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SAEN has been in the forefront of exposing horrible situations in labs
and fighting for change. The paltry nature of the fines discussed in
this article underscore the importance of our work. Negative publicity
is more effective than tiny USDA fines. University of California, Davis � In December of 2005 the
University of California, Davis was fined $4,815 for the tragic death of
seven cynomolgus monkeys in August of 2004. The monkeys perished when a
heating system malfunctioned (left unchecked by Davis staff) raising the
temperature of their housing to fatal levels. �In light of the $63,150,026 which Davis received from the National
Institutes of Health for fiscal 2004, a fine of $4815 wouldn�t even
qualify as a slap on the wrist,� said Michael A. Budkie, A.H.T., SAEN�s
Executive Director, �this fine is less than insignificant.� This penalty
is equivalent to fining a person $2.40 for a traffic ticket whose annual
salary is $30,000 � where�s the deterrent? The horrible deaths of these innocent animals were truly a tragedy
caused by nothing short of criminal negligence. However, we must not
forget that 731 other primates died at this laboratory during the same
year. The lives of these other animals were no less significant. Contact the Chancellor of UC Davis to protest the cruelty that kills
hundreds of primates every year: Larry Vanderhoef, Chancellor Johns Hopkins University � In August of 2005 the United States
Department of Agriculture levied a $25,000 file against Johns Hopkins
University (JHU) for violating the Animal Welfare Act during a period of
3 years. Since JHU brings in roughly $254 million per year from animal
experiments, this fine is worse than paltry. It is like fining someone
who makes $30,000 per year $3 for a traffic citation � again, who would
care? Violations at JHU included inadequate veterinary care, filing of
fraudulent reports, inadequate cage size, and many other violations.
Animals at JHU were subjected to drug withdrawal, congestive heart
failure, and social isolation. �In April of 2004 we labeled Johns Hopkins as one of the worst labs
in the nation for violating the Animal Welfare Act 31 times in a 3-year
period,� said Michael A. Budkie, A.H.T., SAEN�s Executive Director.
�Apparently the USDA agrees with us.� USDA documents reveal the suffering and death of primates, dogs,
rabbits, and other species within JHU labs. Currently, active
experiments at JHU subject baboons to the throes of drug addiction and
macaque monkeys to cruel confinement in restraint chairs. Contact JHU�s President to protest abuse within the university�s
facilities: William R. Brody, President University of Nevada, Reno �In June of 2005, the University of
Nevada, Reno (UNR) was fined $11,400 by the USDA for multiple violations
of the Animal Welfare Act. These violations included: � 7 incidents of depriving animals of water � 3 incidents where animals were deprived of food or fed in an
unsanitary way � 3 instances of inadequate veterinary care � 6 instances where the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
failed to enforce the Animal Welfare Act within UNR SAEN has justifiably labeled this facility as the worst lab in the
nation, with 46 AWA violations in a ten-month period. �UNR has broken
federal law 46 times in less than 1 year, and these serious violations
jeopardize the lives of dozens of animals,� said Michael A. Budkie,
SAEN�s Executive Director.
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