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UCLA Sued By Rights Group For Not Disclosing Animal Testing Information
Aerial shot of UCLA campus (Photo by Atwater Village Newbie via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
An animal rights group is suing UCLA to force the university to divulge information regarding animal testing.
Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN), an Ohio-based animal rights group, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday. The language in the lawsuit is explicit, with SAEN claiming that UCLA "turned monkeys into methamphetamine addicts."
"Although SAEN has requested public records from UCLA going back to January 1, 2012, UCLA has summarily denied SAEN’s request. According to Wednesday’s lawsuit, that refusal to disclose information violates the California Public Records Act (CPRA)." SAEN said in a press release.
SAEN wants the university to turn over information such as necropsy reports and veterinary care logs in an effort to monitor how researchers are treating primates, the lawsuit claims. SAEN's press release states that monkeys involved in research often die during the procedures, or were killed afterwards.
UCLA has responded to the lawsuit, claiming that their policy regarding releasing information is legal and it is in place to protect scientists, KPCC reports. The university has released information before, but with names redacted in an effort to protect employees from retaliation.
This is not the first time UCLA has been in hot water with SAEN. A lawsuit filed by the group was rejected by the L.A. Superior Court in 2010, according to the Daily Bruin. In 2009, Professor J. David Dentsch's car was set on fire by activists calling themselves the 'Animal Liberation Brigade.' Dentsch used vervet monkeys in his research regarding drug addiction, a scenario similar to the kind of testing on which SAEN is trying to get information.
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