University of Washington Allows Primate to Slowly Die of Thirst - National Humane Education Society
Paws Down!
To the University of Washington in Seattle for allowing a female pigtail macaque to perish in a university research lab after being denied water for 2-3 days.
According to a recent news article, the United States Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) has cited the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, for violating the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) after staff allowed a monkey to die of thirst. The female monkey, being used for biomedical research at the school’s Washington National Primate Research Center, was found to be lethargic on January 8, 2017. By the time a veterinarian examined her, she was too severely dehydrated for effective treatment, and died within the hour. The veterinarian estimated that the animal had been without water for at least two to three days. It was discovered that staff-person paid to provide even the most minimal standards of care under the AWA had failed to ensure the operation of the water line used to provide drinking water. The USDA inspection report further revealed that the animals’ cages had not been cleaned every two weeks, as required.
The AWA is the only federal law that sets standards of care for animals in research laboratories, large-scale puppy breeding operations, zoos, and circuses. The provisions of this law are scant; therefore violations of the bare-minimum standards set by the AWA are beyond egregious. Even worse, this is far from the first time that the University of Washington has been cited by the USDA.
In 2015, the USDA cited after university researchers fitted three monkeys with vertebral and skull implants as part of an experiment. All of them died. In 2014, the University of Washington was cited for the deaths of three young monkeys who were killed by a group of adult males that should never have been allowed near the youngsters. In both 2013 and 2014, USDA inspectors found that staff experimenting on some rabbits and guinea pigs did not bother to adequately provide pain relief to the suffering animals. In 2011, the university was fined after a macaque starved to death.
Take action. Contact Michael Mustari, Director of the Washington National Primate Center, and respectfully urge him to enforce a more humane standard of care that not only meets the AWA’s care standards, but exceeds them.
