the claim at the center of a report by SAEN, (Stop Animal
Exploitation NOW! )
This week, Executive Director Michael Budkie wrote University Interim
President Richard Feldman, asking that the administration there launch an
independent investigation into the treatment of lab animals there.
“There were a number of different issues directly affecting animals,” said
Budkie. “In one instance, approximately 80 animals were supposed to receive
significantly more pain relief than they actually did. Living animals were
found in what the University itself called the morgue freezer.”
Budkie is discussing one researcher’s major surgery on mice. According to
Jeff Wyatt, a veterinarian with the University, the researcher didn’t keep
up with the analgesic therapy. The researcher says he didn’t observe the
mice in any pain but Wyatt says this against the lab’s protocol. They try to
overmedicate after major surgeries on the off-chance the animal doesn’t show
typical signs of pain.
The school’s Committee on Animal Resources is in charge of deciding what
research projects can use animal testing and they also hold researchers
accountable for mistakes.
And the mice in the freezer?
Those were actually baby mice who’d been found in the “morgue cooler." They
were found alive and immediately properly euthanized but an investigator
with the committee was required to lead a workshop on proper euthanasia.
Other issues include: improper record keeping for mice used in influenza
work, an untrained lab employee gaining access to a mouse and then not
admitting he got it from the lab, and lack of food or water for one group of
mice. All of these issues were documented by the UR committee and resolved,
whether through better care by another employee or holding the researcher
accountable and requiring more training.
But Budkie says he has no faith in the committee: “We do not have a
tremendous amount of faith in those committees because they are typically
made up of entirely of employees in the laboratory and their real
functionality is to primarily approve protocols and they’re very biased in
this process.”
Wyatt says the school’s committee includes more than just employees; there's
also a retired school teacher, a librarian and veterinarians on the team.
He says they currently have no plans to change policy or respond to Budkie’s
report because they’ve already satisfied large funders like the National
Institute of Health. He says the committee takes animal welfare seriously
and has been rigorous in documenting and investigating any issues that
spring up.
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