STOP UBC ANIMAL
RESEARCH FILES
FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST UBC
by Stop UBC Animal Research
VANCOUVER(November
15,
2010) – This week,
Stop UBC Animal
Research filed a formal complaint with the BC government against the
University of British Columbia (UBC) for UBC's failure to comply with
provincial
freedom of information law.
The animal advocacy group, which has
requested records
about UBC's extensive animal research programs, said it filed the
complaint
because UBC had failed to meet deadlines established under BC's
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).
To date,
UBC has
not provided the campaign with any information about the university's
experiments,
including on piglets, monkeys, cats, mice, rabbits, and other
animals. BC’s
Office of
the Information and
Privacy Commissioner (OIPC), the regulatory body for FIPPA, is
reviewing
the organization’s complaint.
"The
public has a right to know what UBC is doing to animals with taxpayer
dollars,”
said Brian Vincent, spokesman for Stop UBC Animal Research. "If UBC is
so
proud of its animal research, why is the university refusing to hand
over
information about its experiments? What does UBC have to hide?”
FIPPA
sets clear deadlines for responding to requests. For instance, under
FIPPA, UBC is required to respond within 20 days to a request to waive
fees for
producing records. On September 10, Stop UBC Animal Research asked UBC
to waive records costs because the organization is an all-volunteer
group, the
release of records is in the public interest, and the information
requested
cannot be obtained through publicly-accessible sources. Until the fee
issue is resolved, the
animal advocacy group said it cannot obtain any information from UBC.
Stop
UBC Animal Research said UBC’s refusal to meet deadlines gives the
impression the university hopes to avoid turning over documents
about its research.
“It is
not surprising UBC is dragging its feet over the release of records
about its experiments. The university doesn’t want the public to see the
grim
reality of animal research,” said Vincent. “University officials fear
that once the
public learns more about UBC forcing fluids into the
lungs of newborn piglets to induce respiratory failure, blinding
monkeys,
cutting open the backs of cats, beheading wild songbirds, and exposing
mice to
cigarette smoke, people will be outraged,” Vincent said.
Since
June, the Vancouver-based organization has submitted numerous
information requests to
UBC, including requests for:
· Data on the number and species of animals
used in research
· Data on the numbers and species of animals
upon which research, teaching, or testing was conducted involving pain
or
distress, but for which pain relief was not used
· Data on the numbers of non-human primates
used in research. Sources
of non-human primates used, including numbers of non-human
primates bred
at UBC or purchased from other facilities, as well as the numbers of
wild-caught
non-human primates and country of origin.
· Photos, videos, and other
photographic records related to animal research
· Copies of inspection reports of
UBC labs
· Research protocols describing
methods used in animal experiments
· Clarification if UBC faculty have
been a party to any research on dogs off the UBC campus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
stopubcanimalresearch@gmail.com
RESOURCES:
Contact Mr. Vincent for
copies of the piglet, monkey, songbird, cat, and mice studies mentioned
above
--
Stop UBC Animal
Research is a community grassroots campaign that employs peaceful,
legal, and compassionate approaches to educate the public about the grim
realities of research on animals at the University of British Columbia
and to ultimately bring about an end to research on animals at UBC.
Please visit our website at: http://stopubcanimalresearch.org/
