V for A Meeting on Sunday, Sept 12...Vigil at UCSF on Sept 16...Help to make mock stereotaxic restraining device...Update on dogs

[Guest guest]

Dear Animal Advocates, Companions, Guardians, Lovers & Liberators:

 

VIGIL FOR ANIMALS MEETING - September 12, Sunday, 11 AM, Downtown, San Francisco, 218 - 9th Street. Please let me know (by e-mail or phone call to 415-751-3756) in advance if you plan to come to the meeting.

 

NEXT VIGIL AT UCSF - September 16, Thursday, 5 - 7 PM - Canine Companions Welcome (for information re public transportation to UCSF, see below)

 

NATIONAL PRIMATE LIBERATION WEEK: Among other things to be discussed at the upcoming meeting, will be National Primate Liberation Week, scheduled for October 2nd - 10th - exact date(s) for protest at UCSF yet to be decided.

According to UCSF's yearly report to the USDA for fiscal year 2002-2003, the university caused 174 nonhuman primates to suffer "pain or distress [for which anesthetics or pain-relieving drugs were supposedly given]," while UCSF researchers exploited them in a variety of research projects. Another 48 nonhuman primates were exploited by UCSF in other projects that were reported to involve "no pain, distress, or use of pain-relieving drugs."

By the way, I am putting the word out for help to create a mock stereotaxic device for a monkey (I will provide mock monkey). As you may know, especially if you got Michelle Tsai's recent e-mail re monkeys (ab)used at UCSF, many of them are restrained in one device or another - the stereotaxic being the most cruel of restraints because the animal's head is absolutely immobilized. Anyway, if we can display the extreme cruelty of such a device, it could attract the attention of passers-by and prospective media during upcoming protests. Anyhow, If anyone would like to tackle such a project, please e-mail me ASAP or call me at 415-751-3756.

 

DOGS AT UCSF: Also there will be some discussion at the upcoming meeting about dogs at UCSF and a prospective protest focusing on dogs before year's end. Thus I am hoping you who have a special affinity with dogs will come to the next meeting.

Speaking of dogs, UCSF continues to plan to use dogs - over 800 of them - in 2 projects that entail surgically implanting pacemakers in them to induce the symptoms of arrhythmia. These 2 projects are planned to be conducted over the course of the next three years.

Furthermore, the university continues to use puppy dogs in a research project that researchers contend will help us gain more knowledge about "sudden cardiac death" and "insight into the etiology of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)."

Vigil for Animals has called upon UCSF to stop the aforesaid experiments on dogs - with no response from the university to this date. Furthermore, we have complained about 2 of the 3 aforesaid experiments to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which sent an inspector to investigate. We continue to wait for the USDA's release of the resulting inspection reports.

 

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO UCSF: UCSF is located at 513 Parnassus Avenue in San Francisco, easily reached by the 6-Parnassus bus or 43-Masonic bus, both of which stop in front of UCSF on Parnassus Avenue. Also you may take the N Judah streetcar (which connects with BART at Civic Center Station, San Francisco), exit streetcar at Arguello, enter UCSF via entrance on Arguello and take elevator up to Parnassus Avenue, or walk back one block and walk up the hill to Parnassus.

Bob O'Brien

for the Vigil