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Dr. Robert GibbensAnimal rights group files complaint after monkey death at
OHSU
From Kale Williams,
OregonLive.com, Januay 14, 2019
An animal welfare group has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture after the death of a primate at Oregon Health and Science
University and other alleged violations.
Stop Animal Exploitation Now, based in Ohio, called on the U.S. Department
of Agriculture to fine the university the maximum of $10,000 per animal and
infraction, the total of which would exceed $100,000. The group has filed
complaints against OHSU previously.
"OHSU's death toll continues to climb without pause," Michael Budkie,
executive director of the animal welfare group, said in a statement. "This
laboratory has reached new heights of fatal incompetence.”
In October, the animal rights group PETA asked the USDA to shut down animal
testing at OHSU.
Nancy Haigwood, director of the Oregon National Primate Research Center at
the university said her staff, which includes 18 veterinarians and 11 animal
behaviorists, is “committed to the humane, respectful treatment of every
animal in our care. For this reason, any accidental death or injury to an
animal is distressing to us all.”
She also noted that many of the issues referenced in Budkie’s complaint were
addressed months or years ago, when the original incidents took place, and
that the university complies with stringent standards according to the
Health Research Extension Act and the Animal Welfare act.
The federal agency conducted an inspection of the university’s primate
facility in Beaverton in August and found that, in May, a primate had been
found in its enclosure “constrained by PVC pipes of a resting perch,”
according to the inspection report. A veterinarian immediately began
treatment, to which the animal initially responded, but “later developed
neurological signs.”
“The (animal) was euthanized based upon the follow-up veterinary
evaluation,” according to the inspection report.
In a letter to the USDA, officials from the university said a necropsy of
the animal revealed swelling in its neck, “which suggested pressure, but not
strangulation.”
The university inspected all of its primate perches and installed safeguards
to prevent a similar incident from occurring.
In February, another primate wasn’t given the proper medications after a
minor surgical procedure in violation of federal animal welfare protocols.
Budkie noted a number of other violations during the past two years,
including two guinea pigs that died after surgery because “anesthetic
monitoring was inadequate.” Another primate had its tail amputated after it
got stuck between two enclosures, and some animals were found to without
water for up to 24 hours at a time.
In 2016, the university was issued a warning by the USDA after a monkey
died in an enclosure. In that case, and in each of the other cases, the
university made changes, either in training or protocol, to try to prevent
further incidents.
Haigwood said the university posted all of its inspection reports online as
soon as they are available.
The university keeps roughly a half-million animals for research, mostly
rodents and fish. Nearly 5,000 primates are housed at the research center in
Beaverton, where researchers conduct a wide range of animal research,
including treatment for alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, new cancer
therapies and vaccines against HIV, human papillomavirus and tuberculosis.
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