ACTION ALERT:
Contact:
Dr. Robert Gibbens
Director, Western Region, USDA
[email protected]
[email protected]
Please levy the MAXIMUM FINE against Alpha Genesis for their blatant
disregard of the Animal Welfare Act when their negligence killed eleven
monkeys. Their behavior should NOT be tolerated and MUST be punished to the
fullest extent of the law.
Animal welfare group outraged after SC monkey facility gets $4.6M COVID-19 contract
From Sam Ogozalek, IslandPacket.com, July 19, 2020
One of South Carolina’s largest COVID-19-related federal contracts has
been awarded to a Lowcountry monkey breeding facility recently accused of
negligence that resulted in several monkeys’ deaths.
Alpha Genesis Inc., a primate research company in northern Beaufort County,
won a $4.6 million contract in June from the National Institutes of Health
for “maintenance” of pathogen-free Macaque monkey breeding colonies,
according to procurement data released by the federal Pandemic Response
Accountability Committee.
NIH in early July told a reporter to file a public records request for
additional information about the contract, including how the monkeys might
be used for coronavirus research. That request was pending as of Thursday.
The contract was signed June 2 and is set to be completed by September 2024.
The executive director of an animal advocacy group, which filed a complaint
against the company on Feb. 17, questioned why the facility ever received
the award.
Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!, an Ohio-based organization, lodged a
seven-page complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture after obtaining
incident reports that Alpha Genesis sent to NIH following at least 11 monkey
deaths in 2019 and 2018. The animals died of thirst, exposure to the
elements and other injuries, according to the complaint.
The group’s complaint alleged violations of the 1966 Animal Welfare Act —
a law that sets minimum standards for the treatment of certain animals used
in research or bred for commercial sale.
Michael Budkie, executive director of SAEN, in an interview said he doesn’t
understand why NIH continues to funnel money to Alpha Genesis, a
Yemassee-based company that the agency has contracted with for years.
The USDA in 2017 levied a $12,600 fine against Alpha Genesis for violations
including monkey escapes and an incident where a monkey was attacked and
died after being placed in the wrong social group enclosure, among other
things.
“Why do you continue to fund a facility that does such a poor job?” Budkie
said. “Why do you reward a company that can’t even keep its animals alive?”
The USDA recently confirmed to the newspaper that it had received SAEN’s complaint. But an agency spokesman could not confirm or deny whether the USDA had a pending investigation at the facility.
Greg Westergaard, Alpha Genesis’ president and CEO, wrote in a statement
Tuesday that SAEN files complaints every year against his company and most
other federal and public institutions that work with monkeys.
He pointed to a routine USDA inspection performed on Feb. 19 that found no
issues at Alpha Genesis, which typically houses about 6,000 primates.
“As this (inspection) report and the reports for the last several years have
indicated we are in full compliance with all Federal regulations and with
the Animal Welfare Act,” the CEO wrote. “I challenge Michael Budkie to make
an appearance at our facilities rather than behaving like a coward and
making inflammatory accusations from afar through the local press.”
The group’s latest complaint focuses on four incidents in 2019 and 2018:
In its complaint, SAEN claimed that the incidents violated multiple
animal treatment sections in the Animal Welfare Act.
When asked about the February complaint, and whether it factored into NIH’s
procurement process, the agency in a statement said Alpha Genesis
self-reported the incidents and properly managed them under the Public
Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
The company is in good standing with NIH’s Office of Laboratory Animal
Welfare, according to the agency.
“The NIH OLAW reviewed the incidents and found the proposed corrective and
preventive actions to be acceptable,” NIH said.
OLAW provides oversight of NIH-funded research involving animals and can
restrict or withdraw a company’s Animal Welfare Assurance if it doesn’t
correct “deficiencies.” NIH would revoke or suspended contracts and grants
if a company lost its assurance.
Aside from the $4.6 million contract, Alpha Genesis has won four other NIH
contracts as part of the agency’s coronavirus response, PRAC data show.
Those four awards total at least $556,000. At least four of the five
contracts are for the housing, care and transport of primates, NIH said.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — a part of NIH
led by Dr. Anthony Fauci — is running and supporting coronavirus treatment
research, including clinical trials for vaccine candidates. Two of the five
Alpha Genesis awards went through the NIAID contracting office.
In a February news release, Alpha Genesis said its research center was
“utilizing its considerable resources to develop a much-needed vaccine to
battle what looks to be an emerging pandemic.”
“In partnership with government organizations, private foundations, and
private industry, Alpha Genesis scientists conduct studies seeking
breakthrough discoveries leading to improved treatments and cures,” the
release read.
The $4.6 million contract is the third-biggest COVID-19-related federal
contract awarded for projects in South Carolina this year, according to PRAC
data last updated on July 16. The largest contract went to an international
engineering firm with an office in Greenville called Fluor Intercontinental
Inc. That company won over $12 million to build a COVID-19 staging area for
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.