Hartford Courant - January 26, 2006
| January 26, 2006 2 MONKEYS DIE IN RESEARCH ; UCONN STUDENTS PROTEST HEALTH CENTER'S USE OF PRIMATES by Grace Merritt Two of three monkeys being used in research projects at the University of Connecticut Health Center have died. A report to UConn President Philip E. Austin said that one of the monkeys was euthanized at the end of a neuroscience study as part of the experiment protocol. The other died during the research "although it received proper veterinary attention and treatment," the report said. A graduate student who has been protesting using the monkeys in research was upset to learn of the deaths when Austin forwarded him the report. Austin was responding to student Justin Goodman's request to stop experimenting and transfer the monkeys to an animal sanctuary. Austin had requested more information about the research. The timing of the deaths was unclear. UConn officials say the monkeys have been treated humanely and that the laboratory protocol meets high federal standards. In addition, the university plans to continue the neuroscience research, which it says could help in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke and other ailments. A third monkey is being studied now and a fourth has not yet been brought into the neuroscience experiment, but is housed at the Health Center in Farmington. Goodman chained himself to a wrought iron fence outside the Wilbur Cross building as he and about a dozen others protested Wednesday outside a UConn 125th anniversary ceremony in Storrs Wednesday. Goodman said the primate deaths confirmed his fears. "The fact that they admitted that one had died kind of discredits everything they've been saying," Goodman said. "It died either as a result of trauma from the result of what they were doing or from improper veterinary care." He said he plans to continue protesting every day outside Austin's office in Gulley Hall in Storrs to publicize the situation. "We're not going to stop until they stop the research," Goodman said. Goodman said the university has drilled a hole into the skull of each monkey and implanted equipment to record the brain's control of eye movements. Austin's report says that research complies with federal and internal protocols for the humane use of animals and the primate program is a model for other institutions. The report, by Peter J. Deckers, executive vice president for health affairs at the Health Center, says that the project is funded through May and the researcher is applying for continued funding. "This research will help clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke, progressive supranuclear palsy, strabismus and Niemann-Pick disease," Deckers said in the report. Deckers reported that the monkeys are used in research only when there are no reasonable or practical alternatives. Goodman, however, argues that there is an alternative: human beings. He said the same research could be done using humans as subjects, perhaps with non-invasive imaging. In addition to the protests, Goodman said, he has filed a complaint about the monkey experiments with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [Illustration] PHOTO: (B&W), BOB MACDONNELL / THE HARTFORD COURANT; Caption: GRADUATE STUDENT Justin Goodman chains himself to a fence outside the Wilbur Cross building at UConn in Storrs Wednesday to protest using monkeys in experiments at the Health Center in Farmington. |
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| Photos from a 2005 undercover investigation at contract testing firm and primate supplier. Covance Laboratories. The macaques above are used for drug testing at Covance before they are eventually sent to labs like the one at UMC and UCHC to be abused and killed. |
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non-) have an inherent value that
exists outside of their utility to
others. We recognize this value
and afford these individuals the
right to be treated in a manner
that is respectful of it. To act in
a way that reduces animals
(human and non-) to mere
resources for others to exploit
for food, experimentation,
clothing or entertainment is a
violation of this right and it is our
obligation to insure that such
exploitation does not continue.