PLEASE FORWARD AND POST WIDELY

Every year, the University of British Columbia (UBC) conducts thousands of research projects involving animals, including pigs, mice, cats, rabbits, monkeys, and others. Some of that research employs extremely painful and, ultimately, lethal procedures. Nearly all the experiments are done with little public scrutiny.

For instance, one UBC researcher has experimented on cats for 30 years. In his papers, the researcher described how he had cut open the backs of cats to expose their vertebrae, inserted titanium screws into the cats’ spinal columns to inhibit movement, and built restraint chambers around the cats’ exposed vertebra to give researchers access to the cats’ spinal columns and to fix the animals in a sitting position for recording sessions.

UBC researchers have also:

*Repeatedly poured saline solution into newborn piglets’ lungs to induce respiratory failure

*Exposed mice to cigarette smoke for up to six months in emphysema research

*Injected toxins into monkeys’ brains to simulate “parkinsonism”

*Administered electroconvulsive shock to monkeys to induce seizures

LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
To date, UBC has denied Stop UBC Animal Research’s freedom of information act requests and has yet to provide the organization with any details about its experiments. Since much of UBC’s animal research is funded by taxpayers, the public has a right to know what UBC is doing to animals with that money.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
*Urge UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope to release information about UBC’s research on animals. See below for sample letter. Please be polite in your communication with UBC. Send any replies from UBC to stopubcanimalresearch@gmail.com

To contact UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope:
Email: presidents.office@ubc.ca
Phone: 604.822.8300

*Urge BC’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner to compel UBC to disclose information. The OIPC is charged with enforcing BC’s freedom of information law and has the authority to order UBC to provide information to the public.

To contact the OIPC:
Phone: 250-387-5629
Toll-free line for greater Vancouver area: 604-660-2421; 1-800-663-7867
E-mail: info@oipc.bc.ca

For more information contact Stop UBC Animal Research at stopubcanimalresearch@gmail.com or call 604.551.3324

SAMPLE LETTER TO UBC PRESIDENT TOOPE
DATE

Dear UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope:

I understand UBC conducts extensive research on a variety of animals, including pigs, rats, non-human primates, cats, mice, rabbits, and other animals. Much of that research is funded by the public, through taxpayer dollars, student fees, alumni gifts, and private donations.

UBC – a public institution that promotes critical thinking, debate, transparency, and freedom of speech – has been less than forthcoming about its research on animals. The public has the right to know about such research. Many, like me, vigorously oppose vivisection because we find it ethically at odds with our values of compassion.

Information about UBC’s animal research and decisions by its Animal Care Committee should be made widely available so that prospective students, current and potential donors, and the public can make informed choices about whether to support UBC. The US has a far more transparent system. Information, data, and reports about animal research are posted at website databases through the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Agriculture. With that in mind, I urge UBC to post the following information online:

*Assessment reports of UBC by the Canadian Council on Animal Care from 2000-2010, including records of non-compliance and violations issued by the CCAC to UBC, as well as UBC’s responses to those assessment reports

*Veterinary care and necropsy reports on animals at UBC from 2000-2010

∗Data on the number of animals used annually in research, teaching, and testing at UBC for 2000-2010. Data should include numbers of animals used by species, category of invasiveness, and purpose of use.

∗Copies of animal use protocols by UBC animal researchers and instructors for 2000-2010

∗Photos, videos, and other recordings of experiments conducted on animals by UBC researchers and instructors for 2000-2010

Finally, I urge UBC to pursue alternatives to research on animals as other universities have done and ultimately end all research on animals. I look forward to your response. Thank you.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION