1.
PSYETA Joins Endangered Species Coalition
Earlier
this year, PSYETA joined the Endangered
Species Coalition, which includes over 175
organizations dedicated to a strong Endangered
Species Act (ESA). Our work in the animal
protection movement is predicated on the belief
that all sentient animals are individuals,
each with a life of inherent value. While
those in the environmental movement are focused
on the preservation of animal and plant species
and larger ecosystems, the programs each of
us pursues usually share compatible goals.
After all, we cannot protect individual animals
without also protecting their species, and
the ecosystem in which they live.
PSYETA
recognizes that animal-based agricultural
industries represent some of the greatest
threats to endangered species. This threat
is centered on such industries' willingness
to exploit and destroy the habitats on which
the survival of free-roaming animals depends.
Of course, human consumption of meat and dairy
products is a major factor in the development
of heart disease, strokes and many types of
cancer. The irony, then, of protecting endangered
animals and their habitats is that doing so
will safeguard plant species that may yield
treatments and cures for those very diseases!
If Americans' diets were less meat- and dairy-centered,
protection of endangered species could be
undertaken more for the inherent value of
individual animals as opposed to safeguarding
them for potential "medicine chest"
benefits to humans.
As
long as humans insist upon a carnivorous diet,
the very health of our own species may be
in jeopardy. Reauthorization of a strong ESA
is critical since this legislation safeguards
many of the plants we rely upon to fight life-threatening
diseases. One example is taxol, derived from
the Pacific Yew and used to treat breast and
ovarian cancer. Another is vincristine, derived
from the Madagascar Periwinkle and used to
treat childhood leukemia and Hodgkins Disease.
According to the National Cancer Institute,
technological improvements continue to expand
the potential for identifying medically useful
natural substances.
Those
who would dismantle the ESA argue that the
legislation has stifled economic progress
and is based upon bad science. With respect
to the latter, a recent National Academy of
Sciences study confounded critics of the ESA
by declaring it scientifically sound and stating
that, if anything, it should be strengthened.
Also, the economic benefits of preserving
species and their environments are considerable.
For example, medications derived from plants
worldwide are worth over $40 billion annually.
Or consider the dire prediction by lumber
companies that 100,000 jobs would be lost
in Oregon as a result of protecting the spotted
owl's habitat. In fact, employment in Oregon
has increased thanks to an influx of
technology firms and the retraining of loggers
through government programs.
Efforts
to dismantle the Endangered Species Act are
ongoing in Congress now.
The Endangered Species Coalition is in
critical need of support with their
activities around the country. Please call
202-547-9009 to find out how you can help.
2.
Federal Agencies Charge Psychologist With
Inadequate Care of Primates
For
years, New York University psychologist Ron
Wood has forced monkeys, rats and guinea pigs
to smoke and/or sniff crack cocaine, glue
and other toxic substances. Scientists, physicians
and drug counselors have called the $400,000
a year (over $4.4 million to date) in federal
funds that underwrite these experiments a
waste of tax dollars. Wood has failed to publish
any results of this research using monkeys.
In
April 1995, the USDA filed formal charges
against NYU, citing it for Wood's failure
to provide adequate veterinary care to three
gravely ill monkeys who were transported by
private car to a laboratory 50 miles away
and subsequently died. NYU was also cited
for Wood's failure to inform its Institutional
Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of his
use of water deprivation to handle animals.
The NIH's Office for Protection from Research
Risks (OPRR) also upheld charges of inadequate
veterinary care, and found that NYU did not
have an adequate training and overall animal
care and use program.
However,
after OPRR claimed that the problems had been
corrected and the case was closed, In Defense
of Animals (IDA) filed a response demonstrating
that the violations of Public Health Service
policy continue. Detailing NYU administration's
cover-up of the Wood affair, IDA demanded
that OPRR reopen the investigation.
Despite
his demonstrated record of inadequate animal
care and poor research methods, Wood recently
applied for a new grant using rodents to study
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Continuing
the pattern of administrative corruption involving
Wood, NYU's IACUC voted this project down
three times, but approved it on the fourth
try after NYU administration called selected
members of the IACUC and persuaded several
to change their votes. The protocol was listed
as approved even though it was never reconsidered
at a full IACUC meeting.
WHAT
YOU CAN DO: Write to NIH OPRR, demanding
that it reopen its investigation into NYU
and withdraw federal funding from the facility:
Office for Protection from Research Risks,
6100 Executive Boulevard, Suite 3B01, Rockville,
MD 20892, 301-402-2803 - FAX. Write to NIH
Director Harold Varmus, demanding that funding
for all of Wood's experiments be immediately
and permanently terminated: Dr. Harold Varmus,
Director, NIH, 9000 Rockville Pike, Building
1, Bethesda, MD 20892.
3.
Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Efforts Threatened
On
October 1, 1994, the U.S. Air Force "leased"
150 space program chimpanzees as well as a
new $10.5 million housing facility built with
taxpayer funds to The Coulston Foundation
(TCF), a private entity headed by toxic chemical
researcher Dr. Fred Coulston. Coulston has
a long history of testing toxic chemicals
such as industrial solvents and benzene on
chimpanzees, and has advertised their use
for cosmetic and pesticide testing. Coulston's
facilities also have an extremely poor record
of animal care.
On
July 6, 1995, the USDA, acting on complaints
filed by IDA, issued formal charges against
TCF, citing it for the dehydration deaths
of four monkeys in December 1994, the overheating
deaths of three chimpanzees in October 1993,
and chronic cage size violations. Despite
this clear evidence that TCF cannot adequately
care for the chimpanzees it already controls,
Coulston is actively seeking to obtain even
more. He is currently negotiating with New
York University to take over its Laboratory
for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates
(LEMSIP).
Earlier
this year, the Air Force and Coulston unsuccessfully
tried to pass a legislative provision that
would have handed over ownership of the Air
Force chimps to TCF. IDA, working with the
Animal Legal Defense Fund, the National Anti-Vivisection
Society (NAVS) and the Great Ape Project,
successfully lobbied both the U.S. House and
Senate to delete this provision. The coalition
later discovered that Jane Goodall had written
letters that were instrumental in this victory.
IDA and NAVS have submitted substitute language
that calls for retirement of the Air Force
chimps, and are currently working to secure
its passage. If Coulston gains actual ownership
of LEMSIP and the Air Force chimps, he would
have direct control of 725 chimps, more than
60% of all captive chimpanzees used in U.S.
research.
WHAT
YOU CAN DO: Write to your U.S. Representative
and Senators, stating that you support retirement
for the Air Force chimps. The addresses are:
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington,
D.C. 20515; U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.
20510. Or call 202-224-3121. Also, write to
NYU President Jay Oliva, stating that NYU
should not turn over LEMSIP to a facility
with a record like TCF's: Dr. Jay Oliva, President,
New York University, 70 Washington Square
South, Room 1216, New York, NY 10012, 212-995-4100
- FAX.
4.
APA President-Elect Candidates' Positions
On Animal Research
PSYETA
recently wrote to the five candidates for
APA President-Elect to request their views
concerning animal protection issues. Candidates
were asked to outline the following: their
present involvement with animal experimentation;
their position on Animal Welfare Act amendments
covering primates' psychological well-being,
exercise for dogs, and the inclusion of rats,
mice and birds; their position on "student
rights" options; and their support for
the establishment of an APA committee to work
directly with its Committee on Animal Research
and Ethics (CARE) on promoting humane animal
alternatives and innovations. The following
are excerpts from the letters of the three
candidates who replied:
Norman
Abeles, Michigan State University:
I
am not currently involved with animal experiments....I
support the implementation of the AWA including
its extension to rodents and birds....I
support student rights concerning noninvasive
alternatives....I do support the establishment
of an APA committee [to work with CARE].
Robert
A. Brown, University of Maryland at College
Park:
I
have no past, current or anticipated future
involvement with animal experiments....I
do not have a position regarding implementation
of AWA regulations....[T]here are a variety
of regulations that animal experimenters...must
meet and I assume that these regulations
[are] sufficient to ensure the animals'
health and well-being....I do support the
position that students should have available
to them...noninvasive alternatives....[I]
would not support the establishment of a
committee to work with CARE....We already
have numerous boards and committees and
taking on another is a great expense to
the association....[I] would support ...someone
within CARE [taking] on this task for themselves.
Richard
M. Suinn, Colorado State University:
My
research and teaching has not involved the
use of animals....As the former Head of
my Department, I was instrumental in forming
a committee to study the role of animals
in teaching....This committee [developed]
an approach toward humane involvement of
animals in our courses, a standard of care,
and the opportunity for students to adopt
alternatives.
5.
PSYETA Member Resigns From APA In Protest
Michael
Giannelli, Executive Director of The Ark Trust,
Inc. (818-786-9990) and long-standing PSYETA
member, recently resigned from the APA in
response to a series of pro-animal research
articles in the APA Monitor. He kindly
gave us permission to print excerpts of his
letter of resignation sent to Raymond D. Fowler,
APA Chief Executive Officer:
I
am resigning from the APA as a protestation
against this organization's policy with
respect to the use of animals in research.
The December 1994 issue of the APA Monitor
which contained several articles in support
of APA's policy and none opposed--represented
the latest evidence that under foreseeable
circumstances the APA is incapable of or
unwilling to modify its entrenched official
position. The fact that some letters critical
of the APA were published in the March '95
Monitor in no way alters my basic
dilemma. I can no longer in good conscience
affiliate myself with an organization which
promotes (indeed glorifies) a practice which,
in my judgment, is inhumane, clinically
nonessential, scientifically overrated and
consistently dishonest with respect to APA's
false reassurances that the well-being of
research animals is a priority of the enterprise.
....[I]
am reluctantly convinced that APA's CARE
Committee has rhetoric aside dedicated
itself to the promotion of animal research
and the political/legal protection of animal
researchers, with little work towards advancing
more civilized standards of animal science.
I am not talking about the
acts of allegedly sadistic" researchers,
but rather about the present system,
best characterized as a desensitized form
of institutionalized cruelty.
....There
are many types of noninvasive experimental
procedures involving animals, including
but not limited to those conducted in naturalistic
settings, to which I have little or no ethical
or scientific objection. But the onerous
litany of experimental protocols which APA
finds "acceptable" bear no relationship
to these alternative models and, in my judgment,
cannot be defended as "humane"
without totally corrupting the meaning of
the word. In conclusion, current APA policy
in this area leaves me feeling alienated
from the organization which is supposed
to represent me and our profession.
6.
American Psychiatric Association Condones
Animal Sacrifice
At
a recent American Psychiatric Association
meeting in Miami Beach, specialists stated
that U.S. Hispanics are more likely than Anglo-Americans
to suffer from depression. Psychiatrists said
that appropriate treatment for some Hispanic
patients may include conventional therapy
or anti-depressant drugs combined with "folk
healer" methods including animal sacrifice
and spiritualism. Animal sacrifice is widely
practiced in Santeria, a Cuban-based religion
that blends worship of African deities with
veneration of Catholic saints. Followers of
Santeria typically sacrifice such animals
as chickens, goats or doves to a particular
god to win favors or healing. In June of 1993,
the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision
voiding several ordinances enacted by the
City of Hialeah, Florida that had prohibited
the killing of animals in religious and other
rituals. Despite this ruling, the majority
of Americans consider this practice cruel
to animals.
7.
Researchers' Names Subject To Disclosure Laws
In
December 1994, the Ohio State Supreme Court
ruled that Ohio State University (OSU) must
make the names of individual researchers accessible
to the general public. In the Spring of 1994,
Shawn Thomas, an attorney representing several
animal protection groups, originally requested
all OSU records pertaining to any public record
requests by "pro-animal groups"
or individuals. OSU provided Thomas with a
92-page document with all the names and addresses
of the researchers deleted in an attempt to
protect their "privacy and personal safety."
However, the court ruled that the individual
researchers' names and addresses were not
exempt from the state's disclosure laws, and
that the potential harm from harassment does
not meet the constitutional standard for "victimization."
8.
Readings
When
Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals
by Jeffrey M. Masson and Susan McCarthy
(Delacorte, 1995) offers a fascinating examination
of the full range of emotions throughout the
animal kingdom from lions, elephants and porpoises
to apes, birds, dogs and cats. Jane Goodall
calls it "...not only an important book,
it is marvelous!"
The
Animals' Agenda has a special offer
for PSYETA members. For every $22,
one-year (6 issues) subscription to the magazine
sold by PSYETA, Agenda
will refund $6 to PSYETA. To subscribe,
send check/money order for $22/1 year or $39/2
years to The Animals' Agenda, Department
- 15R27X, P.O. Box 1242, Darien, CT 06820.
9.
Announcements
Good
News! Major Publisher for JAAWS
PSYETA
and The ASPCA are in the process of finalizing
an agreement for Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates
to serve as publisher for the Journal
of Applied Animal Welfare Science.
Lawrence Erlbaum is one of the country's preeminent
publishers of academic journals and books,
with particular expertise in psychology and
social sciences. This agreement with Erlbaum
promises to ensure the successful launching
of JAAWS as America's first academic
journal devoted solely to animal welfare studies.
With this new arrangement, the first issue
is now scheduled to be published in January
of 1997. For information on author guidelines,
please write to Kenneth J. Shapiro, Ph.D.,
P.O. Box 1297, Washington Grove, MD 20880-1297,
or call/fax 301-963-4751.
PSYETA
Bites the Big Apple!
PSYETA
will hold an open meeting for attendees of
this summer's APA Convention in New York City.
Anyone interested in animal protection issues
may attend the meeting to be held on Saturday,
August 12, 1995 at the Sheraton-New York in
Room Empire 3 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. PSYETA
will provide membership information and discounted
subscriptions to S&A and
JAAWS.
Reports on the Great Ape Project
Hopefully many of our members were able to
see the recent segment on ABC's "20/20"
which discussed the Great Ape Project and
PSYETA Board Member Roger Fouts'
sign language studies with chimpanzees. Hosted
by anchor Hugh Downs, the segment discussed
the controversies surrounding the use of chimpanzees
and other primates in medical research. The
centerpiece of this discussion was
Roger's trip to New York University's LEMSIP
facility to visit a chimp named Booee whom
he had taught sign language in the late 1970s.
In the segment's most compelling moment, Booee
clearly recognized Roger after 17 years and
even remembered some of the sign language.
Beatrix
"Trixie" Gardner Memorial
On
June 5, 1995, Beatrix Gardner, pioneer of
teaching American Sign Language to chimpanzees,
died while on a lecture tour with her husband,
R. Allen, in Italy. According to Roger
Fouts, who was a former student of Dr.
Gardner, "our field of primate behavior
has lost a great scientist and the chimpanzees
have lost a great friend and advocate."
Perhaps best remembered is the Gardners' first
chimpanzee, Washoe. PSYETA named Beatrix
Gardner its "Psychologist of the Year"
in 1988. A memorial to her has been established:
University of Nevada-Reno Foundation, Beatrix
Gardner Memorial Fund, Mail Stop 162, Reno,
Nevada, 89557, or call 802-784-6622.
Referral
Network
PSYETA
continues to maintain a confidential listing
of mental health professionals who are interested
in serving activists in animal rights and
other movements. Activists in search of a
mental health provider for any reason are
encouraged to contact us for names in your
geographical area. If you are a clinician
and would like your name added to the provider
list, please contact Ken Shapiro for further
information.
10.
Support PSYETA
Contributions.
Thank you very much for your past support.
Without your help, we cannot continue our
work. Please check the mailing label on your
envelope as it indicates the date when you
last made a contribution. For example, "07/15/94
25.00" means you last contributed $25
in July of 1994. We appreciate your contribution
on an annual, or if you prefer, more frequent
basis.
Bequests.
Persons wishing to become benefactors of PSYETA
should consult an attorney or incorporate
the following provisions carefully into their
wills. "I bequeath to Psychologists for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals, P.O. Box
1297, Washington Grove, MD 20880, the sum
of _________ to be applicable to the general
purposes of the organization." Or if
so desired, you may designate a specific purpose
for the money.
PSYETA Newsletter Editor: Margaret
Carpenter; Contributor: Eric Kleiman |
