PETA asks feds to penalize San Antonio lab after 159 of its baboons suffered amputations from frostb

[douglas9]

Nearly 160 baboons in captivity at San Antonio's Texas Biomedical Research Institute (TBRI) suffered amputations due to frostbite from February's disastrous winter storm, according to documents filed with federal regulators.

A March 15 noncompliance report from the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare noted that the storm caused frostbite to 159 of the federally funded lab's baboons. "Several lost digits, but over 100 had amputation surgery due to tail frostbite," according to the document.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says the filings demonstrate that TBRI provided insufficient shelter for the primates in violation of federal animal welfare laws. On Tuesday, it sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service asking it to levy penalties. The animal rights group noted that the 159 injured baboons represented roughly 15% of the lab's total colony.

"For us, it was astonishing that [TBRI] failed to do something as fundamental as making sure these animals had adequate shelter during a winter storm," said Lisa Jones-Engel, PETA's senior science adviser on primate experimentation. "If you can't provide shelter for animals in your care, frankly, it makes me wonder what else you can't do properly."

https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2021/08/04/peta-asks-feds-to-penalize-san-antonio-lab-after-159-of-its-baboons-suffered-amputations-from-frostbite

[Bayard]

1. I disagree with a lot of PETA's statements,

But they're absolutely right on this one.

[rickyhall]

2. How many baboons do they have? Sounds like Ape City.

[douglas9]

3. Texas Biomed gets $37 million to care for San Antonio monkeys that helped develop COVID-19 vaccine

A $37 million federal grant will help fund a San Antonio research facility housing nearly 2,500 non-human primates through 2026.

The Southwest National Primate Research Center at Texas Biomedical Research Institute is the caretaker for more than 900 baboon species, 1,000 macaques, 500 marmosets and a retiree community of chimpanzees no longer used for medical research.

There are only seven federally funded National Primate Research Centers. One is on Texas Biomed’s 200-plus acre campus near Texas 151 and Southwest Loop 410.


Deepak Kaushal, the center’s director, said the animals were essential in helping show that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine would be safe and effective for humans.

“The support from (the National Institutes of Health) for our center will ensure that we can continue this critical work in finding new treatments and vaccines against a variety of infectious diseases, while maintaining the absolute highest standards of animal care,” Kaushal said.


https://www.expressnews.com/coronavirus/article/Texas-Biomed-get-37-million-for-San-Antonio-monkey-16255273.php

[red dog 1]

4. I like that last line,.."while maintaining the absolute highest standards of animal care"

I guess their "highest standards of animal care" weren't high enough for the 159 baboons who suffered amputations due to frostbite.

imo, PETA is right...they should be penalized for that, (but they probably won't be)

[red dog 1]

5. K&R, thanks for posting