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>Protesters call on UCB to end animal research

>

>By Jamie Luck, Special to the Daily Planet (04-26-02)

>

>Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocay (BOAA) held a vigil last night

>before UC Berkeley¹s Northwest Animal Facility to protest the use of

>animals

>for experimentation. Clutching signs and candles, the black-clad protesters

>stood in silence along Oxford St. between Hearst and Berkeley streets while

>campus police video-taped the scene.

>

>The two-hour silent vigil was intended to mourn animals used in scientific

>research and draw attention to live animal experimentation at UC Berkeley.

>

>³We¹re trying to do something a little different then your normal protest,²

>said BOAA faciltator Christine Morrissey. ³We¹ve set the tone to be very

>solemn and mourn the dead animals that have come out of this school. At the

>same time, we want to promote alternatives to animal research,² she said.

>

>Demonstrators handed out flyers describing alternative methods to animal

>research as well as peaceful measures people could take to promote change.

>Research alternatives cited include in vitro research,

>bacterial/viral/fungus sampling, autopsy, physical models, mathematical

>modeling, genetic and clinical research as viable alternatives. The UC has

>already adopted the in vitro method for antibody production.

>

>The consensus in all sectors seems to be in favor of substituting new

>technologies in place of using lab animals, but the feasability and

>timeline

>for doing so remain unclear. ³People don¹t want to [frivolously] use

>animals

>for research. Researchers have pets at home and develop strong feelings

>toward the animals they study,² says Dr. Helen Diggs, a director at UC

>Berkeley¹s Animal Care Facility. ³People only use animals for research

>because they are essential to research. As the scientific community

>discovers legitimate alternatives to using animals, we embrace them.²

>

>Diggs cites the UC¹s adoption of the in-vitro model of antibody production

>over the past five years as having spared many live mice, and says she

>looks

>forward to similar alternatives. ³I think in time we¹ll have more success

>finding alternatives,² says Diggs. ³That¹s where the BOAA group comes

>in--they have to encourage young people to get into these fields, get into

>the labs, and contribute. Don¹t just scream at us, come help us find

>alternatives,² she says.

>

>In Defense of Animals, a non-profit group based in Mill Valley, Ca., has

>been participating in an ongoing dialogue with BOAA reps and Diggs, who is

>representing the UC on animal rights issues. ³Essentially, we want to work

>with the UC rather than be adversarial, so we can really advance what¹s

>going on in the research community,² said Erin Williams, communications

>director at IDA. Williams says there are many existing technologies that

>can

>be substituted for live animals, but that the UC has yet to commit funds

>for

>their adoption. ³Traditionally, new research technologies are underfunded

>and underutilized. We are trying to work with the university to get them to

>commit to a gradual, quantifiable reallocation of funds from animal

>research

>to non-animal technologies,² she said.

>

>Though not necessarily driven by compassion, even the business sector has

>moved toward more humane testing. Companies that sell animals and

>technologies for testing have shown a significant trend toward cutting down

>on the percentage of live animals shipped out in favor of cheaper and more

>efficient non-animal testing technologies. Massachussetts-based Charles

>Rivers Laboratories, the biggest lab-animal provider in the nation, has

>seen

>the lab-animal portion of their business shrink from 80 percent to 40

>percent over the last five years, according to a recent article in the

>Boston Globe.

>

>BOAA is also calling for the immediate ceasure of using primates for

>research, but Diggs says that¹s not possible. ³We can¹t just stop the

>research in progress,² Diggs says. ³With primate research, we just can¹t

>suddenly stop working on studies that are having a definite impact on human

>medicine and having a definite biomedical impact. There¹s work going on

>that

>needs to continue.² Diggs says they need to find and validate alternatives

>to using any species for study, and that singling out primates is not

>constructive. ³That¹s a form of speciesism,² she says.

>

>Both the Berkeley City Council and the ASUC (student union) have endorsed

>BOAA¹s requests to the UC.

>

>In addition, two initiatives have been placed on the upcoming ASUC ballot.

>One asks for a 5% reduction in animal research by the university, and the

>second requests that the UC provide alternatives for science students who

>don¹t want to participate in animal dissection. The university currently

>allows students to opt out of dissections, but has yet to provide an

>alternative.

>

>Asked what¹s next for BOAA, Morrissey says that though they have had

>positive discussion with the University through Diggs, their goal now is to

>try and get a meeting with Chancellor himself, as only he can affect policy

>change.

>

>

>E-mail reporter Jamie Luck at jamie

 

 

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