Drop veil of secrecy, UBC! Public has the right to know, activists say.

From The Province
By Jack Keating

Sixty animal rights advocacy groups from across Canada, the U.S. and Europe sent a letter to UBC president and vice-chancellor Stephen Toope Monday, urging the university to fully disclose information about its animal research programs.

“[University of B.C.] must lift its veil of secrecy surrounding animal research,” said Brian Vincent, spokesman for Stop UBC Animal Research. “Since much of UBC’s animal research is funded by taxpayers, the public has the right to know what the university is doing to animals with public money.”

Vincent said the letter was sent to the president after requests for meetings were declined and freedom of information requests were also denied.

“Most people [have] no idea that right down the street at UBC is one of the largest bio-medical campuses in Canada where 100,000 animals are distributed from the animal-care facility at UBC to UBC related research facilities,” said Vincent.

“We felt the broader public has a right to know about this and that there should be international attention focused on UBC.”

The research involves mice and rats, but cats, monkeys and baby piglets are also used, he said.

The letter endorsed by such groups as the Animal Alliance of Canada, Animal Defender International, Born Free U.S.A., International Networks for Humane Education and the Vancouver Humane Society voiced concern about the lack of transparency about experiments on animals.

The letter urges UBC to “fully disclose information about its animal research programs. That way students, donors, alumni and the public can make informed decisions about supporting a university that engages in activities many find objectionable and of questionable scientific merit.”

A spokesman for UBC was not available for comment.

From STOP UBC Animal Research

According to the UBC student newspaper, the UBYSSEY, the University of British Columbia (UBC) is one of the largest bio-medical campuses in Canada. Each year, UBC’s Animal Care Center distributes some 100,000 animals, including cats, pigs, mice, rabbits, rats, non-human primates, and other animals to dozens of UBC-affiliated research projects. UBC maintains over thirty animal care facilities across its campus and throughout the rest of Vancouver.

The Canadian Council on Animal Care’s most recent data shows the numbers of animals used in “science” in Canada have risen steadily, with nearly 2.3 million animals in 2008, up from less than 1.8 million in 1998. As the home of a rapidly expanding industry of animal experimentation, UBC is at the forefront of this trend.

Stop UBC Animal Research has discovered that UBC researchers are conducting highly invasive experiments on animals.

For further information and actions you can take, please visit STOP UBC Animal Research

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RESOURCES

• Dissection / Testing
• On US Numbers, SAEN Vivisection Facts 2009

Related Footage, Covance

again i reiterate
just how much we hate
the thought of living
things on slabs
cold and tortured, in labs
no secrecy, however veiled
can disguise how UBC
has morally failed!!!!

Karen Lyons Kalmenson