ACTION ALERT:
Contact:
Dr. Elizabeth GoldentyerJohns Hopkins researchers caused harm, death of dogs,
animal rights group says in federal complaint
From
Meredith Cohn, BaltimoreSun.com, August 13, 2019
An animal rights group has filed a complaint against Johns Hopkins
University for what it describes as botched surgeries on nine dogs that led
to their paralysis and euthanasia.
This is the second complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
against Hopkins this year by Stop Animal Exploitation Now, though the
Ohio-based group has filed complaints in recent years against multiple
research labs that still use hundreds of thousands of animals in scientific
experiments to test medical treatments and conduct other research.
The group’s previous complaint against Hopkins came in February and was related to the accidental crushing death of a marmoset. The USDA inspected Hopkins and cited the lab for “unqualified personnel.”
In the case of the dogs, the group cited a letter Hopkins wrote to the
National Institutes of Health stating that the federally funded experiment
was stopped.
The letter said researchers had been exploring the use of spinal cord
stimulation for the gastrointestinal disorder gastroparesis, which the
scientists said has no effective treatment. Surgeries were planned on 19
dogs in 2017 and 2018 and nine dogs had “unexpected complications that led
to dogs being euthanized for humane reasons."
The animal rights group called Hopkins staff “bungling” and “unqualified,”
and said they violated the Animal Welfare Act. The complaint seeks the
maximum penalty of $10,000 for each animal.
“It is quite clear that something is rotten at Johns Hopkins University,”
said Michael A. Budkie, co-founder of the animal rights group, which is the
leading lab animal watchdog group. "Causing paralysis in dogs and crushing a
marmoset monkey in a cage door are not only immensely cruel, but these
incidents also clearly demonstrate that bungling JHU staff is unqualified.”
Kim Hoppe, a spokeswoman for Hopkins, said in a statement that officials
were “deeply disappointed” by the events and have taken steps to prevent
anything similar from happening. She confirmed the study was terminated and
said the other dogs involved were adopted out.
She said Hopkins provided a full report to the National Institutes of
Health’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare. Hoppe also said Hopkins’
animal care program is accredited by the Association for Assessment and
Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International and that the
university complies with USDA regulations and other government and
institutional guidelines and policies.
“The care of animals involved in our research is incredibly important to
us,” Hoppe said. “We rigorously adhere to all state and federal animal
welfare requirements and guidelines, including closely monitoring all animal
research and providing regular reports to government agencies that oversee
such research."
Almost 800,000 animals were used in research facilities in fiscal 2017,
according to the latest data available from the USDA. That includes dogs,
cats, sheep, rabbits, pigs and primates, among other animals. It does not
include mice or rats, the most common animals used in experiments.
There were more than 41,000 animals used in Maryland facilities that year,
including 856 dogs.
The use of animals in research has gained attention in recent years, and
use of dogs has been especially controversial because they are so closely
associated with humans, animals right activists say.
Last year, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Beagle Freedom Bill,
which requires research labs in the state to make more of an effort to find
homes for their adoptable dogs and cats once experiments are complete.
Hopkins already had a program to find adoptable dogs homes, and officials have said hundreds of dogs have been adopted out. University officials also have said labs have been shifting to use more mice and rabbits.
Medical schools, including Hopkins in 2016, have stopped using animals in training, and cosmetic companies have moved away from animal testing. Federal law, however, still requires animal testing of drugs for humans.
See also: