PETITION TO CONGRESS: Close down CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES! CLOSE DOWN PAIN & SUFFERING!
Pain, suffering & Death. The Cost? $180k in fines sought for animal testing deaths.
$180k in fines sought for animal testing deaths
Friday December 14, 2012, 3:45 PM
BY SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press
Pages: 12>display on one page | Print | E-mail
RENO, Nev. ? An animal rights group is urging federal inspectors to fine Charles River Laboratories nearly $200,000 after the firm reported that four more monkeys and other research animals died in its care at its testing labs in Nevada and elsewhere.
Leaders of the Stop Animal Exploitation Now say the most recent deaths demonstrate a continuing trend of negligence that has resulted in deaths of research animals. The group stepped up its scrutiny of the labs after 2008 when a heating malfunction killed 32 monkeys in Sparks and another was boiled alive a year later when it was mistakenly left in a cage that went through a washer at the Reno lab.
The giant laboratory researcher paid a total of $14,500 in fines for the two incidents, and activists say the size of those penalties is the reason the labs don't take animal testing laws seriously. They are calling for $180,000 in fines this time.
Dave Sacks, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said the agency takes the complaints seriously and will take a close look at the laboratories.
"We will assess our findings and take any and all appropriate actions once we've had an opportunity to fully look into things," he said. "Ensuring the welfare of the animals we regulate is at the heart of everything we do."
Charles River spokeswoman Amy Cianiaruso defended the company's work but did not respond directly to the critics' call for significant fines. The company also notes that animal research has paved the way for significant medical discoveries that people benefit from every day.
"Charles River has a deep commitment to animal welfare and we make every effort to exceed national standards for the care of the animal models under our stewardship," she said in an email to The Associated Press.
The newly disclosed deaths are in reports Charles River provided itself to the USDA. Obtained by the activists through requests under the Freedom of Information Act, they document unintended deaths resulting from a scenario when a tube used to force a substance into an animal's stomach instead gets into the lungs, almost always a fatal mistake.
Friday December 14, 2012, 3:45 PM
BY SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press
Pages: 12>display on one page | Print | E-mail
RENO, Nev. ? An animal rights group is urging federal inspectors to fine Charles River Laboratories nearly $200,000 after the firm reported that four more monkeys and other research animals died in its care at its testing labs in Nevada and elsewhere.
Leaders of the Stop Animal Exploitation Now say the most recent deaths demonstrate a continuing trend of negligence that has resulted in deaths of research animals. The group stepped up its scrutiny of the labs after 2008 when a heating malfunction killed 32 monkeys in Sparks and another was boiled alive a year later when it was mistakenly left in a cage that went through a washer at the Reno lab.
The giant laboratory researcher paid a total of $14,500 in fines for the two incidents, and activists say the size of those penalties is the reason the labs don't take animal testing laws seriously. They are calling for $180,000 in fines this time.
Dave Sacks, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said the agency takes the complaints seriously and will take a close look at the laboratories.
"We will assess our findings and take any and all appropriate actions once we've had an opportunity to fully look into things," he said. "Ensuring the welfare of the animals we regulate is at the heart of everything we do."
Charles River spokeswoman Amy Cianiaruso defended the company's work but did not respond directly to the critics' call for significant fines. The company also notes that animal research has paved the way for significant medical discoveries that people benefit from every day.
"Charles River has a deep commitment to animal welfare and we make every effort to exceed national standards for the care of the animal models under our stewardship," she said in an email to The Associated Press.
The newly disclosed deaths are in reports Charles River provided itself to the USDA. Obtained by the activists through requests under the Freedom of Information Act, they document unintended deaths resulting from a scenario when a tube used to force a substance into an animal's stomach instead gets into the lungs, almost always a fatal mistake.
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