UCLA is one of several research universities that test experimental procedures on laboratory animals to develop medical procedures and treatments.
Researchers at universities must adhere to regulations and federal laws, but animal rights activists often criticize these institutions for failing to treat animals humanely, said James Economou, vice chancellor for research at UCLA.
Earlier this month, the Animal Justice Project, an international animal rights organization, partnered with the Taxpayers Protection Alliance to compile a report that concluded UCLA uses the third-most government funding of all universities to conduct drug addiction experiments on animals.
Julia Orr, an author of the report and an Animal Justice Project researcher, said she collected a list of universities and experiments that receive large amounts of funding from the government for animal testing, using publicly available data from the National Institute of Health.
“We found these animals in labs are being used for really invasive and unnecessary experiments,” Orr said. “In one experiment, the rats didn’t behave how the experimenter (expected), so they killed them and threw them in the trash.”
Economou said he thinks animal rights activists are opposed to research involving animals, but are open to receiving a treatment found though animal research. He added he thinks activists create propaganda to create doubt about animal research and its importance.
Activists have threatened and harassed faculty members over the years for testing experimental procedures on animals. In March 2009, activists firebombed a faculty member’s car, Economou said.
Orr’s report claimed UCLA faculty members J. David Jentsch, a professor in the psychology department, and Christopher Evans, a professor in psychiatry and behavioral science, receive the most money at UCLA in government grants that fund animal experimentation.
Orr said she hopes the report will educate the public about how animals are treated in labs, and bring awareness to the malpractice in animal testing facilities.
In his lab, Evans said he conducts experiments in order to further understand the effects of opioid drugs, such as morphine and heroin, at molecular and behavioral levels. He added he can better understand how receptors affect human behavior through the use of animal models, because the receptors within mice strongly resemble those in humans.
Researchers who experiment on animals must undergo protocol submission and review, facility inspections and animal care and use evaluations, according to the Office of Animal Research Oversight’s website.
Researchers must present a protocol explaining their planned experiment to an Animal Research Committee, which consists of scientists, veterinarians and members of the public, Evans said. The protocol details how many animals will be used, their role in the experiments, what level of pain they may feel and what will be done to alleviate the pain, he added.
Veterinarians then comb through the protocol to suggest changes that improve the treatment of the animals, Evans added.
Economou said the committees only approve proposals that demonstrate the use of animals in the experiment is necessary and valuable.
“If a proposal is approved, and is worth the use of animals as subjects of research, these experiments are carefully regulated and scrutinized,” Economou said.
UCLA researchers have recently used animal testing to enable rats to walk after spinal damage, slow the effects of Parkinson’s disease and shrink tumors in mice, according to a UCLA press release.
Economou added animal rights activists are entitled to their views regarding the treatment of animals, but must understand the benefits of these experiments to society.
“As researchers, we (aim to) conduct research and make discoveries that improve the health of society,” he said.
If there is any controversy, it is between the truth that animal research is humane and responsible and the lies that it is worthless and wrong. Animal researchers continue to be casualities of the struggle between the fake activism of animal rights fanatics and the real progress offered by science and the scientists who undertake it.
The health of society does not need to include experimenting on animals. It is bad science and there are modern protocols are much more effective that does not torture and kill animals. Using animals for research only stuffs the pockets of those researchers and does nothing for improving the humans health. The only fanatics are the mad scientists.
The report mentioned in this story detailing just a tiny
fraction of the wasteful recreational drug experiments UCLA performs on animals
and the original coverage in The Washington Times can be read here.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/nov/5/golden-hammer-150-million-spent-on-tests-that-tort/?page=all
As usual, UCLA researchers tout their “work” torturing
animals as “helping humanity” when in fact they are doing nothing of the sort
and instead engaging in obfuscation of the truth and padding their bank
accounts with taxpayers money.
The people engaged in the most lies are the animal
experimenters themselves, they have the most to gain and lose here. And, it has
been proven that nothing resembling truth comes out of their mouths.
So for a minute let’s look at “the truth.” Christopher Evans
mentioned in the above article and the report, has been using animals in
recreational drug experiments for at least 22 years receiving at least $1.4
million per year. In a description from the NIH records it states what Evans
and David Jentsch did in just ONE out of hundreds of experiments on animals.
Mice were injected with morphine and then put on hot plates to see if they
would jump, and were given escalating doses of morphine to see how many times
they shook, had paw tremor bouts, sniffed, and had teeth chattering. In
another, David Jentsch induced epilepsy in rats and then forced them to swim to
see if they became depressed, he also installed electrodes into their brains to
electrocute them.
Does this sound like these people are saving humanity or are
even contributing to drug addiction issues? I think the UCLA students would
agree that this money is better spent on education then ridiculous experiments
that prove nothing and are totally worthless.
There is plenty of evidence to prove that animal experiments
do not work – the experimenters just don’t like to read it because it jeopardizes
their well paid jobs. Read Dr. Ray Greek. If they really wanted to help drug addicts they would be.
There is no miracle pill and never will be for drug addiction. There is no cure
all for everyone. It’s a total waste of time and money not to mention the
incredible malicious cruelty inflicted on millions of sentient beings.
“Economou thinks animal rights activists are opposed to research involving animals, but are open to receiving a treatment found though animal research.” Mr. Economou: Just because treatments we have today were developed through animal experimentation doesn’t mean animal experimentation should continue. Imagine this argument: Abolitionists are opposed to slavery even though they wear cotton! Ridiculous. And, activists don’t need to create propaganda. You know that the public would be horrified if they knew what went on in animal labs which is why there’s such secrecy. Why are animal labs heavily secured? Why can’t independent journalists freely take video or pictures of what you’re doing? Why are new animal labs being constructed underground or in countries where activism doesn’t exist because of poverty or repression? It’s because you know that the public cares about animals, and that most would not support animal experimentation. The science you argue is so two faced: one the one hand, Descartes was wrong, animals feel pain and fear, they are extremely similar to us genetically (chimpanzees, 98.5% similarity), they are our relatives…Then, on the other hand (the one with money in it) animals are objects for our use. Make up your mind. Lastly, you state that this research aims to improve the health of society. This is belied by the fact that very little attention is paid to prevention. For example, I have seen the drug studies where primates shake violently in tubes from forced overdose. This is an archaic way of solving drug addiction. You’d do well to read Dr. Gabor Mate and other experts who recognize the cultural and emotional causes of drug addiction…information you can’t get by addicting caged primates, killing them, and studying their brains.