White Coat Waste Project Lobbies to Ban Animal Research

[Michael Oberdorfer]

The animal activist group White Coat Waste Project (WCW) is campaigning to “defund” animal research at federal research agencies.
Their lobbyist Justin Goodman (formerly of PETA,) has convinced a number of legislators to introduce language in the Veterans Administration and Homeland Security spending bills that would “defund painful experiments on dogs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

Several legislators have already introduced a bill through the House Veterans Affairs committee, that would “prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from conducting medical research causing significant pain or distress to dogs.” The bill, H.R. 3197, was virtually dictated by the WCW.

Obviously, the ultimate goal of WCW is to “defund” all animal research of all government research agencies including NIH. Maybe it’s worth your while to contact your congressman and inform them of what the impact of this bill would be if it becomes a law.

Comments?

[rugg]

There is already protections in place at the VA to assure that no significant pain and distress is inflicted on dogs or any other laboratory animal species. The legislators need to be made aware of the Animal Welfare Act and its consequences.

[Gabriella Panuccio]

Not to open the warms can… But do these activists take medications when they’re sick? Do they beg doctors to save their children when they are in a medical emergency?

Science, as everyday life, is a matter of cost/benefit balance. Of course animals rights are respected and I can speak out of my own experience in 3 Countries across Europe and North America. Certain procedures are not permitted or tolerated and actually they are reported if someone witnesses any form of disrespect against animal welfare. Some people have also earned the termination of their position because of they were caught while performing non tolerated procedures. Thus, here the cost is the number of animals that unfortunately are destined to give their lives for Science. The benefit is defeating diseases and improve the expectation and the quality of our lives.

I myself make use of rodents for my research and I can assure you that it’s not fun at all. I would avoid this if I could. But there’s no other model I may use for the time being… I have tried. Maybe the advent and establishment of reliable protocols for organs on chip technology will eventually fulfill the 3 Rs 100%.

When I think how sorry I am for having no other model than animals, I also ask myself these 2 questions:

1. If humans were rats and rats were humans, would rats use humans as humans use rats?
2. If I were a laboratory rat, how would I feel?

The answer to the first question is: yes, I think they would. It’s nature. As for the second question… Well, now you understand why I feel sorry for some consequences of my vocation. But I also thank laboratory animals for having saved my life and the life of my beloved in many occasions.

Unfortunately, and this is I think the main point here, when people have rooted beliefs it is ‘mission impossible’ to make them understand that things are not exactly as they assert. I have myself met people who believed that we (animal users scientists) are slaughters cutting animals into pieces while they are awake (I feel horrified by the sole thought!). And no matter how hard I have tried to explained the procedures and the regulations… Eventually they only believed that I am not just another slaughter, but all the others are.

As animal activists manifest, protest and engage in actions, I think we, as Scientists, should spend more energy to show these people what we do and why other means often fail to replace animal models; the progress we have made; and the benefit for society.
I’m not sure that it will work, but I sincerely hope. As medical doctor, I care about humans’ (and animals’) lives. I was shocked in hearing the news in my Country that a child had died to a brain abscess caused by a very bad ear infection. His parents were advocating the use ‘alternative’ remedies.

[MChaiken]

I would want to see the animal use protocol before forming an opinion on any particular research project. Perhaps even the protesters would find the procedures acceptable.

[Michael Oberdorfer]

Just so you know, WHITE COAT WASTE PROJECT is a spin-off of PETA and in my experience has been against any form of animal-based research, using government waste as his angle. Justin Goodman was the original head of it and is still very much involved in the organization. Lately, he’s been recruiting right-wing congressman, like David Brat of Virginia, who is into science Denial on a whole range of issues, as allies to his cause; research involving animal models is a waste of taxpayer’s money.
You can get the animal protocol from the USDA. I’m not sure who you would contact, it may require a FOI, but you can get it. I believe all their research protocols involving animals are supervised by the animal plant health inspection service (APHIS).