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From the Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/news/mich/date27_20020827.htm Animal abuse complaint names U-M,
professor The University of Michigan has been named in a complaint filed Monday with the U.S. Department of Agriculture by Stop Animal Exploitation NOW, a national animal welfare organization. In the complaint, SAEN charges Dr. James Woods, a U-M professor of pharmacology, has given about 90 primates in his care "inadequate and negligent animal care." SAEN also charges that Woods violated the federal Animal Welfare Act because his experiments on cocaine addiction in monkeys for the last 30 years are "unnecessarily duplicative." The National Institutes of Health currently funds 55 separate experiments, according to the SAEN complaint. Woods could not be reached for comment. Dr. Howard Rush, U-M veterinarian, said the SAEN charges are unfounded. U-M has 124 research primates, he said. "We meet and exceed every care and use standard," Rush said. "We have a model program. Infections are uncommon and we lose 2 to 3 percent of our monkeys a year to research complications." USDA officials could not be reached for comment. SAEN Executive Director Michael Budkie said the complaint likely will require the USDA to conduct an investigation. SAEN members plan demonstrations on Wednesday and Saturday near the U-M Medical School as part of National Primate Liberation Week Aug. 24-Sept. 2. Protests also will take place in Kalamazoo, Boston, New Haven, Conn., and other cities to protest primate research. Return to Media Coverage |
