Media Coverage About SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation Now

UNH should be fined for drowning animals and sanitation, says research watchdog

 

Action Alert

Contact:

Sarah J. Helming, Deputy Administrator
email: [email protected]

Deputy Administrator Helming,

You must prosecute the University of New Hampshire for recent serious violations of the Animal Welfare Act which included experimentation which involved drowning small mammals. This facility must be fully penalized -- a fine of $12,722 per infraction/per animal.

From Paul Feely, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Yahoo.com, September 18, 2024

A national animal research watchdog group reports the University of New Hampshire was written up this summer by federal inspectors for "drowning animals and numerous sanitation issues" at animal research facilities, though there are discrepancies between the inspectors' report and the group's accusations.

Stop Animal Exploitation NOW (SAEN), a national research watchdog based in Ohio that monitors U.S. research facilities for illegal activity and abuse, said a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection charged the laboratory with numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

SAEN filed a complaint urging the USDA to impose penalties against UNH, including the maximum fine of $12,722 per animal/per infraction.

"The USDA has now issued multiple serious citations against the University of New Hampshire," said Stacey Ellison, a SAEN research analyst. "The next step must be a major fine against this criminal laboratory."

SAEN said it obtained a federal report indicating the lab was killing small mammals by drowning them in pitfall traps as a "method of euthanasia" and their annual report excluded the details needed to ensure "public accountability for animal research."

A copy of the report filed by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service obtained by the New Hampshire Union Leader states, the annual report did not include a search term for the method of death, drowning, in pitfall traps of small mammals.

"This method does not meet the definition of euthanasia, ('the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that produces rapid unconsciousness and subsequent death without evidence of pain or distress'), and the IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) must be assured that a thorough search for alternatives was performed. The facility must ensure that an appropriate search for and evaluation of alternatives is done."

"The facility must ensure that the annual report fully describes all animal use."

According to the U.S. Forest Service, pitfall traps are commonly used to sample reptiles and amphibians, but their use often results in "high levels of mortality in small mammals."

A spokesperson for the school said the activities in question are part of a longitudinal field study investigating the impact of disturbance on wild animal populations in New England.

"The University of New Hampshire complies with all applicable provisions of the Animal Welfare Act, the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and other Federal and state statutes and regulations relating to the care and use of vertebrate animals," the spokesperson wrote in an email.

A source said the report refers to the trapping of small mammals such as mice and voles for research purposes.

The USDA report also cites sanitation issues at the UNH site, such as:

—The dairy barn had multiple sites where use and/or animals had damaged the facility: a rusted, sharp end of a pole on the walkway; a rusted, sharp-edged hole at the bottom of a metal pillar at the edge of the milking parlor; two sharp-edged holes in the metal wall covering in the heifer pen; and a loose, flapping sharp plastic edge portion of a calf hutch, saying the "damages to the facilities represent injury risks to the animals."

—The ceiling of the dairy barn had excessive dust/dirt/manure present over the animal stalls in large sections near the ceiling fans, warning the buildup of "dirt and excreta may be detrimental to the health of the animals. and prevent the fans from appropriately functioning to circulate air and cool the barn."

—The top of the water heater in the calf treatment room was covered in dirt, white soap powder, and rust on the electrical connections, and the room itself was dirty, with manure and debris on the floor and surfaces.

—Three of the large suspended ceiling fans had bird nests built into and on them, within inspectors warning the nests are "made of materials that may ignite, may cause overheating of the fan, and may impede proper function of the fans." 

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