ACTION ALERT:
Contact:
Dr. Robert Gibbens
Director, Western Region, USDA
(970) 494-7478
[email protected]
[email protected]
Please levy the MAXIMUM FINE against Oregon Health & Science University for
their blatant disregard of the Animal Welfare Act when their negligence
killed two monkeys by allowing them to develop brain abscesses. Their
behavior should NOT be tolerated and MUST be punished to the fullest extent
of the law.
Complaints lodged after death of marmosets in OHSU experiments
From Courtney Vaughn, PamplinMedia.com, February 18, 2021
Oregon Health & Science University has come under fire once again for its experiments and tests on primates.
According to national animal rights watchdog group Stop Animal
Exploitation NOW! (SAEN), OHSU was cited in December 2020 by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture for the death of two marmosets at its Marquam
Hill/South Waterfront facility in January and November 2020.
The citations followed complaints and alerts from SAEN about the alleged
mistreatment of the animals. Marmosets are small monkeys that primarily
inhabit South America. Two marmosets died at the research university's
facility after developing cranial abscesses— bacterial infections in the
brain.
USDA inspectors noted two separate marmosets were euthanized due to
intracranial abscesses following two separate incidents 2020. In at least
one case, veterinary care and treatment was delayed for 10 days.
"After the female marmoset died in January, the Department of Comparative
Medicine (DCM) veterinarians worked closely with the group to improve
training and technique," a USDA report stated. "However, the male was noted
to have scarring and abnormal bone thickness at the craniotomy site on 10/5;
DCM was not contacted to examine it until 10/9. Treatment for infection was
started on 10/15 after culture results were positive for infection."
The USDA paused its on site inspections early in 2020 due to coronavirus
concerns. Instead, inspectors reviewed documents provided to them, according
to OHSU.
SAEN wrote to federal regulators in October 2020 and again in January,
saying OHSU's practices are a violation of the Animal Welfare Act.
In complaints filed, the organization's leaders told USDA's western region
director, "abscesses do not develop instantaneously. Their development
requires inadequate treatment for an extended period of time."
In response to questions about the citations and complaints, OHSU said
researchers followed protocol and post-surgery testing.
"The unfortunate death of two marmosets were the result of clinical
infections that were being treated but did not resolve," Tamara
Hargens-Bradley, interim senior director of communications for OHSU told
Pamplin Media Group. "Surgery introduces the risk of infection, even with
rigorous sterile technique."
Hargens-Bradley said tests for bacterial infections conducted post-surgery
came back negative for infection. Additional tests were conducted by
veterinarians, according to OHSU, but getting test results takes several
days.
"Abnormal bone thickness and the presence of granulation tissue -- new
connective tissue and microscopic blood vessels that form on the surfaces of
a wound during the healing process -- were observed in the surgical site,
but that is expected in this research model and not indicative of
infection," Hargens-Bradley said. "The first indication of potential
infection occurred four days later."
SAEN and the USDA say the primates weren't given proper veterinary care.
"These incidents are quite serious not only because negligence allowed the
abscesses to occur in the first place, but also because in at least one
instance, OHSU veterinary staff was not contacted in a timely manner,
allowing things to deteriorate even further," SAEN Executive Director
Michael Budkie, told the USDA in a Jan. 20 official complaint.
The animal rights group noted OHSU has amassed 17 citations from the USDA in
the past four years for its treatment or care of animals it performs
research on.
Last August, the university acknowledged the death of two monkeys who were
boiled alive when a lab technician mistakenly placed them in a high heat
cage washer, not realizing the animals were still inside.
OHSU has also been the target of criticism from People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) for its experiments that involved giving alcohol
to prairie voles to study human fidelity, and then destroying video evidence
of the experiments.
SAEN and PETA are calling for federal inspectors to lobby maximum fines
against OHSU—$10,000 per infraction, per animal—and put an end to OHSU's
animal research experiments.
"If OHSU is incapable of even providing adequate veterinary care, why should
we believe that anything done with animals at this criminal lab has any
relationship to science whatsoever?" Budkie stated in a news release.
In light of the primate deaths, OHSU reps said it will now have a
veterinarian present for initial surgery on its primates, with a principal
investigator or lab manager supervising surgical site recordings. OHSU also
promised to implement more post-operation monitoring.
OHSU maintains the research is critical in understanding conditions that
afflict humans.
"The purpose of the marmoset research is to further understand the
neurological physiology of hearing and hearing loss," Hargens-Bradley, said.
"This information is critical for the development of clinical approaches in
treating hearing losses in humans and in animals. Marmosets are the ideal
model for this research because they have excellent hearing in a frequency
range similar to that of humans -- they have well-defined auditory cortical
areas that are similar to brain areas in humans. In addition, they can be
trained to perform auditory discrimination tasks."