AR-News: Vet school deals with aftermath of controversial experiment

Tue Feb 10 20:52:53 EST 2004

From:interniche-l at interniche.org

http://www.tuftsdaily.com/articleDisplay.jsp?a_id=3095

Trying to move on

Vet school deals with aftermath of controversial
experiment

by Jon Schubin
Daily Editorial Board

The veterinary school is struggling to restore a sense
of calm and unity to the campus one month after a
canine experiment ended in the euthanasia of six dogs.

The controversy swept through the school and into the
media after four students in the Masters of Science in
Animals and Public Policy program complained about the
school's research on bone healing. The animal
subjects' bones were purposefully broken and then
allowed to heal using different treatments. All six
dogs were subsequently euthanized to study the effects
of the treatment. 

There is no ongoing research on dogs but Vet School
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Angeline Warner
said this was not related to the recent debate. 

Doctorate students said they were offended at
allegations of animal cruelty, saying the Vet School
prides itself on high ethical standards. "If research
is going to happen, Tufts is a place that is so
ethical that is so concerned about animal welfare and
animals not being in harm's way," second year class
co-president Alisha Weissman said. "I couldn't believe
they were taking this approach," and went to the
press. 

"When we first returned to campus, the general feeling
was that of anger," at the Masters students, Weissman
explained. While this feeling has since calmed,
Weissman said a sense of disharmony and betrayal
amongst the students has emerged from the events. 

Weissman also added she is concerned that the opinion
of four master students who originally protested the
experiments is taken to be that of the entire student
body. The masters program has ten students, while
there are approximately 240 doctoral students. 201 of
these students signed a letter supporting the actions
of the researchers which ran in The Boston Herald. 

"We have no conflict in support of our school, its
staff, or our love for animals," they wrote in the
letter. "Tufts continues to be a leader in veterinary
ethics in part because it is receptive to students'
ideas." 

Masters student Tara Turner said she and three of her
peers took action after hearing the Institutional
Animal Care and Use Committee's (IACUC) decision. The
IACUC is a federally mandated body reviews and
approves all research at the school. 

The graduate students then sent out notices to the
media. The Boston Herald, Associated Press and other
major news outlets ran stories about the research. Vet
School officials said they then received complaints
from animal rights activists and several Grafton town
residents. A demonstration against the testing was
held was on school grounds. 

Despite the complaints, the Massachusetts Department
of Public Health and the Animal Rescue League found no
evidence of animal cruelty following an inspection of
the veterinary school. 

Turner bristled at the suggestion that she and her
fellow masters students had acted irresponsibly by
talking to the media. She said that the students only
contacted the press after several attempts to resolve
the matter internally. 

This view is supported by Carter Loup, Vice President
of Animal Protection at the Massachusetts Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. But Loup said
that although the Vet School's experiment was
appropriate, the experience had been traumatic for the
community. 

"I think there's a lot of hurt and pain within the
[Vet School] family, if you will, right now," Loup
said. 

According to Dr. Theodora Capaldo, President and
Executive Director of New England Anti-Vivisection
Society (NEAVS), a group of first-year veterinary
students also had concerns about the canine study, but
did not favor going to the press. NEAVS is an
organization that tries to develop alternatives to
animal research. 

The Vet School allowed the students to review a copy
of research guidelines inside the school for a short
period. They were then given a weekend to make a
proposal for alternative guidelines. 

Ultimately, Warner said the proposals "were among
those the investigator already considered in his
federally-mandated search for alternatives." she said.
Warner said non-lethal alternatives would not have
provided results that would pass scrutiny in the
academic community. 

"If the results are not made available to practicing
veterinarians through publication, the benefits of
treating fractures with this new method would never be
made available to dogs, and the scientific
contribution made by the dogs in the study would have
been lost," Warner said. 

Any student can bring concerns about research before
the Animal Welfare Committee, which has students,
staff and administrators on it. "If the [animal
welfare committee] felt there was a problem they would
rely their concerns to the IACUC," Warner said. 

Turner is preparing a proposal for new IUCAC
guidelines for research, which will include an
emphasis on non-lethal alternatives in research. She
hopes to submit them by the end of the month. Capaldo
said the NEAVS will be also be sending a letter with
proposed changes. 

The researchers from the canine experiment declined to
comment for this article, and instead referred
questions to Warner. She said although the school had
not been charged with any violations, the school would
enter a period of evaluation. 

"We're entering an honest and open dialogue within the
campus community about research and research ethics,"
she said. "We hope it is a productive dialogue that
doesn't just end with people reaching polarized
conclusions." 

Loup said that though he believed the Vet School had
taken the questions raised by the Masters students
seriously, the ensuing discussion is still valid. "I
think that all institutions need to review
periodically how they view research that involves
euthanasia and any kind of suffering," he said. "I
think that's a good thing." 

A new lecture series on research ethics has been
launched exclusively for veterinary students on the
Grafton campus. 

The first talk was given by University Chaplain David
O'Leary called "Seven Ethical Habits for DVMs [Doctors
of Veterinary Medicine]." Leary, who has a doctorate
in medical ethics, said the discussion was "very
civil" and the audience engaged in a productive
question and answer session at the end. Discussions
will be scheduled throughout the semester. 

Warner said the disruptions of the past month also
forced the school to increase security. All faculty
and students must now wear identification badges,
which are checked prior to admittance into buildings. 

"We're used to being out in the country and not having
to worry too much about security and we have to change
that now," Warner said. 

Weissman said she would like the graduate students to
volunteer in the ICU unit, to understand the kind of
care the school provides. She had a mixed assessment
of the graduate student's actions. 

"I commend them for beginning the process and trying
to present alternative methods to the research, even
though they were scientifically inappropriate," she
said. "I don't think they were getting the answers
they wanted to hear." 

"They started out on the right track on how to voice
their opinion, it would have been better if they had
spoken to the second, third and fourth year vet
students," Weissman said.

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