Vanderbilt Tortures Monkeys!
gordon.gee(at)vanderbilt.edu, jeffrey.schall(at)vanderbilt.edu
Chancellor Gordon Gee
Nashville, TN 37240
Jeffrey Schall
Nashville, TN 37203
Dear Chancellor Gee,
dear Mr. Schall,
As a concerned German citizen who advocates viable medical research, I respectfully ask you to "do the right thing" in the case of technician Jeffrey Schall's futile experimentation upon fully alert primates for the Vanderbilt University Research Department.
I am appalled to read testimony from fellow technicians and veterinarian Maggie Tighe that describes brain surgeries performed on monkeys without general anesthesia. For this federally subsidized research, Schall severs off the tops of monkeys' skulls to inset wires and posts and affix metal coils to their eyes. This is not only inhumane, but also a grand waste of the approximate $1.5 million taxpayer dollars annually awarded for Schall's experiments.
Science derived from severely distressed monkeys does not result in accurate and predictive extrapolation to humans. At best, lab variables such as pain and injury, confinement, loneliness and repeated handling generate misleading data. Recent findings published in Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science show researchers are unable to separate the effects of stress hormones from the drug or disease under analysis.
I respectfully ask for Schall's prompt suspension, followed by a comprehensive review of his treatment of laboratory animals. I strongly encourage Mr. Schall to cease all animal experimentation.
In 2004, Schall acquired a one-month suspension after he conducted unauthorized surgery on a monkey, withheld fluids from animals, and neglected to sanitize a primate restraint chair smeared in feces. That same year, Schall allegedly intimidated a whistleblower who tried to inform the university veterinarian about an animal's collar caught in the bars of a cage. Government records in 2005 show the university cited for 13 separate trespasses of the federal Animal Welfare Act, with Jeffrey D. Schall listed as a recurrent offender.
Vanderbilt University risks further embarrassment and legal repercussions if it continues to violate animal welfare laws. Please implement a rigorous investigation of animal abuse within university laboratories and permanently remove Schall from your staff. If charged with animal cruelty, Schall ought to be prosecuted to the full extent allowed by law.
In addition, I urge Vanderbilt University to reevaluate its research protocol. Many research scientists now view the physiological, cellular, genetic and psychological variations between species as too significant to draw inferences relevant to human health.
As a result, expedient non-animals systems are rapidly replacing old-fashioned animal studies. Options range from in vitro cell and tissue culture models and genetic/protein analysis to epidemiology, videos and mathematical modeling, virtual organs and 3-D models, autopsy/biopsy studies, advanced MRI imaging, and a multitude of other non-animal tools.
Thank you in advance for addressing my concerns. I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
-------- Original-Nachricht --------
Datum: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 14:07:30 -0500
Von: "Gee, E Gordon" <Gordon.Gee@Vanderbilt.Edu>
Betreff: RE: Vanderbilt Tortures Monkeys !
Dear xxx,
Thank you for your commitment to the compassionate care of animals involved in research. We firmly believe in our responsibilities to care for those animals and I have pledged that Vanderbilt's program in animal care will become a model for other research universities.
As you can imagine, we have heard from a great many people about the PETA report posted on their website. From the first moment we understood this criticism, we have treated the allegations seriously. Within 24 hours the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) met and formulated a plan to investigate the allegations made. At the same time Dr. Schall volunteered to suspend any further surgeries pending the outcome of the investigation.
Under the leadership of the IACUC chair, interviews were conducted with more than 60 members of the staff working in our primate facility, to determine if any violations of the animal care protocol occurred. The IACUC team also reviewed the records of all primates currently in Dr. Schall's care to determine whether craniotomies performed were done in accord with appropriate procedure. The result of both the interviews and the records review showed that in every instance the surgeries were done under general anesthesia as required by the approved protocol.
The IACUC is filing a formal report on the allegations, the investigations and their findings with the USDA, the NIH and AAALAC. I am satisfied that the allegation that Dr. Schall has been performing craniotomy surgeries without anesthesia is false.
Thank you for writing and your commitment to the humane treatment of animals.
Chancellor Gordon Gee
