Exposing the truth to wipe out animal experimentation
Group claims Mayo researchers mistreated lab animals
Media Coverage About SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation Now
ACTION ALERT:
Contact:
Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., President
[email protected]
SAMPLE MESSAGE:
President Farrugia,
Please launch an independent investigation into the animal experimentation
program at the Mayo Clinic. Over 80 animals died due to lack of food/water,
while others were denied euthanasia for as much as three weeks. Animals were
also denied pain relief, and staff failed to use aseptic technique during
procedures. These abuses must not be tolerated!
Group claims Mayo researchers mistreated lab animals
From PostBulletin.com, May 21, 2020
A national activist group released government documents this week citing
several incidents of mistreatment of laboratory animals at Mayo Clinic from
2016 to 2019 and called for an independent investigation.
Michael Budkie, executive director of the Ohio-based Stop Animal
Exploitation Now, wrote a letter to Mayo Clinic CEO Gianrico Farrugia asking
for the release of animal treatment records and for an investigation into
the clinic’s research procedures.
“The documented failures by the unqualified staff of the Mayo Clinic include
failure to provide over 80 animals with food/water leading to death; failure
to use sterile technique in surgical procedures, failure to adhere to humane
endpoints even though they had been ordered to perform euthanasia by Mayo
Clinic veterinary staff; performance of unapproved procedures, failure to
use adequate pain relief; failure to perform euthanasia properly, etc.,”
Budkie wrote in his letter to Farrugia. “The credibility of the Mayo Clinic
has been seriously damaged. The institution cannot move forward without
making programmatic changes to prevent the repeated occurrence of these
incidents of negligence in the future.
SAEN released documents from the National Institutes of Health's Office of
Laboratory Animal Welfare and the Association for Assessment and
Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care that noted problems with Mayo
Clinic’s treatment of animals in government-funded research.
The research projects cited received a total of almost $8 million in federal
funding.
The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, showed
that researchers had allowed mice to die from dehydration and starvation as
well as allowed them to suffer even when a veterinarian called for an animal
to be euthanized.
Mayo Clinic officials say that past problems with animal treatment identified by the federal government have been addressed.
“Mayo Clinic has responded successfully to all of the questions raised by AAALAC and has taken steps through education, training and facilities modification to ensure animals are safe and managed humanely in all respects,” responded Mayo Clinic Spokesman Bob Nellis.
NIH’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare did have Mayo Clinic on an
"enhanced reporting schedule" to monitor animal treatment from 2018 to 2020.
However, that office has since loosened that monitoring, and Mayo Clinic is
no longer on that schedule.
“The event concerning the welfare of animals at the Mayo Clinic shared with
the media by the organization Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) has been
managed appropriately by the institution as required by the U.S. Public
Health Service policy. The NIH OLAW reviewed the incident and found the
proposed corrective and preventive actions to be acceptable,” according to a
statement released by the agency. “The Mayo Clinic is in good standing with
OLAW and in keeping with the requirement for self-reporting, will report to
OLAW any noncompliance with the relevant policies and regulations involving
research animals, should they arise.”
Budkie said he is concerned that Mayo Clinic is still mistreating animals,
since its documented incidents took place over years and represent a pattern
of behavior.
When asked why people should be concerned about Mayo Clinic’s treatment of
laboratory animals, he responded that the issues extend beyond the humane
treatment of animals. The documents also show Mayo researchers being found
to be using unsterile techniques and not following the established protocols
of their experiments.
“This is bad science, and everyone should be concerned about bad science,
because we are paying for it,” Budkie wrote.
For privacy reasons, the National Institutes of Health would not say if any
other problems had been found in the monitoring of Mayo Clinic’s government
funded research projects. However, NIH officials did stress that their
office does monitor the treatment of research animals closely.
“NIH takes very seriously all allegations of non-compliance and investigates
every allegation,” they wrote. “NIH-supported institutions have a legal
obligation to ensure the welfare of and minimize risks for all who
participate in NIH-funded research. This includes both humans and animals.
All animals used in NIH-funded research are protected by laws, regulations,
and policies to ensure the smallest possible number of subjects and the
greatest commitment to their welfare.”
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