Update on Experiments on Dogs at UCSF

Dear Animal Advocates, Guardians, Companions, Vigilers, Lovers and Liberators:

FIRST OF ALL: I just want to say a big THANK YOU! to all who participated in the "Day of the Dog" earlier this month. It was truly a unique event as we focused on the state-of-the-art alternatives that researchers should be using today - alternatives that mean they need not harm and kill dogs, cats, mice, rats, rabbits, pig, sheep, guinea pigs, monkeys, frogs, fish, etc. in experiments, allegedly to advance knowledge or treatment regarding human disease.

UPDATE ON EXPERIMENTS ON DOGS AT UCSF

Despite the availability of scientifically viable and more reliable alternatives, about 800 dogs and numerous other animals may suffer the induced symptoms of heart disease and die as a result of 3 research projects at UCSF.
To our best knowledge, the 3 cardiology research projects that we were protesting on the Day of the Dog, and continue to protest, are going forward. One project is currently happening (#A1644-0961-17A) and has been renewed yearly for at least the last 5 years. The other two projects (#A43109-22783-02A and #A43109-22715-02) apparently have been delayed, and we are not sure whether they have started yet. (To read summaries of the projects, please see "PS" at the end of this e-mail.) Currently we (several advocates for animals) are composing a letter to request a meeting with UCSF officials in order to convince them to stop these projects. We have the support of 2 doctors thus far (one a cardiologist) in our campaign to stop the projects, and we hope to get the support of other doctors to lend more weight to our argument. I will endeavor to keep you informed about things as they develop - so stay tuned.


UCSF in Violation of the Law: Besides UCSF's 75 citations for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (from a complaint filed by the USDA in November), there exist more subtle violations of the law that UCSF has yet to be charged with. UCSF is bound by law to consider "alternatives to procedures that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress to the animals." Most of the animals involved in the 3 projects mentioned above have endured or will endure "more than momentary or slight pain or distress." Thus UCSF researchers should have conducted a comprehensive search for alternatives. Unfortunately, however, UCSF's Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee - bound by the law stated above - often overlooks human-based alternatives* to the use of animals.

* Alternatives to the above experiments on animals include the following: human studies involving cardiac imaging and electrophysiological tests, epidemiological observations of humans, surgical and procedural results (regarding humans), clinical research, and autopsies.

To Speak Up for the Animals: You may address letters of complaint to UCSF's Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC); below are the names of 2 of its members. Please be sure to reference the project numbers in your letter. And please be sure to mention that there are alternatives to the use of dogs and other animals in the experiments, and UCSF's IACUC is bound by law to see that alternatives are considered and used when available.

Nigel Bunnett, Ph.D., Chair Larry Carbone, D.V.M.
UCSF Institutional Animal Care UCSF Laboratory Animal
and Use Committee Resource Center
521 Parnassus Ave, Box 0660 513 Parnassus Ave, Box 0564
San Francisco, CA 94143 San Francisco, CA 94143
nigelb [at] itsa.ucsf.edu larry.carbone [at] ucsf.edu

And last but not least: Thanks for all you've done on behalf of animals during this past year! As I've said before, with a great and valiant effort, we shall persevere and our cause prevail. Hoping to see you at one of our upcoming vigil/protests, I wish you a great year to come!


Bob O'Brien
(for the Vigil)
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PS: PROJECT SUMMARIES

Project #A1644-0961-17A: This project uses approximately 60 dogs, 20 to 40 of them German shepherd puppies, as well as 64 pigs, 218 rabbits 80 rats and 75 mice. The project's stated goals are "to better understand the mechanisms leading to sudden [cardiac] death, to detect patients at increased risk, and to develop improved therapy." To accomplish the goals, principal investigator Michael Dae proposes giving drugs to German shepherd pups as early as one day old to cause their hearts to malfunction. Other dogs used in the project have been genetically affected to suffer "sudden cardiac death at 22-26 weeks of age." All dogs will die by the project's end, and their hearts will be removed for further study. The other animals used in the project will meet similar fates as they suffer various induced heart disorders, except the rats, who will be used to study renal disease. (This project or a derivation thereof has been performed at UCSF since 1999.)

Project #A43109-22783-02A: This project will involve about 550 dogs over a 3-year period. The project's "hope" is "to develop new therapies that may prevent...cardiac arrhythmias from leading to irreversible heart damage and chronic disease." To realize that hope, principal investigator Jeffrey Olgin proposes to conduct surgeries to implant pacemakers in 300 dogs. From 3 to 30 days after surgery, the pacemakers will be programmed to pace rapidly to cause congestive heart failure (CHF). Another 150 dogs will undergo a surgical procedure called "mitral valve avulsion" (i.e., a portion of the mitral valve of the heart is torn to cause the blood to regurgitate), thus inducing CHF. And another 100 dogs will be used in control groups. Some dogs will die from the induced complications. The rest may live through the ordeal up to 6 months, only to be used in an 8-hour surgical experiment in which researchers will perform a battery of tests, ending with the dogs' hearts being removed for further study. (To our best knowledge, this project has yet to begin, though its protocol has been approved.)

Project #A43109-22715-02: This project calls for the use of up to 198 dogs over a 3-year period. The project was designed by the same principal investigator as the previous one, and its protocol has some similarity to the previous as they both regard the study of congestive heart failure in dogs. However, in this project the dogs will die sooner, within 42 days of the start of the experiments. (To our best knowledge, this project has yet to begin, though its protocol has been approved.)

NOTE: Information on these projects was extracted from protocols obtained from UCSF through the California Public Records Act.