PLEASE FORWARD TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
ALERT: PLEASE SIGN YOUR ORGANIZATION ONTO LETTER TO UBC URGING THE UNIVERSITY TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION ABOUT ITS ANIMAL RESEARCH
BACKGROUND:
UBC is one of the largest bio-medical campuses in Canada. Each year, UBC’s Animal Care Centre distributes approximately 100,000 animals, including pigs, mice, cats, rabbits, rats, non-human primates, and others to dozens of UBC-affiliated research projects. Some of the experiments conducted on animals are highly invasive and painful. Much of the research is funded by public money, though few Canadians are aware of UBC's extensive animal research program. Unfortunately, the university has been less than forthcoming about its activities. There is little transparency at UBC, giving the impression the university doesn’t want its students or the public to know what is happening to animals behind closed doors.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Sign your ORGANIZATION onto the letter to UBC below. To add your organization to the letter please forward the following information to Brian Vincent at stopubcanimalresearch@gmail.com. DEADLINE TO SIGN ON: October 8. We will send the final letter to media. Should you have any questions please contact Brian at 604-551-3324.
YOUR NAME: ________________
TITLE: _______________________
ORGANIZATION: ________________________________________
CITY/STATE (OR PROVINCE): _____________________________
COUNTRY: ___________________
EMAIL: _______________________
PHONE: ______________________
THIS IS THE SIGN-ON LETTER TO UBC:
DATE
UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope
Office of the President
The University of British Columbia
6328 Memorial Road
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z2
Dear UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Toope:
We the undersigned urge the University of British Columbia (UBC) to fully disclose information about its animal research program, including the numbers and species of animals utilized in experiments at UBC over the last ten years to determine whether the number of animals has increased or decreased, research protocols and approved animal research grants over the last ten years, Animal Care Committee (ACC) assessments of UBC's research, reports of any UBC non-compliance of Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) guidelines, and photo, as well as video, documentation of such research.
We are troubled the university has been less than forthcoming about its research activities. UBC has yet to provide public interest groups with animal research protocols and has twice denied requests 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 key data (e.g. numbers and species of animals used), veterinary and necropsy reports, and photos and video, has not been made available. UBC’s website, and both the Animal Care Centre and ACC sites, provide little useful or detailed information about animal research. Furthermore, CCAC assessments of UBC's research and reports of non-compliance are confidential, which means the public has no way of knowing if the university has violated animal care standards. 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 scrutiny of university research.
Much of UBC's animal research is funded with public money. Yet few Canadians are aware their money is being used for experiments on animals. With that in mind, we believe UBC should fully disclose information about its animal research programs. 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 questionable scientific merit. UBC’s lack of transparency to date has given the impression it does not want the public to see what researchers are doing to animals behind closed doors.
We look forward to your response. Should you have any questions please contact Brian Vincent at Stop UBC Animal Research at 604-551-3324. Thank you.
Sincerelely,
(Your name)
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: