AR-News: PETA Still Pressuring CU About Lab Experiments

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From: primfocus at waste.org

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/02/19/403481f18cca0

PETA Still Pressuring CU About Lab Experiments

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Has Complained About Columbia
Researchers' Treatment of Animal Subjects

By Lenora Babb
Spectator Staff Writer
February 19, 2004

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is intensifying its campaign
against Columbia. Undaunted by what they see as an unresponsive
administration, activists from the organization continue to protest what
they call "grotesque abuses to animals" in laboratories at Columbia.

The organization has been mobilized against the university since late 2002
when veterinarian Catherine Dell'Orto came to PETA with descriptions of
abuse in Columbia's labs.

According to Mary-Beth Sweetland, director of research and investigations at
PETA, Dell'Orto recently had a meeting with members of an investigative
committee at the University to address her concerns.

PETA was unsatisfied with the outcome of this meeting. "It was, as far as
we're concerned, a farce," Sweetland said.

The organization has been busy in the past months trying to bring the issue
to the attention of alumni, writing letters and sending copies of a
videotape to the Alumni Regional Offices that shows images of mutilated,
caged baboons said to be from the Columbia labs.

Animal rights activists from PETA continue to protest at Columbia events
across the country, distributing leaflets and putting up signs.

According to Sweetland, PETA has not received any response from the
university.

"I think [Columbia's] normal way of handling things is just ignore, ignore,
ignore," she said.

When asked to comment, medical center spokesperson Annie Bayne said in an
e-mail, "The Columbia University Medical Center takes any allegations of
mistreatment seriously. We continue to encourage our staff and faculty to
alert us to any concerns they may have related to animals under our care."

According to Bayne, the investigation that was launched when the accusations
were made against the Center has "already resulted in changes to our animal
research program."

These changes include the creation of a formal review process for animal
morbidity and mortality, additional review and monitoring of research
protocols involving invasive surgery, improvements in record-keeping,
additional staff training, and increased veterinary care on evenings and
weekends.

Also, according to Bayne, the medical center has brought in outside experts
"to review the program for animal care and use in detail and to make
recommendations that will help ensure that it meets the highest standards in
all respects."

PETA has said that they will not to rest until the most egregious of the
experiments are halted, and the suspension of Dr. E. Sander Connolly's
controversial stroke research has focused the activists' attention on
remaining research projects.

Connolly voluntarily halted his research while the investigation was
ongoing, and Bayne said that if he were to begin again, "the research
protocol for that study will be subject to the additional safeguards that
have been implemented by Columbia."

According to PETA's Web site, the two experiments that remain on PETA's
list, and have not been reported stopped, include an experiment where
monkeys have "metal pipes surgically implanted in their skulls for the sole
purpose of inducing stress in order to study the connection between stress
and women's menstrual cycles," and another where PETA claims that
researchers are "pumping nicotine and morphine into pregnant baboons who are
strapped into backpacks full of instrumentation and tethered inside their
metal cages."

Despite these descriptions, Bayne stressed that the investigative committee
has found no protocol violations.

"Research involving laboratory animals is crucial to this discovery process
if we ever hope to find the best possible treatments and ultimately the
cures for life-threatening, catastrophic diseases," Bayne wrote. "Columbia
University Medical Center is at the forefront of research seeking to better
understand and treat human disease."

the wild, cruel beast is not behind the bars of the cage. he is in front of it - axel munthe

"Never doubt that a small group of dedicated citizens can change the world. 
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."      Margaret Mead
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