National Association for Biomedical Research 20 July 2001

[Wise Young]

July 20 2001 Volume: XXIII Number: 17

NABR RESPONDS TO DOLE LETTER REGARDING RATS, MICE AND BIRDS On July 2, 2001 NABR President Frankie L. Trull sent a letter to former Senator Bob Dole in response to his letter to the Alternatives Rese arch and Development Foundation (ARDF) in which he outlined his support for the inclusion of rats, mice and birds under the Animal Welfare Act (NABR UPDATE, Vol. XXII, No. 11). Dole, whose letter was featured in a full-page advertisement in Roll Call, wro te that the AWA was meant to include rats, mice and birds. "I am aware of efforts by opponents of animal welfare to prevent coverage of birds, mice and rats as detrimental to research . . . This notion is preposterous," said Dole. In NABR's response to Do le, Trull points out that the senator, who was instrumental in passing the 1985 AWA amendments, stated clearly and on the record in a 1983 hearing on S. 657, a bill entitled "Improved Standards for Laboratory Animals Act," that the exclusion of rats, mice and birds from the AWA should remain in place. During that hearing, Dole stated, "By regulation, the Animal Welfare Act excludes birds, rats, mice and domestic farm animals. My bill does not change these exclusions." Dole also claims in his Roll Call let ter that oversight programs other than the AWA do not provide legal consequences for failure to perform. Trull refutes that claim by stating that "In fact, the Health Research Extension Act (P.L. 99-158, Sec. 495(d)(3)) contains perhaps the most significa nt penalty for noncompliance with animal welfare requirements-the loss of federal grant or contract funding." Trull concludes her letter by stating that "NABR and its members are strongly committed to animal welfare....we cannot support proposed regulatio ns that do not improve animal care, but will undermine research." To date, NABR has not received a response from Dole.

ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP SUES OHSU
In Defense of Animals (IDA) has sued the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) demanding the release of documents from the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center (ORPRC). IDA claims that state law requires disclosure of certain documents at publicly funded facilities such as the primate center. "We are asking for health records, including daily health car e records, for the monkeys," IDA Spokesman Matt Rossell told The Associated Press. "We also want to see necropsies (death reports) on the monkeys." According to the lawsuit, IDA claims that the $13,000 cost associated with collecting, reviewing and copying the documents is a violation of freedom of information laws, which make public records available at costs that are not excessive. The lawsuit requests that ORPRC waive or substantially reduce research and copy fees. OHSU declined to comment on the lawsuit, details of which had not been immediately disclosed. They did, however, state that like any public institution they receive hundreds of requests every year for public records and their policy is to provide those records and to charge a reasonable cost for doing so. OHSU also states that IDA has asked for hundreds of pages of complex documents, which "requires a significant amount of staff time to collect, review and copy." As an institution that receives public money, OHSU states that it is their "obl igation and responsibility" to recoup the public's money that is not spent "collecting, reviewing and copying these records." "We cannot and will not subsidize the IDA or any other organization that requests public records," OHSU said in a statement.

This isn't the first time Rossell and IDA have focused an attack on the ORPRC. In 2000, Rossell, who has made a career out of infiltrating research centers, held a news conference alleging primate abuse at the ORPRC (NABR UPDATE Vol. XXI, No. 19). The United States Department of Agriculture later cleared the research center of all abuse allegations (NABR UPDATE VOL. XXII, No. 2).

HUNTINGDON LIFE SCIENCES PROTESTORS ARRESTED IN NEW JERSEY More than 20 animal rights demonstrators representing Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) were arrested on Friday, July 13 during a protest outside the New Brunswick, N.J. home of a Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) executive. According to reports, protesters threw red paint on the front of the home. The UK-based drug-testing company has long been the target of animal rights activists (NABR UPDATE Vol. XXII, Nos. 3, 4, 7, 8 and 16).

Earlier on Friday, demonstrators protested outside a Bank of New York office in New Brunswick, and about 70 demonstrators later gathered for a vig il outside the laboratory in East Millstone, according to The Associated Press. SHAC is targeting the Bank of New York because the bank holds shares in HLS. The East Millstone laboratory in Somerset County, N.J. is HLS's only U.S. lab.
Nineteen adults and one juvenile were arrested and charged with violating a restraining order barring them from the area around the executive's home. Eight people were arrested earlier in the day at the Bank of New York, where an American flag was knocked down and leaflets scattered about the building. Those arrested were charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and defiant trespassing. The activists were released after posting bail a few days later. The New Jersey Animal Defense League, which protested along with SHAC, is now crying poverty. In a recent press release sent to their supporters, the animal rights group announced that they are holding a garage sale to recoup funds put up for bail, which according to the group was set at $25,000 each.

FBR NEW BROCHURES HIGHL IGHT BENEFITS OF ANIMAL RESEARCH Enclosed in this mailing are two new informative brochures produced by NABR's sister organization, the Foundation for Biomedical Research: Animal Research: Fact vs. Myth is a timely publication aimed at dispelling the comm on myths of the anti-research element of the animal rights movement; and The Proud Achievements of Animal Research offers a brief overview of the remarkable contribution that animal research has made to medical and scientific advances-for human and anima l health-in the last century. Both brochures are available in PDF format on the Foundation's Web site: www.fbresearch.org <http://www.fbresearch.org> and can be purchased for $0.25 per copy or the bulk discount price o f $0.10 for orders exceeding 200. Contact the Foundation for more details at (202) 457-0654.

PETA SPOKESPERSON ARRESTED IN BRITAIN FOR STREAKING People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) activist Bruce Friedrich, 31, was arrested Thursday for running naked in front of Buckingham Palace minutes before President George W. Bush arrived to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II. Police immediately apprehended Friedrich, who painted "Go Vegan" on his body before streaking across the palace grounds. PETA claims that farm animals have no protection from daily abuse. (And that's not the naked truth.)

RHODE ISLAND IS FIRST STATE TO USE THE WORDS ANIMAL "GUARDIAN" AND "OWNER" INTERCHANGABLY
HB 6119 became law on July 5, 2001 making Rhode Island the first state to use the word guardian and owner interchangeably in the animal cruelty statute (NABR UPDATE, Vol. XXII, No. 5). The bill defines "guardian" as "a person(s) having the same rights and responsibilities of an owner, keeper and both terms shall be used interchangeably." Already the municipalities of Berkeley, Calif. and Boulder, Colo. have passed similar legislation to make owner/guardian the title of pet owners..