FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Contact: Michael Budkie, SAEN, 513-575-5517; 513-703-9865 (cell)

ATTN: Assignment Desk

Jackson, MS – SAEN, A national research watchdog organization, has announced that it is launching an investigation of all primate experimentation conducted at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMISS), in the wake of concerns for the monkey, Mowgli, who was transferred to UMISS from the University of Connecticut.

“The University of Mississippi conducts several highly invasive experiments that subject primates to addictive drugs, literally bolt devices to monkeys’ skulls, and potentially deprive primates of water,” said Michael A. Budkie, A.H.T., SAEN’s Executive Director. “This is the kind of experimentation that has led to violations of federal laws at other facilities.”

UMISS Director of Animal Care, Andrew W. Grady, has been contacted to request a tour of the center’s facilities as well as all experimental and veterinary records involving primate experiments for the last year.

“It’s time for the University of Mississippi to prove that animals within this facility are properly cared for,” added Budkie. “If they have nothing to hide, then a tour should be no problem.”

At the center of the controversy are the highly invasive primate experiments of William Woolverton, Paul May, and Wu Zhou who collectively bring over $1 million per year to the University of Mississippi, including a $125,000 salary supplement grant for Woolverton. Woolverton’s cocaine addiction experiments have been underway for over ten years, while May’s and Zhou’s brain research projects have each been funded for 5 years.

“These experiments aren’t about science or human health,” added Budkie. “They’re about bringing millions in federal grants to the University of Mississippi.”

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See: Letter Requesting Access to Veterinary Records and Facility Tour - 27 Feb 2007

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