Search This Blog

Thursday, August 2, 2012

UW-Madison Dusts Off Obsolete "Bends" Research, Makes Room for More Money in Vault

In March of 2007, apparently following the French Navy's lead, the UK Ministry of Defense halted its use of goats in decompression experiments after a review committee of six experts examined alternative methods, such as computer-modelling techniques to simulate the effects of the "bends" and said that there is no further need for the use of animals in this area of research.

That expert opinion was either unknown to the UW-Madison, or was dismissed out of hand. In spite of the apparent lack of likely beneficial knowledge emerging from repeatedly decompressing animals and recording the well-known and understood excruciatingly painful deleterious and often terminal effects, the UW-Madison continued doing so. Moreover, they were violating the state laws against doing so. But, like the expert opinion that they either ignored or didn't know about, they also either didn't know or didn't care about the Wisconsin statutes regarding cruelty to animals. The giddy heights of the ivory towers make it hard to see what's happening down on the ground.

After being caught breaking the law and after wide-spread fretting by UW vivisectors about the possibility of criminal charges being brought against them, once the Republicans took control of the state legislature, the university told them to slip a broad exemption into the budget bill allowing them to ignore those pesky laws against killing animals by means of decompression, staging fights between animals, having to provide them with adequate food, water, and shelter, or doing anything to the animals they might like to do. After all, they're experts.

Now that they've been exempted from any legal concerns about cruelty, they've decided to resume killing sheep by means of decompression. Why would they choose to do this? Concern for submariners or recreational divers? Not so much. The only reason they hurt and kill animals is money; that can't come as a shock to anyone.

Here's a bit of news about their plans (take the UW's claims with a bit of salt): Campus Connection: UW eyes resuming decompression sickness studies with sheep. Todd Finkelmeyer. Cap Times. 8-2-2012.

See too:

UW Violating State Law and PHS Regs? August 8, 2009.
The decompression of the sheep. August 27, 2009.
Standing Above the Law. October 4, 2009.
The Sheep. Spin, spin, spin. October 11, 2009.
UW-Madison vs the Sheep.. June 5, 2010.
Sheep decompression or else! June 6, 2010.
UW Seeks Exemption from All Anti-Cruelty Laws. June 5, 2011.

3 comments:

Eric Sandgren said...

You keep making the mistake of saying that UW violated State Law with its submarine rescue studies, but as you well know (it is in the article you cite), the lawyer asked to investigate the charge "issued a report stating that university employees did not violate state laws", and this finding was accepted by the judge who had requested him to look into this. The mouse "fighting" studies also were found not to have violated state law. In view of your stated interest in the truth, I expect you now will correct your misstatements.

Rick said...

I recommend you review District Attorney Blanchard's analysis. See: http://primateresearch.blogspot.com/2009/10/standing-above-law.html

More important though than that, please urge your assistant Rick Lane to get off his butt and send me the maternal deprivation protocol I have been requesting for nearly three months.

Anonymous said...

Hello Rick,
Eric is only stating this to try and intimidate you. Because you put this information out there for the public to read, we can now see UW researchers for what they are. I refer to them as Scientist want to bees who have made no contribution in anyway whatsoever to the public. If they truly believe what they are doing, than as you wrote provide the documents to validate the research. One would think that a researcher would do this and stand by their tests. Watching mice fight, sticking primate infants in dark barren cells, would you want the public to know about this? Eric is a coward who says one thing than when called out on it has nothing more to say….
Take Care
Mimi