Stop UBC Animal Research's opinion column published in the UBYSSEY newspaper today. Feel free to comment on the piece at the link below.
Opinion 9/13/10
UBC should fully disclose information about animal research
By Anne Birthistle
Few Vancouver residents and students know UBC has an extensive animal research program. Every year, the university conducts thousands of research projects involving animals, some of which employ painful and ultimately lethal procedures. Nearly all of the research is conducted behind closed doors with little public scrutiny.
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According to a January 25, 2008 article published in the UBC student newspaper, The Ubyssey, “UBC is one of the largest bio-medical campuses in the country. The ACC [Animal Care Center] distributes some 100,000 creatures, both large and small, to dozens of UBC-affiliated research projects.” The paper also reported the university experiments on a wide variety of animals, such as mice, pigs, sheep, non-human primates, rats and rabbits.
Despite the questionable merit of animal experimentation, a growing unease with such research and breakthroughs in non-animal alternatives, the use of animals in “science” has steadily increased in Canada. Data from the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), which oversees animal research, shows the numbers of animals used in research have risen from less than 1.8 million in 1998 to nearly 2.3 million animals in 2008.
In February, Stop UBC Animal Research was formed by local citizens—including UBC students, alumni, and faculty—out of concern for animals at the university. Our months-long investigation of UBC reveals some of the university’s animal experiments are highly invasive. One UBC researcher, for example, has experimented on cats for 30 years. In 2008 he received a five-year, federally-funded grant for continued animal research. It is revealing and troubling what the university has sanctioned. In his papers, including one published in 2008, the researcher described how he had:
—Implanted electrodes into cats’ foreheads, brains, bones behind the eyes, and neck muscles. Electrode wires were attached to a plug on a restraining device permanently fixed to the cats’ skulls.
—Cut open the backs of cats to expose their vertebrae. Titanium screws were inserted into the cats’ spinal columns to inhibit movement. A restraint chamber was built around the cats’ exposed vertebra to give researchers access to the cats’ spinal columns and to fix the animals in a sitting position for recording sessions.
—Implanted the devices so measurements could then be taken of spinal cord neurons without having to use anesthetic.
Unfortunately, the university has been less than forthcoming about its research. UBC has yet to provide us with protocols used in animal experiments and has twice denied our request for information under provincial freedom of information law. While published studies can be found on sites such as PubMed, information about UBC’s research—such as data, veterinary and necropsy reports, non-compliance records, photos and video—is not available.
The US, on the other hand, has a far more transparent system. The National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Agriculture post comprehensive information about animal experiments online, allowing for public review of research.
To make matters worse, animal research in Canada is not well regulated. Contrary to UBC officials’ assertions, CCAC guidelines are voluntary. The CCAC can release reports of non-compliance to funding agencies but those agencies have the discretion to deny funding. From its website, the CCAC notes the creation of “a voluntary control program exercised by scientists in each institution.” In addition, non-compliance records are not made available and CCAC assessments of UBC’s research are confidential, which means the public has no way of knowing if the university has violated animal care standards.
Much of UBC’s animal research is funded with public money. At the very least, UBC should disclose the numbers and species of animals used in experiments and protocols used in university research. That way, students, donors, alumni and the public can make informed decisions about supporting a university that engages in activities many find objectionable and of marginal scientific utility.
— Anne Birthistle is a member of Stop UBC Animal Research, stopubcanimalresearch.org
Stop UBC Animal Research is a community grassroots campaign that employs peaceful, legal, and compassionate approaches to educate the public about the grim realities of research on animals at the University of British Columbia and to ultimately bring about an end to research on animals at UBC. Please visit our website at: http://stopubcanimalresearch.org/