We’re just doing our part to help get a bit of money back for the government. And by “we,” I mean my colleague Justin Goodman, who, as a graduate student at the University of Connecticut, worked tirelessly to expose the hideous experiments carried out by David “The Butcher” Waitzman (I just made that nickname up, but who knows—maybe it’ll catch on with his students) who used a sizeable grant from the NIH to, among other things, drill holes into monkeys' skulls and implant steel coils into their eyes. Well, according to this morning’s Hartford Courant, the university has been ordered to return $65,005 of the grant as a result of animal welfare violations in Waitzman’s lab that were exposed during a USDA investigation prompted by Justin’s complaints.

Not only is this wonderful news for people who care about animals, but it will also serve as a powerful warning to other animal experimenters like Waitzman: Even if massive public outcry leaves them cold, you can bet that they’ll sit up and take notice once they know that someone like Justin is on the case—and that it may not be very long before their grant money’s on the line as well.

Time for your weekly glimpse into the seedy underbelly of the animal-experimentation industry! This Friday, we have two "scientists" going head to head for the coveted PETA Files "Vivisector of the Week"* award, granted to the most cold-hearted, unethical animal researcher in academia—with extra points awarded for sheer stupidity of the experiments. Swallow hard and get ready to be revolted, because here are the two contenders for this week's prize:

David Waitzman, UConn.

UCHC/Creative Commons

Waitzman's going to be tough to beat this week. His experiments are so hideous that he's recently been given a citation and fine from the USDA for violating the pathetically low standards required by the Animal Welfare Act. Let's see if we can make this a twofer for Mr. Waitzman, who likes to drill holes in monkeys' skulls and implant steel coils into their eyeballs. PETA is currently asking the feds to take back Waitzman's grant money in light of his USDA citations. The guy has already received more than $1.7 million in federal funds to conduct these experiments, which should make a lot of people more than a little upset.

George Fahey, UIUC.

UIUC/Creative Commons

George Fahey jumped onto the national stage this week with an article in The New York Times magazine describing his work surgically attaching tubes to live dogs' intestines for the benefit of the multi-million dollar pet-food industry. As the article points out, "With his academic status and independent financing, George Fahey’s research spares pet-food manufacturers the negative publicity they might attract if they ran their own experiments on surgically altered dogs." That selfless act alone deserves a big lick on the face from one of the grateful pet-food company execs, don't you think? Click here to read PETA's letter to UIUC's Chancellor suggesting that they look into an alternative to dog mutilation 'round about now.

Please cast your votes now, or if neither of these mad scientists does the trick for you, feel free to nominate a write-in candidate. See you next week!*

*The PETA Files cannot guarantee that they will remember to do this next week.

Remember the University of Connecticut story from a couple of weeks ago? Long story short: the USDA fined the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) for seven violations of the Animal Welfare Act, stemming from experiments in which a guy named David Waitzman bolted restraint devices to monkeys' heads, drilled holes in their skulls, attached electrodes to their brains, and fastened small wire coils directly to their eyeballs.

Well we just took it a step further and filed a formal complaint with state auditors Kevin P. Johnston and Robert G. Jaekle urging them to investigate possible violations of the University of Connecticut's Code of Conduct as well as the possible misuse of public funds and property by the UCHC, its institutional Animal Care Committee (ACC), and UCHC animal experimenter David Waitzman.

Justin Goodman protests UConn primate experiments

Based on UConn graduate student Justin Goodman's 2005 complaints, the USDA confirmed that Waitzman was consistently in violation of laws governing the care and use of animals in research. Waitzman had received more than $1.7 million in federal funds to conduct the experiments, and part of his salary, the entire salaries of his support staff, and his overhead expenses were funded by state taxpayers, who will also have to pick up the tab for the $5,532 fine. Also, UCHC officials made false public statements regarding Waitzman's experiments.

UConn's Code of Conduct requires that faculty and staff abide by all federal, state, and institutional laws and regulations regarding the use of animals. However, since March 2003, UCHC has been cited for more than 65 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act related to the treatment of monkeys, cats, gerbils, guinea pigs, and rabbits at the facility. These violations include failure to employ personnel who were qualified to handle nonhuman primates, thus causing physical harm to the animals; failure to consider alternatives to painful procedures; failure to provide appropriate sedatives to animals; failure to painlessly euthanize a monkey who experienced severe tremors and seizures for more than six months; and conducting unauthorized experiments.

Here’s what PETA VP Bruce Friedrich had to say on the issue, "UConn has been torturing animals, making a mockery of its Code of Conduct, and squandering taxpayers' money in the process, UCHC's negligence and lack of oversight led directly to the prolonged suffering and deaths of animals, and we're calling on the state to impose all appropriate disciplinary measures."

I’ll keep you posted as things progress . . .

The $5,532 fine that the USDA hit the University of Connecticut Health Center with this week for seven violations of the Animal Welfare Act is a very big deal, and a sign that if enough people care enough to do something about an injustice, even the worst bureaucracies in the world can be forced to act.

The person who cared enough to do something in this case was my personal hero (and new colleague) Justin Goodman, a UConn student who learned that experimenter David Waitzman had received more than $1.7 million in federal funds for brain experiments in which he bolted restraint devices to monkeys' heads, drilled holes in their skulls, attached electrodes to their brains, and fastened small wire coils directly to their eyeballs. Justin submitted numerous Freedom of Information Act requests and alerted the USDA to specific problems with the procedures, resulting in 21 citations, including causing unnecessary trauma to animals, failing to properly sedate them, and failing to painlessly euthanize animals in severe distress. 

Justin Goodman protests UConn primate experiments

Because of this work, in addition to two years of relentless campaigning by Justin and other local activists, Waitzman terminated his experiments in August 2006, and the university is finally being held accountable for their role in allowing his nasty little procedures to take place. Here's what Justin had to say about the victory:

"It shouldn't require pressure from student activists to force the USDA and UCHC to do their jobs. Waitzman has been torturing monkeys long enough, and it's high time for him to be fired and for his torture chamber to be shut down for good."

Congratulations to Justin for your amazing work.

And finally, if you have a moment, please send an email to UConn asking them to permanently ban primate experiments using the form here.