“… their results are not directly applicable to people” is a quote from a May 4 Lantern article, “Social mice can fight the flu.”
And that is why Protect Our Earth’s Treasures, P.O.E.T., has been opposed to the entire program of stress and animals being conducted on Ohio State campus. These experiments fall into the USDA pain code category of an “E.” “E” indicates that pain and/or distress is NOT relieved in the animal.
The experimental design of disrupting the hierarchy by introducing an aggressive mouse into some cages is not new and actually became part of the experimental design by accident. This team of animal researchers has used the design since 1997 when they termed the phrase “social reorganization.” Here is what Dr. Sheridan wrote to the OSU ILACUC (animal care and use committee) after the committee became concerned about the high number of moribund, wounded and dead mice: “The degree of fighting and wounding was totally unexpected in the current experiment and I therefore want to add this experiment procedure to my existing protocols.”
Wasted animal lives and millions of taxpayer’s dollars have been pushed into these types of animal experiments for years with no application to helping people. It’s time funding stopped and the OSU community called for an end to this category of animal experimentation.
Rob RussellDirector POET
