NYU Left 10,000 Animals to Drown During Hurricane Sandy
DEMAND INVESTIGATION INTO THIS CRUEL ATROCITY BY NYU
The New York University School of Medicine left 10,000 animals to drown in their laboratories during Hurricane Sandy. Ask the USDA to investigate this crime immediately
"10,000 of Sandy?s victims clearly did not have to die. They were animals who were left to drown in New York University basement laboratories," writes Dr. Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which has requested that the USDA investigate this matter.
"Many of the cruelties of animal laboratories are well-known. But what is less known is the vulnerability animals have to power failures, heat stroke, fire, and?yes?drowning. That is because they are often kept in basements or other cramped facilities with no means of escape when disasters strike. To the experimenters, they are little more than expendable equipment."
Please add your personal support to PCRM's request to the USDA by emailing the following letter to Elizabeth Goldentyer, the Eastern regional director of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Her email address is: betty.j.goldentyer@aphis.usda.gov. Sending a letter via post would even be more effective.
Elizabeth Goldentyer, D.V.M.
Regional Director
USDA/APHIS/AC Eastern Region
920 Main Campus Dr., Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27606
Re: Veterinary Care at New York University School of Medicine
Dear Dr. Goldentyer:
I was shocked to learn that thousands of animals at the New York University School of Medicine were left to drown during Hurricane Sandy in late October.
I join the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in requesting that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service immediately investigate theses unconscionable drowning deaths. According to news reports, as many as 10,000 animals drowned during a flood in the Smilow building at the NYU Langone Medical Center, which is affiliated with the NYU School of Medicine (NYUSOM). For more information, please visit: http://www.pcrm.org/media/blog/nov2012/hurricane-sandy-10000-animals-die-in-nyu-lab.
Under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), NYUSOM meets the definition of a ?research facility? and therefore must comply with the AWA and its implementing regulations. However, based on news reports, it appears that NYUSOM, whose registration certificate number is 21-R-0092, may have failed to comply with AWA regulations regarding ?adequate veterinary care.? Those regulations mandate that ?[e]ach research facility shall establish and maintain programs of adequate veterinary care that include . . . [t]he use of appropriate methods to prevent, control, diagnose, and treat diseases and injuries, and the availability of emergency, weekend, and holiday care[.]? 9 C.F.R. § 2.33(b)(2) (emphasis added).
Although the animals at NYUSOM may or may not have been included in the AWA?s coverage, the unintended deaths of thousands of NYUSOM?s research subjects strongly suggests that NYUSOM has not established an ?adequat
"10,000 of Sandy?s victims clearly did not have to die. They were animals who were left to drown in New York University basement laboratories," writes Dr. Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which has requested that the USDA investigate this matter.
"Many of the cruelties of animal laboratories are well-known. But what is less known is the vulnerability animals have to power failures, heat stroke, fire, and?yes?drowning. That is because they are often kept in basements or other cramped facilities with no means of escape when disasters strike. To the experimenters, they are little more than expendable equipment."
Please add your personal support to PCRM's request to the USDA by emailing the following letter to Elizabeth Goldentyer, the Eastern regional director of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Her email address is: betty.j.goldentyer@aphis.usda.gov. Sending a letter via post would even be more effective.
Elizabeth Goldentyer, D.V.M.
Regional Director
USDA/APHIS/AC Eastern Region
920 Main Campus Dr., Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27606
Re: Veterinary Care at New York University School of Medicine
Dear Dr. Goldentyer:
I was shocked to learn that thousands of animals at the New York University School of Medicine were left to drown during Hurricane Sandy in late October.
I join the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in requesting that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service immediately investigate theses unconscionable drowning deaths. According to news reports, as many as 10,000 animals drowned during a flood in the Smilow building at the NYU Langone Medical Center, which is affiliated with the NYU School of Medicine (NYUSOM). For more information, please visit: http://www.pcrm.org/media/blog/nov2012/hurricane-sandy-10000-animals-die-in-nyu-lab.
Under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), NYUSOM meets the definition of a ?research facility? and therefore must comply with the AWA and its implementing regulations. However, based on news reports, it appears that NYUSOM, whose registration certificate number is 21-R-0092, may have failed to comply with AWA regulations regarding ?adequate veterinary care.? Those regulations mandate that ?[e]ach research facility shall establish and maintain programs of adequate veterinary care that include . . . [t]he use of appropriate methods to prevent, control, diagnose, and treat diseases and injuries, and the availability of emergency, weekend, and holiday care[.]? 9 C.F.R. § 2.33(b)(2) (emphasis added).
Although the animals at NYUSOM may or may not have been included in the AWA?s coverage, the unintended deaths of thousands of NYUSOM?s research subjects strongly suggests that NYUSOM has not established an ?adequat
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