USDA Says Monkey Suffered for Months During Federally Funded Study
For
Immediate Release:
October
24, 2012
Contact:
Tasgola
Bruner 202-483-7382
San Francisco -- PETA is calling on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to demand that the University of California–San Francisco (UCSF) return more than $2.1 million in federal funds spent on an experiment on monkeys that violated animal welfare laws.
UCSF was cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for continuing to subject an ailing monkey named Petra (photo taken by USDA inspector available here) to cruel brain experiments despite her ill health and for failing to remove surgically implanted hardware from Petra, as required by the experimental protocol approved by UCSF's own animal experimentation oversight committee. NIH policy specifically prohibits using grant money for experiments that violate the federal Animal Welfare Act and other animal protection guidelines.
According to internal UCSF records recently obtained by PETA through a California Public Records Act request, Petra suffered pain and psychological distress during her two years at UCSF, beginning with serious complications following invasive surgeries in 2008 and 2009, in which holes were drilled into her head and a device was screwed to her skull so that experimenters could infuse chemicals directly into her brain.
The documents show that Petra was locked in a cage by herself and injected with a neurotoxic chemical that gave her tremors and caused her to lose weight rapidly. Her head wound became infected. She suffered from chronic diarrhea, circled endlessly in her cage, and pulled out her own hair—a symptom of severe psychological trauma in primates. It wasn't until the USDA inspected UCSF and documented Petra's miserable condition in October 2010 that staff finally euthanized Petra. Soon after, the USDA issued UCSF citations for violating federal law related to the school's abuse of Petra.
"UCSF pocketed a federal grant and then broke the law while tormenting this monkey," says PETA Senior Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "PETA is urging the government to take back the money that paid for Petra's misery—taxpayers shouldn't have to fund the abuse of animals."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.