PCRM Fights “Cruelty 101”

Animal experimenters at Ohio State University (OSU) had a year riddled with incidents of cruelty and neglect in 2006. Despite widespread opposition from physicians, neurologists, animal protection advocates, and disability activists, OSU refused to cancel its three-week spinal cord injury course, nicknamed “Cruelty 101.” In this course, students drop heavy weights onto the exposed spinal cords of rats and mice and then force the animals to perform various exercises. PCRM put the power of its physician membership into action and gathered support from more than 300 neurologists and neurosurgeons who have joined PCRM in asking OSU officials to implement alternatives to the class.

In mid-July, a power outage at OSU resulted in the deaths of almost 700 animals, including mice, rats, and rabbits. Not only was there no backup generator to provide light and air-conditioning during the peak of summer, but in some places, the heat was actually switched on. There was no system in place to alert any authority about the risks to the animals. In response to this needless tragedy, PCRM’s legal team filed a request with the Council on Accreditation of the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International for a revocation of OSU’s animal research accreditation. As a result, OSU could lose its accreditation if prescribed changes to its animal research programs are not put in place.

Media Center | Health | Research | About PCRM | Catalog | Join Us | Search | Site Index | Home

The site does not provide medical or legal advice. This Web site is for information purposes only.
Full Disclaimer | Privacy Policy