Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Animal reserach needs vigilance

Something none of our opinion columnists wanted to write on this week was the recent re-accreditation of animal research programs for the University of Wisconsin Graduate School, School of Medicine, and Public Health and School of Veterinary Medicine. It’s a complicated issue, and animal research has important, deep-seated consequences for both animal activist groups and technological advances in areas of biological research.

Personally, I am a huge proponent of animal rights. I’ve been an orthodox vegetarian since age three. However, as a student of science, I also understand that testing has to occur somehow. Most people are probably similarly torn, realizing that some testing of products on animals is necessary for human health and lifestyles, yet knowing that in many cases it goes too far.

However, the events that took place at UW were not even within this gray area. In fact, it was much more black and white. For a university of our size and caliber to struggle with accreditation of all its animal testing departments, the abuse must have been widespread and egregious. Thankfully, regulatory agencies have stepped in, and we as students must also hold our university to much higher standards in the future.

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The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International has granted the campus accreditation provided it follows strenuous guidelines, as reported by UW News. According to the National Institutes of Health, these include detailed descriptions and justifications for animal experimentation, humane methods and rationale for euthanasia, and veterinary care for animal monitoring and minimizing discomfort and stress. According to Eric Sandgren, director of the Animal Care and Use Program, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee must also approve every single project, and “If they do feel something is wrong, they’re not shy about it.”

It’s good that UW is willing to go the distance to bring its animal research programs up to code, and that speaks well for the future success of the programs. In fact the AAALAC visited the campus in October for a preliminary overview, but, Sandgren said, “They had no additional recommendations because we had already addressed them.” However, the fact that our university struggled with accreditation in the first place is still troubling. This is especially concerning when coupled with a long history of animal rights concerns, including a 2003 AAALAC investigation that put the program on probation.

For the future, the university ought to be damn sure it is proceeding with animal research in the most humane and structured way possible. It should also move to greatly increase transparency and address concerns from any regulating body immediately and adequately. UW needs to prove itself in the quality of its animal research, and students should keep a close eye on what is happening to hold them to a high degree of accountability. Gandhi said “The measure of a society can be how well its people treat its animals.” It is absolutely necessary for a world class university such as UW to continue to have the highest quality standards for animal research.

Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in human evolutionary biology, archaeology and Latin American studies.

An earlier version of this article implied the UW had lost accreditation of its animal research facilities. This is incorrect, and changes have been made accordingly.

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