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Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!
S. A. E. N.
"Exposing the truth to wipe out animal experimentation"

Press Releases

University of Iowa Breaks Federal Law; Squanders Tens of Millions on Useless Research

VERY URGENT NEWS ADVISORY
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
Contact: Leana Stormont (319) 337-4832 Michael Budkie (513) 575-5517

Attn: Assignment Desk

Iowa City, IA - A national research watchdog organization has called a major news conference WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 at 1:00 p.m. at Spence Laboratories of Psychology Main Entrance, 308 East Iowa Ave.

The news conference will release internal University of Iowa (UI) documents which reveal violations of federal law, poor oversight of research projects, and lack of real public representation on UI animal care committees.

The news briefing will also release an audit of U.S. research laboratories, including the University of Iowa. The audit demonstrates that more than $12 billion in federal funds are spent on research that harms human health by diverting precious resources away from methodologies better suited to treating and curing human disease.

SAEN, a non-profit, Cincinnati-based watchdog group, ranked UI as No. 36 among the top 50 labs receiving the most federal funding in the nation. Animal research is big business at UI, bringing in approximately $94 million annually.

This research not only harms animals, it wastes valuable public resources. According to Michael Budkie, the author of the recent report and executive director of SAEN, poor oversight and misuse of federal funds jeopardizes the validity of animal research experiments nationwide.

"Much of the research in dozens of U.S. labs, including those at UI, is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Our audit suggests as much," said Budkie.

The news conference will be conducted by SAEN's Midwest Coordinator.

The University of Iowa was the target of a raid by the Animal Liberation Front, an underground animal rights group last November.

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