UCLA Accused Of Animal Abuse In Labs – CBS Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – UCLA is being accused of violating the Animal Welfare Act in reference to the loss of life of two rabbits and a pig at its analysis labs, an animal-advocacy group introduced Wednesday, however the college disputed the group’s “characterization of these events.”

The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now says it obtained a beforehand unpublished UCLA report revealing that a number of animals developed encephalitis, together with one pig who died, and that two rabbits died from what the group described as negligence, one from choking and one from anesthesia.

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SAEN filed a federal criticism with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, alleging the deaths and accidents violated federal regulation and a number of federal laws for animal dealing with, veterinary care, correct feeding, personnel {qualifications} and different issues.

The criticism seeks the utmost federal positive of $10,000 per infraction/per animal.

“Any laboratory which allows animals in a project to develop encephalitis and kills another with faulty anesthesia should not be trusted to perform scientific procedures,” SAEN co-founder Michael Budkie stated in an announcement. “Supposedly `scientific’ data coming from UCLA animal labs cannot be trusted.”

UCLA officers disputed the accusations.

“We disagree with SAEN’s characterization of these events. As always, we will fully cooperate with any investigation by external regulatory bodies,” Bill Kisliuk, UCLA’s director of media relations, informed City News Service on Wednesday.

“At UCLA, the Animal Research Committee is responsible for overseeing an animal program involving approximately 950 protocols for over 400 different principal investigators. Despite the complex nature of this program, we are proud to report that unexpected problems such as these are infrequent. When they do transpire, they are investigated promptly and modifications to procedures are implemented where necessary,” he stated.

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According to SAEN, UCLA reported the incidents internally to the varsity’s Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee. That report allegedly states that on May 10, 2021, two rabbits “died prematurely. First rabbit was suspected to have choked on its food as autopsy by our lab showed food pellets in airway. … Second rabbit, died during surgery. Premature death was attributed to anesthetics used by DLAM.”

The report additionally allegedly discusses the loss of life of a pig, and sickness of a second one on Feb. 19, 2021.

“We’ve had 2 cases in which our pigs have contracted some form of encephalitis or neurologic issues, one pig suddenly dying, while the other recovered a few days later,” the report states, based on SAEN.

SAEN claims that “animals who are cared for in compliance with requirements for adequate veterinary care should never develop encephalitis.”

Last yr, SAEN accused USC of comparable offenses, saying unauthorized workers members amputated the ears of a number of mice in acts that weren’t related to scientific experiments, overdosed different mice with painkillers resulting in their deaths, and inflicted extreme stab wounds within the necks of pigs throughout surgical procedures.

The group stated USC officers positioned the lab’s animal use protocols on suspension for not less than 90 days, denied entry to the animal facility for the people concerned with the amputations, and suspended all animal use exercise on the lab the place the mice had been overdosed.

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“It was the university that first discovered these incidents and self- reported them to National Institutes of Health,” USC stated in an announcement to the Daily Trojan. “The university has since taken a number of steps, including enhanced retraining, to help ensure that they don’t reoccur.”