Media Coverage About SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation Now

Animal rights group files complaint against UF research ending in dog deaths

ACTION ALERT:

Dr. Robert Gibbens
Director, Animal Welfare Operations, USDA-APHIS
[email protected] 
[email protected]

Please levy the MAXIMUM FINE against the University of Florida for their blatant disregard of the Animal Welfare Act which led to the deaths of two dogs. Their behavior should NOT be tolerated and MUST be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

 

Animal rights group files complaint against UF research ending in dog deaths

From Alan Festo, Gainesville.com, February 10, 2023

A national animal rights watchdog group has filed a complaint against the University of Florida over the deaths of two dogs involved in a research study last year.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now!, or SAEN, believes UF has committed “multiple clear violations” of the Animal Welfare Act based on a research report submitted by UF on Oct. 6, 2022, to the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare — part of the National Institutes of Health.

"The University of Florida is committed to the ethical use of animals in its pursuit of medical advances that benefit both humans and animals," an emailed statement from the university said. "Almost every drug, treatment, medical device, diagnostic tool or cure we have today was developed with the help of laboratory animals. Animal research at UF is governed by a federally mandated Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee that reviews all requests for approval to use vertebrate animals and inspects all areas where animals are housed and used.
University officials say that its Animal Care and Use Program has received full and continued accreditation from AAALAC International, a nonprofit that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science.
"Full accreditation serves as a testament to our program’s commitment to quality and humane animal care, rigorous research practices, and continuous improvement," UF's statement said.

UF's muscular dystrophy research

In a report written by UF's Vice President for Research David Norton, two groups of dogs — one on June 24 and the other on Aug. 19 — with Duchenne muscular dystrophy received an adeno-associated virus vector — a form of gene therapy — administrated directly into the heart.

The report notes that “the procedure went smoothly and the dogs recovered well.”

On Aug. 20, however, one of the dogs began to show "abnormal respiratory signs" after receiving an injection a day earlier. According to UF's report, the dog was taken to UF's Small Animal Hospital where its condition "rapidly deteriorated" and it ultimately stopped breathing.

On Sept. 3, another dog involved in the June 24 study suffered an "episode of regurgitation." Over the following days, the dog developed intermitted inappetence, fever and abnormal palpitation. The dog was admitted to the Small Animal Hospital on Sept. 7 for imaging and supportive care. A hiatal hernia and evidence of pneumonia were discovered during testing. After receiving treatment, the dog's appetite and fever returned to normal and it was discharged on Sept. 12.

But just three days later, the dog's fever returned and suffered from "respiratory distress." The dog was taken back to the hospital where a decision was made on Sept. 18 to euthanize the animal

The complaint alleges that the dog died on Aug. 20 as a result of not being treated soon timely, and that the animal was not adequately observed. The complaint insists on a full investigation of UF's muscular dystrophy research and, upon its conclusion, UF be issued the maximum allowable fine of $12,722 per infraction per animal.

The university's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) voted on Oct. 4 to classify the causes of death as adverse events to the treatment.

As a result of the deaths, a UF report stated that the committee is requiring that the lab and veterinarians with UF's Animal Care Services division develop a standard operating procedure for UF's Small Animal Hospital so that the dogs receive better care. The committee also has required modification to the IACUC protocol to better outline human endpoints.

SAEN writes in its complaint that UF's decision to make changes to its procedures and practices is an admission of its responsibility for the dogs' deaths.
It's not the first time the activist group took issue with UF's research involving animals.

In March 2021, the group called out the university over an Oct. 20, 2020 report that detailed closed-head traumatic brain injuries were induced in 25 mice, three of which showed adverse clinical signs. On Dec. 6, 2020, lab staff used a cautery pen on a rat’s head to stop bleeding. It ignited a flame that singed fur on the rat’s face and burnt its whiskers. The rat was euthanized the next day.

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