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Prepared Statement: Animal Care at the Washington National Primate Research Center
During the 2004 – 2005 fiscal year the Washington National Primate
Research Center brought over $260 million to the University of
Washington, Seattle. This facility contains 1186 primates, as of
November, 2005. Animal Care for primates within the University of Washington has long
been a concern. And so the current situation regarding primates within
this facility has been evaluated by examining post-mortem records for
135 primates that died during a period of 17 months. In general, the primates at this facility appear to be highly
stressed. Indicators of high levels of stress include high rates of
gastro-intestinal tract disease (30%), hair loss from over grooming
(10.4%), as well as the existence of ulcers and primates who have lost
fingers, presumably due to fighting. It is also clear that these primates are often very seriously ill.
29% (39) of the animals who died were in inadequate nutritional
condition ranging from thin to severely emaciated. This indicates that
these animals have been left to suffer from disease for far too long of
a period of time. 30% of these animals suffered from colitis, often
severe and ulcerative. 18% suffered from enteritis and 17% suffered from
gastritis. The incidence of encephalitis and meningitis are also extremely high,
including 15% of the primates (20) who died at this facility. This may
be due to the high level of neurologically oriented experimentation
which is underway at the Washington National Primate Research Center.
Specific animals who died at this facility also raise serious
questions regarding the quality of veterinary care and husbandry at the
Washington National Primate Research Center. Primate Z99081 was found
dead, with no mention of previous treatment or veterinary care. This
primate was assigned to Eberhard Fetz. This animal, who was used in
neurological research, died of suppurative encephalitis. This condition
is likely directly related to the variety of experimentation in which he
was used. The brain of this animal had reached a state of necrosis, or
deterioration. This is clearly due to negligence on the part of the
staff of the University of Washington. Primate 04090 was also used in neurological research, and had a “head
cap” and a spinal implant, as well as wires run under the skin of the
arm and connected to muscles. The animal had developed paralysis of the
arm and compression of the spinal column, again directly related to the
variety of experimentation in which this animal was used. Primate A03068 had a severely deteriorated leg, having lost 40 – 50%
of the muscle mass. This muscle loss is due to deterioration of the left
hip joint, the joint contained a mixture of synovial fluid and blood.
The bone had eroded sufficiently to have developed a flat head. This
condition was not reached overnight and also shows no evidence of
treatment. Primate 91386 was found upon examination to have a 3 – 5 mm mass of
connective tissue, which upon cutting revealed a piece of surgical gauze
that had apparently been lost during surgery. Primate 02049 died of
sepsis, or massive bacterial infection. Possibly most interesting is the case of primate A01136. The cause of
death for this animal was never determined because the researcher, in
whose experimentation this animal was used, had cut off the primates’
head and refused to allow the veterinary staff of the UW to examine it,
despite a specific request for this vitally important organ. This
primate was used in the research of Dr. Albert Fuchs. We must begin to
wonder what Dr. Fuchs had to hide. The conditions of the animals at this facility are clearly cause for
concern because they elucidate an overall situation in which the
primates are clearly severely stressed. However, the apparent negligence
of UW staff in killing primates through allowing encephalitis and/or
meningitis to become a part of neurological research calls into question
not only the humaneness of experimentation at this facility, but also
the scientific value of information obtained from experimenting on
clearly ill animals. Therefore, SAEN will be contacting the United States Department of
Agriculture with a demand for an immediate investigation of the research
of Dr.s Perlmutter, Fetz, and Fuchs. We will ask for the most severe
penalties allowable under current law.
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