Lansing lab named to ‘Most Painful’ List; Over 7000 animals suffer without pain relief at local lab

Press Release
From Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!
S. A. E. N.
"Exposing the truth to wipe out animal experimentation"


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Contact: Michael Budkie, SAEN, 513-575-5517
attn: News Desk
 

Lansing lab named to ‘Most Painful’ List; Over 7000 animals suffer without pain relief at local lab

LANSING, MI – Twenty nationally known research labs have been ranked as the "most painful" in the nation for their abuse of animals from non-human primates to hamsters and guinea pigs, in a White Paper released nationally today by a non-profit Research Watchdog Group, SAEN.

According to government documents obtained by SAEN, these twenty labs routinely subject animals of all species to painful experiments without relief of any kind. The list consists of eight facilities from the pharmaceutical industry, four labs doing experiments in chemical/bio-defense, four universities, and four private laboratories. Government records show that the Emergent Biodefense lab of Lansing used 7187 animals in experiments involving unrelieved pain. In combination with three other defense oriented labs, Aberdeen Proving Ground (MD), Army Institute of Infectious Diseases (MD), and the Battelle Memorial Institute (OH), these 4 facilities collectively use 17,428 animals experiencing unrelieved pain, averaging 4357 per facility and accounting for 22.9% of the national total.

“These labs routinely subject tens of thousands of animals to extreme pain resulting from chemical and biological weapons, severe disease, and toxic chemicals,” said Michael A. Budkie, A.H.T., Executive Director SAEN. “Many of these innocent creatures die horrible deaths with no relief of any kind.”

Despite general requirements for pain relief in federal regulations, labs can legally deny pain relief to experimental animals for scientific reasons.

“Currently with initial self-approval of research protocols by labs, literally anything goes,” added Budkie. “The public perception that animals in laboratories are protected from pain or distress is an illusion.”

The full report, top twenty list, and all relevant documents are available upon request.

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See U.S. Top 20 Most Painful Animal Labs - Report

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