UW performs tests on a variety of animals. Animals which are subjected to experiments involving pain or distress include dogs, rabbits, primates, pigs, sheep, gerbils, bobcats, ferrets, and coyotes.[1]
Animal Research & Care Facility
editOn November 14, 2013, UW's Board of Regents unanimously approved plans for a new animal testing lab, the "Animal Research & Care Facility" (ARCF).[2] The facility was initially budgeted at $123.5 million. In January 2017, the Board of Regents approved $18.5 million in additional money to finish construction.[3]
Several protests occurred during construction of the lab, with a large protest of about 500 people occurring on April 25, 2015.[4][5]
Animal rights organizations protested the construction of the lab and won a court case that found the UW Board of Regents violated public meeting law by discussing the lab at the UW presidents home.
The current ARCF is located at the south end of UW Seattle's campus on NE Pacific St.
IACUC
editAnimal testing at UW is overseen by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
Incidents and Controversies
editFrom 2011 to 2012, a member of a research time failed to give a group of thirty rabbits proper pain relief medication. On February 5, 2013, the same person breached protocol by improperly administering another rabbit anesthesia during surgery.[6]
In 2013, a rabbit was discovered to have a fractured pelvis that resulted in paralysis and euthanasia. Although the lab claimed to have no explanation of what happened, it was discovered that a technician had handled the animal the previous day, and a necropsy suggested that the injury occurred on that day.[6]
In February 2014, the USDA found that a guinea pig had died after not receiving proper pain relief for a surgery three days prior.[6]
Primate testing
editPigs for surgical training
editIn 2019, UW's medical school resumed using live pigs for surgical training. Pigs had not been used for medical testing for five years. This decision was met with criticism by UW professor Lisa Jones-Engel.[7]
in 2015 a King County Superior Court ruled that the UW's governing board violated the state's Open Public Meetings Act on 24 occasions from 2012 to 2014. The animal lab was discussed at one of these dinner meetings. [8]
Experimental prodedures
editReferences
edit- ^ "USDA Annual Report of Research Facility No. 0180-DOA-AN". USDA. April 2, 2020.
- ^ Sandi Doughton (November 15, 2013). "UW approves new animal-research facility". The Seattle Times.
- ^ Katherine Long (January 13, 2017). "UW plugs $18.5 million gap to finish animal lab". The Seattle Times.
- ^ Jack Broom (April 25, 2015). "Hundreds of activists protest against new UW animal lab". The Seattle Times.
- ^ Katherine Long (October 1, 2015). "Animal-rights activists plan march to protest construction of UW Lab". The Seattle Times.
- ^ a b c Diane Forbes (February 28, 2014). "USDA Inspection Report 59141644580261". USDA.
- ^ "UW resumes controversial use of live animals in surgical training". KIRO-TV. May 31, 2019.
- ^ Katherine Long (April 24, 2015). "UW broke state open-meetings law 24 times, judge rules". The Seattle Times.