Day: October 26, 2004

USDA Files Complaint Against University of California at San Francisco Over Treatment of Animals

U.S. Department of Agriculture filed a complaint against the University of California at San Francisco in late August, charging the university with at least 60 violations of the Animal Welfare Act between 2001 and 2003.

In its 18 page complaint, the USDA charges ranged from failing to provide post-operative anesthesia to failing to properly clean cages. A UCSF spokesman told the San Francisco Chronicle that the complaint appeared to be a compilation of citations the university had received during its biannual USDA inspections.

The UCSF filed a response to the complaint in October denying almost all of the charges made by the USDA. In a press release, the UCSF said,

The University questions the timing of the Complaint, which is a compilation of citations issued by a local USDA inspector during inspections at UCSF between May 2001 and February 2003 — nearly two, to three-and-a-half-years, ago. All of the allegations were addressed by UCSF at the time and, where appropriate, remedial measures were implemented. Corrective actions were reported back to the USDA or verified by the USDA at its subsequent inspection. The USDA has so far failed to explain why it has issued an aggregate Complaint at this time.

The University notes that the number of allegations contained in the USDA Complaint is misleading. The local inspector reported 26 citations for the May 2001-Feb. 2003 period. However, the Complaint, issued from Washington, DC, was structured in such a way that most of the citations were restated multiple times, under different categories, raising the total number of allegations to 61.

In its report on the legal action, The San Francisco Chronicle, repeated a false claim by In Defense of Animals that the USDA charged UCSF with performing a craniotomy on a primate without using anesthesia. In fact, the complaint alleges that the primates were not given post-operative analgesics. The UCSF responded to that particular complaint by claiming that post-operative analgesics were only withheld for clinical reasons.

The full complaint by the USDA can be read here (PDF).

Sources:

U.S. agency cites UCSF for abuses of animals. Julian Guthrie, San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 2004.

USDA files animal welfare charges against leading research facility. Press Release, In Defense of Animals, September 15, 2004.

The iPod Photo

Okay, my first reaction after seeing the iPod Photo is that, other than my children, that’s the most beautiful looking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. This is simply an awesome gadget.

But my second reaction was, what’s the point? It’s got a small color screen for showing photos — that’s neat, but I doubt I’d really be showing people photos on an iPod very often. A number of reports have touted the ability to hook it up to a television. Yeah, if you want to carry Apple’s proprietary cable around and then spend the time fooling around to get it to work with the television.

And Steve Jobs really floored me with this quote,

We think photos are the next big thing.

And here I thought photos were just a passing fancy.

Hopefully Apple will release just a 60gb version of the plain old iPod. I just want one that can hold my entire 58gb MP3 collection. Oh, and please Apple, support FLAC in addition to your own proprietary lossless compression format.

Source:

Apple rolls out iPod Photo. Stuff (New Zealand), October 26, 2004.

Virgin Atlantic Asked to Stop Transportation of Hunting Rifles

A number of animal rights groups, including the UK’s League Against Cruel Sports and the US-based Kinship Circle are trying to convince Virgin Atlantic to ban the transportation of sports rifles.

In a press release on the campaign, LACS’ Annette Crosbie said

Given the steps Sir Richard Branson has taken to protect wildlife on Virgin Group properties in Britain and South Africa, allowing sports rifles to be carried by the airline he founded could be viewed as verging on the hypocritical.

Crosbie is alluding to a wildlife preserve that Branson owns where hunting is not allowed.

Kinship Circle distributed a sample letter to Branson which read, in part,

UK and EU hunters annually decimate thousands of endangered animals to import their body parts for ornamental use on walls of boardrooms and living rooms. Trophy hunters typically prefer to bag “prizes” with their own weapons.

These powerful rifles do not belong on airplanes — whether they will be used to gun down animals or commit some other form of violence. Please consider security issues, as well as your apparent concern for wildlife.

Both Kinship Circle and the League Against Cruel Sports make much of the fact that Ryanair and BMI Baby have both agreed not to transport hunting rifles. Of course the issue is practically moot for both airlines since they are small carriers who provide service only within western Europe.

Sources:

Ask UK airline to ban trophy hunt rifles. Kinship Circle, September 27, 2004.

Richard Branson urged to “take the thrill out of the kill”. Press Release, League Against Cruel Sports, August 2004.

Iams to End Outside Animal Tests and Expand Its Own Internal Animal Testing Facilities

Iams, which has been targeted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals over conditions at testing labs it contracts to, announced in October that within two years it would end all testing contracts without outside laboratories. Instead, the pet food company will more than double its own animal testing facilities from 350 cats and dogs to more than 800 cats and dogs by the end of 2005.

That represents a victory of sorts for PETA which had included among its demands that Iams end all contracted animal testing, but its a bit of a pyrrhic one. The animal rights organization had been able to gain a lot of publicity on the backs of the contracted labs, especially when Iams ended up funding an animal welfare specialist at a Missouri lab who turned out to be a PETA mole. Now that Iams is essentially going to do the same amount of testing internally, it should prove more difficult for PETA to get those attention grabbing headlines.

PETA’s Mary Beth Sweetland said of the change,

I think Iams has to prove itself to us. Yes, this is part of what PETA wants. But that said, Iams has lied to us in the past. The question is, is Iams going to commit to ending testing on all animals? The expansion of that Dayton facility means more testing.

PETA sponsored a resolution at the annual shareholder meeting of Procter & Gamble, which owns Iams, calling on Iams to end all animal testing, but the measure was overwhelmingly defeated.

PETA’s Allison Ezell told the Cincinnati Enquirer, “P&G should make Iams move out of the laboratory completely, because it’s the right thing to do.”

Sources:

Iams division to change animal testing practices. Associated Press, October 7, 2004.

Iams bringing animal tests inside. Cliff Peale, Cincinnati Enquirer, October 7, 2004.

Lafley to stockholders: Few problems at P&G. Cliff Peale, Cincinnati Enquirer, October 13, 2004.

Animal Rights Groups Try to Stop Beef Bet

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and Texas Governor Rick Perry have been making friendly wagers over the outcome of the annual OU-Texas football game for the past few years. This year, however, Henry’s plan to bet a side of beef was met with complaints from animal rights activists who suggested that the governors should bet vegetarian fare rather than beef.

Vegetarians of Oklahoma and the Vegetarian Network of Austin, Texas, issued a joint statement asking the governors “to modify the annual wager between them regarding the outcome of OU-Texas football game so that the losing side of the wager provide to the victors a meal of State-grown organic produce and grains.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals could not resist getting in on the publicity, of course, and Bruce Friedrich told the Oklahoman, “Betting a side of beef is the wrong move in every way.”

Oklahoma ended up beating Texas 12-0, so Perry will be sending along a side of beef to Oklahoma for the second year in a row.

Sources:

Governors bet beef on OU-Texas game. Associated Press, October 6, 2004.

Governor to bet beef despite protests. Associated Press, October 6, 2004.

Governors urged not to bet beef. The Oklahoman, October 6, 2004.

Red River groundout. Sports Illustrated, October 9, 2004.