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Watchdog group files complaint against UMD for mistreating guinea pigs in 2019 research
From Leah Brennan, DBKNews.com, January 31, 2020
A watchdog group filed a formal complaint against the University of
Maryland last week, urging an investigation into problems with how guinea
pigs involved in research were treated last year.
In a routine public information act, Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! — an
Ohio-based group that monitors research facilities in the U.S. — came across
a university document that detailed issues with how guinea pigs used for
research were treated at the time of April 2019 inspections. They’d been
overcrowded and left without sufficient water, the document read, and there
was no evidence that post-surgical analgesia had been used.
To compound it, documentation surrounding their treatment was lacking —
there were no surgical, anesthesia or post-operative records available at
the time of the inspection, in addition to missing animal identification,
husbandry logs and USDA records, the document read. Additionally, staff had
“incomplete knowledge” of documents and procedures, according to the
document.
In a statement sent by a university spokesperson, research vice president
Laurie Locascio said the university stopped the work on the study
“immediately” after a university official reported the guinea pigs’
treatment. Furthermore, the protocols tied to noncompliance were suspended
and the university implemented staff retraining and additional supervision.
“The proper care and use of animals in research is of the utmost importance
to our faculty, staff and research administration,” Locascio wrote. “We
strive for excellence in every aspect of our program, make corrections where
needed and engage openly and transparently with federal agencies for the
betterment of the animals and research conducted here.”
SAEN’s complaint shows the initial report of noncompliance came from Pamela
Lanford, the animal research support director and institutional care and use
committee manager. Lanford deferred comment to Locascio and university
spokespeople.
Despite the university’s corrective actions, SAEN’s co-founder, Michael
Budkie, isn’t satisfied. In a letter to the U.S. agriculture department
dated Jan. 24, he called for an immediate investigation.
“Their corrective actions are, in some ways, irrelevant,” Budkie said. “They
never should’ve happened in the first place.”