Activists Give UCSF an "F" in Science
Converge During Week of Action to Demand an End to Animal Experiments

San Francisco, Calif. — Holding a banner that reads, “Without Your Voice the Torture Will Continue. Animals in Labs Need Your Help” over real images of a rabbit, monkey, cat and dog suffering horribly during cruel experiments, members of In Defense of Animals (IDA) and concerned citizens blast the University of California – San Francisco (UCSF) for its senseless and unreliable Frankenstein experiments on animals, and for its consistent violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Animal advocates will observe World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL), an international week of action against animal experiments to expose the hideous cruelty kept from the public and to memorialize the animals tortured under the guise of science.

When: Tuesday, April 26, 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.
Where: UCSF, Millberry Union at 500 Parnassus Ave.

UCSF has one of the worst animal care records of any university medical research institution in the country. Since 1998, UCSF has been in almost continual violation of the federal AWA, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports. These violations have continued – many uncorrected – despite repeated USDA citations for serious and fundamental deficiencies in UCSF’s animal labs. Yet UCSF is the nation’s fourth largest recipient of federal research grants, receiving over $420 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) annually and is recognized as one of the most prominent medical institutions in the U.S.

Last year the USDA filed a complaint against UCSF for 75 counts of animal welfare violations between 2001 and 2003. Among the violations were failure to provide the basic requirements of a federally compliant animal care program—adequate research oversight and veterinary care—and failure to handle animals in a humane manner in accordance with federal law.

Ample evidence supports that animal models make poor representations of human conditions and recent news reports around the globe are shedding light on the unreliability of animal experiments. In February, scientific director of Europeans for Medical Progress, Dr. Jarrod Bailey called for an end to “archaic” animal experiments which have either harmed humans or set research back by decades.

"Studies done on chimpanzees, our closest biological relative, have failed to identify the risks of cigarette smoking and failed to produce a single case of AIDS," said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, president of IDA. “Increasingly physicians and scientists are realizing that experiments on animals are unreliable and antiquated and they are speaking out against the extraordinary suffering inflicted on intelligent, social animals in the name of science.” WWAIL is an annual week of events to arouse concern for animals in laboratories and educate the public about the scientific, moral, and economic objections to animal experimentation. Activists across the country join San Francisco animal advocates in organizing protests, vigils, and other educational outreach events. For more information please visit www.wwail.org.