World Week for Animals in Laboratories April 22nd - April 28th
author: NW In Defense of Animals
 e-mail: connie@idausa.org
World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL) is April 22nd thru April 28th. Animals used in research desperately need our voices, as they suffer day in and day out. The labs that make these animals' lives a living hell routinely ignore the laws that exist to offer minimal protection from cruelty. Rather than trying to fix these problems, many would rather spend their energies and resources trying to hide them from the public.
NW IDA will be having events all week including a march to the OHSU campus beginning at the South Park Blocks on Sunday, April 22nd. A full listing of events is at the end of this article in the 'What You Can Do' section.
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IDA's Northwest Coordinator Matt Rossell knows the system well from the inside; Between 1998 and 2000 he worked as a lab technician at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Primate Center. He was one of only two staff members responsible for the care of 1,500 animals, a job that was made even harder by the institutionalized Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations that his supervisors repeatedly ignored and refused to correct.
"OHSU kept almost all of the monkeys alone in cramped, barren two-by-two-foot cages exposed to the elements," he said. "These monkeys evolved to live in the dry savannas of India and China, so these conditions made them very sick indeed. The university operated as though it were above the laws of the AWA, which states that primates must be housed together and provided with adequate mental and physical stimulation. I did my best to compensate, giving them toys and treats to counteract the neurotic behaviors that resulted from their sad conditions, but it was not enough."
Frustrated that OHSU seemed determined to maintain business as usual, Rossell submitted an anonymous complaint to Dr. Isis Johnson-Brown, the state's only USDA Care Inspector, who was responsible for overseeing more than 120 facilities in Oregon. She typically visited OHSU about twice a year, and during her inspections, the attending veterinarian would try to rush her through as quickly as possible while staff cleaned up for appearances' sake right before her arrival.
"The research institutions I visited, including the Oregon Primate Center, were not happy to see me coming once they realized that I was going to hold them to the law," Dr. Johnson-Brown stated during a press conference in August 2000. "What was surprising to me was my own supervisors were disappointed and unsupportive of my efforts to simply enforce the bare minimum standards in the Code of Federal Regulations...I was unable to do my job and eventually, out of frustration, I had to quit. I recognize that the system is not set up to protect the animals but instead the financial interests of the research labs."
Attempts to cover up the abuses happening inside OHSU are made not only by those who run the lab, but are orchestrated at the highest levels of the university, as well. In 1999, IDA submitted a public records request for information related to the research taking place at the Oregon Primate Center. Despite their legal obligation to provide this information, OHSU refused to comply, demanding that IDA pay them $150,000 for the data. After a lengthy eight-year court battle, IDA finally prevailed and got the records, albeit in the form of 113,000 pages instead of electronically, making them very difficult to examine.
"OHSU wound up paying $80,000 for IDA's attorneys' fees, plus their own attorneys' fees," noted Rossell. "Yet, even though they ultimately spent at least $150,000 of taxpayers' and donors' money on this case, they probably think they won, because they were able to keep the information from us for so many years. By the time we finally got it in December 2006, the experiments had probably been over for some time, and they knew that if the information was outdated it wouldn't make as much of a splash in the media."
Ironically, the National Institutes of Health holds OHSU up as one of the premier primate centers in the country. If they are considered one of the best, one can only speculate as to what kinds of abuses are taking place regularly at other facilities, completely hidden from the public eye. That is why it is crucial that animal advocates do everything they can, especially during WWAIL, to expose the deceptive lies of vivisectors to the public.
What You Can Do
Following are NW IDA's WWAIL events:
Doorhanger Sunday— April 22
Beating the Streets for Better Science
WHEN: Sunday, April 22
9:30 am -Noon
WHERE: Haven Coffee Shop- 3551 SE Division
Please RSVP to Elaine Close 503-819-4354
March and Demonstration at OHSU
Sunday, April 22
IDA is hosting a March to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and Demonstration at OHSU's main campus to raise awareness about the more than 4,000 monkeys and multitude of mice, rats and other animals being experimented on in their labs.
WHEN: Sunday April 22
2 pm- 5pm
WHERE: Begins at Portland State University Campus (PSU)
Smith Memorial Student Union
South Park Blocks side (opposite Broadway St.)
PSU map:  http://www.pdx.edu/map.html
ROUTE: We will march up Broadway, to 6th Avenue and on up to OHSU
(exact route TBA) to end up in front of the OHSU hospital on Sam Jackson Parkway
OHSU map: http://www.ohsu.edu/about/campusmap.pdf
RETURN: Bring bus fare ($1.70 adult) to return on the #8 back to PSU
Signs will be provided. Please come and bring a friend to speak up for the animals locked away behind OHSU's lab doors!
Visibility at Oregon National Primate Research Center
Tuesday - April 24
Activists will be reaching out to neighbors of the primate labs during rush hour traffic by holding banners and signs calling them to speak up in defense of animals used in research. Many people who live near the Primate Center and drive past it everyday don't even know what it is or that more than 4,000 monkeys are held captive out of eyesight on the beautiful 270 acre campus.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 24th
4pm-6pm
WHERE: Oregon National Primate Research Center
505 NW 185th
Beaverton/Hillsboro
(Carpool leaving from IDA office at 3pm)
City Council Meeting
Wednesday - April 25th
IDA's Matt Rossell will address city council members at their weekly meeting to deliver a message about the plight of animals in research labs in Portland. The public is welcome to attend so feel free to join us!
WHEN: Wednesday, April 25
9:30 am
WHERE: City Hall
1221 SW 4th Ave
Council chambers
March of Dimes WalkAmerica
Saturday - April 28
Help us educate supporters of the March of Dimes about their useless and cruel animal experiments. We will be leafleting marchers at both the Portland and Vancouver Marches so call Connie at 503 249-9996 ex: 3 or email  connie@idausa.org if you can help out. Despite the millions of dollars spent and millions of animals killed, the incident rate of many birth defects remains on the rise. Literature supplied. We will meet at 9am for both the Portland and Vancouver events.
For more information on the March of Dimes visit www.ReformMarchofDimes.org.
For more information on any of these events contact Connie at 503-249-9996 x3 or connie@idausa.org.
For more information on useless, cruel and outdated animal experiments visit:
www.vivisectioninfo.org
www.boycottohsu.com
www.whitecoatwelfare.org
www.navs.org
www.pcrm.org
Please participate in NW IDA's WWAIL events between April 22nd and 28th. This is a great opportunity for activists to join together and speak out for animals used in experiments. To get involved contact Connie at 503-249-9996 x3 or connie@idausa.org.
Having multiple WWAIL events registered across the nation creates vital momentum by showing how many people care about animals in laboratories. It also helps bring media attention to the issue by illustrating the broad scope of interest in protecting these animals from abuse. A full listing of events shows our solidarity and commitment as a movement. Please register your WWAIL event as soon as possible, and encourage other activists planning events to register, too. Visit www.wwail.org to register your event.
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homepage: http://www.idausa.org
phone: 503-249-9996
address: 5428 NE 30th, Portland, OR 97211
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