ACTION ALERT:
Contact:
Dr. Robert Gibbens
Director, Animal Welfare Operations, USDA-APHIS
[email protected]
[email protected]
Please levy the MAXIMUM FINE against SRI International for their blatant
disregard of the Animal Welfare Act when their negligence caused a monkey to
drown in toxic chemicals and broke a dog's foot. Their behavior should NOT
be tolerated and MUST be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
SRI accused of drowning monkey
From PADailyPost.com, May 25, 2021
An animal rights group alleges that SRI International employees broke a
dog’s paw and drowned a monkey, and then lied about the experiments to
federal regulators.
The watchdog group, called Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN), is a
nonprofit that tries to stop animal experimentation, regularly reporting
research laboratories, such as SRI, to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
SRI did not respond to the Post’s request to respond to the allegations.
On Sept. 29, a female monkey had a feeding tube inserted through its nose
and was given a dose of something for a toxicology study, according to an
SRI report included in the complaint. After giving the monkey the dose, it
began foaming at the mouth and turned blue. Veterinarians at SRI found a lot
of the test fluid in the monkey’s lungs and could not save it, according to
the report.
Pain?
“How do you claim that a monkey who essentially drowned in toxic chemicals
didn’t feel any pain?” SAEN’s Executive Director Michael Budkie said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, animals used in experiments
are not supposed to experience “unrelieved pain.” SRI in its 2020 filings
with the USDA says that no animals suffered. Budkie says SRI “botched” the
monkey incident.
In the report from SRI, employees were given refresher training a few weeks
later to make sure such tubes are placed correctly. The facility’s clinical
veterinarian has also found a company that makes CO2 meters that can be
attached to the tubes to alert the employee if the tube is in the lung,
rather than the stomach.
Experiments on dogs and rabbits too
“SRI’s 2020 annual report lists no animals as experiencing unrelieved pain,
despite the fact that separate reports document that dogs, monkeys and
rabbits were all used in federally funded toxicology projects,” a statement
from SAEN says.
Because SAEN found out about the monkey procedure, it suspects other animals
are experiencing pain during these toxicology tests.
According to SRI’s 2020 report to the USDA, there are 43 dogs, 60 guinea
pigs, 32 hamsters, 96 rabbits and 55 primates used for research at the lab.
The dog incident occurred on March 23, records show. A dog being used in a
toxicology study for the National Institutes of Health was found with its
toe stuck in the floor slats of the “dog run,” according to a report from
SRI to the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare with NIH.
The incident occurred about an hour after the dog had received a “dose” of
the drug being tested on it, according to the report from SRI Chief Legal
Officer John McIntire. The dog was seen by a vet and treated.
SRI has since put rubber floor mats in all of the dog runs to keep this from
happening again. It is also looking into changing the floors for the dog
runs.
Group claims employee negligence
But Budkie points to these two incidents as employee negligence at SRI and
calls for the USDA to investigate SRI and fine them $10,000 per infraction.
This isn’t the first time there has been trouble with monkeys at SRI. In
2010, a monkey bit a worker at the lab, causing her to pass out and be taken
to the hospital. The research lab turned away a representative with the
Humane Society, who was there to check on the monkey.