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Newsletters Negligence and Abuse at the University of Washington, Seattle The University of Washington, Seattle (UW) is the number one
laboratory in the U.S. in terms of government funding from the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) receiving over $440 million per year for
animal experimentation. However, it appears that all that money hasn’t
made the folks at the UW any better at caring for primates or even
counting them effectively. Internal government reports leaked by United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) staff reveal cruel UW experimental procedures. The
eleven page report lists 44 separate instances of abusive procedures
within UW facilities. The abuses include surgical implantation of “head
holders” into the skulls of primates, insertion of eye coils, placement
of “stabilization lugs” into primates’ skulls, etc. “This is the longest list of unacceptable research practices that I
have ever seen,” added Budkie. “We have 2004 documents for hundreds of
other labs and no one else comes close.” The same USDA report filed by the UW lists 2004 total primate
population/use at 1160. However, a NIH progress report filed by UW
officials for the Washington Primate Center lists an April, 2004 primate
inventory of 2151. The 991 primate reporting discrepancy is truly
disturbing, both because the UW is clearly lying to at least one
government agency, and also because this improper reporting is a
violation of federal law. This error also clearly reveals a cavalier
attitude towards both the significance of the lives of primates and
towards obeying federal law. SAEN has filed an “Official Complaint” against the University of
Washington with the USDA over the non-reporting of 991 primates,
requesting an official investigation. “Apparently UW officials think
that they can lie to federal agencies with impunity,” said Budkie. “In
our complaint we have asked the USDA to take severe enforcement actions
against the UW.” Please contact the President of the University of Washington to
protest abusive lab practices: Mark A. Emmert, President
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