Activists question animal research ethics

Activists question animal research ethics

By Lisa Marie Weyh

Anyone who has been up to North Campus has probably seen the
many cats that roam the campus.

Concerned students said they keep these cats healthy with food
and vaccines.

But UCLA is the home for other felines as well. These animals
are used as research subjects, sparking controversy with animal
rights groups.

Scientists maintain that animal experimentation is necessary to
find cures for human diseases, while activists argue that the
treatment given to them is inhumane.

Animal researchers keep these cats in cages and sometimes sever
their spines.

Last Chance for Animals (LCA), a non-profit animal rights
organization based in Los Angeles, said they are appalled at the UC
campuses for their involvement with animal research.

"The UC system spends more money on animal experimentation than
any other research facility," said Simon Oswitch, a campaign
coordinator for the organization. "Our country spends more money on
animal research than any other country does."

Since 1972, the UCs have spent $3.4 billion in animal research
and have performed 30,000 experiments, activists said.

But UCLA’s reputation as a research institution necessitates the
use of animal experiments, officials said.

"UCLA uses animals as models of human diseases in order to
improve human health," said Greg Heisey, director of lab animal
medicine.

"People have every right to protest, but I think that comes from
ignorance of what’s really going on inside the animal rooms,"
Heisey said. "I know how animal rights activists portray things and
it’s not close to what’s happening."

Researchers say the experiments done on animals at UCLA are very
controlled.

But even with controlled experiments, activists remain wary of
the treatment of animal subjects. As a result, they often hold
public protests.

As campaign coordinator, Oswitch organizes public demonstrations
in order to publicize serious violations of animal rights, and
sometimes in order to publicize violations of federal law, as in
the case of USC.

Researchers at USC have been accused of violating guidelines for
humane animal treatment.

"Rabbits have fallen off examining tables and broken their
backs, post-operative records for survival surgeries are absent and
the ammonia levels in animal rooms are very high," Oswitch
said.

"In my many years of analyzing government documents, I have yet
to see such flagrant violations of federal law by a major research
facility," Oswitch said. "This completely unacceptable situation
must be remedied."

The violations at USC have not only enraged officials but have
also upset college students nationwide.

"From January 1993 to November 1994, USC has been out of
compliance with federal law 44 times," said Candice McCormick, a
USC senior and animal rights activist.

"This outrageous figure clearly indicates that experimental
animals are not receiving humane care," McCormick added.

LCA said animal research officials at USC have failed to respond
to the numerous inquiry letters from the community.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has threatened legal action
to force USC into compliance with federal law.

This inhumane treatment of animals also continues at the UC
campuses, and researchers are repeating the same experiments over
and over again, he added.

"Animals are the most intelligent beings on this earth," said
Wendy Cornelius, UCLA senior dance student and activist. "The
people who are dissecting into these animals need to realize they
are destroying our primary educators."

Among the UCs, UC Santa Barbara is recognized by animal rights
organizations as another institution that treats animals
inhumanely.

"At UCSB, animal research prevails with experiments such as
detaching retinas from cat’s eyes in order to see what happens at
the molecular level over a specific time period," Oswitch said.

"The only result of this experiment was published figures … to
these people it’s a measure of their academic success," Oswitch
explained. "We all know that at UC academic institutions it’s
publish or perish."

Activists say animal abuse is not limited to academic research,
and it may be closer to home than one expects.

"We are also concerned with pet theft, animal entertainment and
the fur industry," Oswitch said.

Activists maintain that people may be unaware that tax dollars
support animal research.

According to LCA, tax dollars are being used to encourage pet
theft by funding facilities that perform experiments on companion
animals.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has an annual budget of
$12 billion to go toward research, with 60 percent for animal
experimentation.