Media Coverage About SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation Now

Researcher suspended from USC lab after mouse improperly euthanized

 

From Amanda Shaw, FoxCarolina.com, Januay 10, 2024

COLUMBIA, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The University of South Carolina reported that a researcher’s access to the Department of Laboratory Animal Resources was suspended due to violations last year.
In a letter to the federal Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, the university self-reported that the violations were uncovered in October when a mouse was found dead in a machine.

The violations involve a research project about treatment for aggressive and therapy-resistant forms of cancer. The project received more than $600,000 in funding from the National Cancer Institute in 2022.

The report says someone visiting an animal procedure room found a dead mouse in the chamber of an isoflurane vaporizer. The machine, which is used for euthanasia, was on and running but unattended. Video evidence reportedly confirmed the researcher carried the mouse by hand down a public hallway and left it unattended in the vaporizer.

The individual did not wait to confirm the mouse’s death or return until the next day, the report states.

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) which oversees USC’s animal research programs, deemed it a ‘serious non-compliance’ incident.

The researcher involved was suspended immediately from the facility. The individual will be eligible for reinstatement after completing more training in the proper care and use of animals.

IACUC said the individual’s animal use privileges could be permanently revoked if they fail to comply with regulations in the future.

The national watchdog group Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) is pushing for stricter penalties for the researcher, calling for them to be permanently barred from research and, if an employee, to be terminated.

“Who simply walks away from an incomplete euthanasia, leaving an animal unattended for an entire day?” SAEN Executive Director Michael Budkie wrote in a letter to USC President Michael Amiridis. “This action, in and of itself, demonstrates total disregard for both animals, and the regulations designed to protect them.”

FOX Carolina reached out to USC for comment on the incident. The university directed us back to a statement released in May 2023:

“USC is committed to upholding the highest standards in the ethical treatment and responsible use of animals on its campuses. All research involving animals is highly regulated and subject to rigorous approval and oversight procedures. USC strictly adheres to all regulatory requirements as evidenced by its 39-years of continuous accreditation by AAALAC International and excellent standing with federal oversight agencies, including the US Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health.”

SAEN, which opposes all animal experimentation, has been pushing for USC to end animal research after uncovering multiple violations at the university’s labs over the last year.

“Leaving an animal unattended for 24 hours in a euthanasia device is simply unacceptable, as is electrically shocking rats, endangering staff with mishandled toxic chemicals, amputating mouse tails, etc,” Budkie wrote.

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