January 9, 2008 | 2:25 pm

PETA protests Weizmann Institute over animal testing

Posted by Adam Wills

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) kicked off a protest against the Weizmann Institute of Science on Tuesday. Seems they don’t like it when researchers drill holes in animals’ skulls without a good reason.

The animal-rights group protested in front of the university’s American Committee New York office on Tuesday, alleging that an undercover investigation by PETA’s Israeli counterpart Let the Animals Live in fall 2007 found the neurobiology department at Weizmann in Rehovot was conducting inhumane basic research on cats and monkeys with no end-goal for a human application.

“It was research for the sake of doing research,” PETA research associate Justin Goodman told GeekHeeb. “There was no intention to extrapolate what’s happening in these experiments to the human condition.”

The undercover investigator from Let the Animals Live reportedly found holes drilled into the skulls of cats and rhesus monkeys, which was done to study the effects of visual stimulation on brain activity—something PETA says can be documented safely using magnetoencephalograms (MEGs) and microelectrode implants in human volunteers.

PETA is planning to file a complaint with the National Institutes of Health alleging violations of animal protection laws and has sent letters to the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and the Grodetsky Family Foundation, all of which have reportedly contributed funds to the laboratory at the Weizmann Institute.

Multiple requests for comment from the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science were not returned.

In its October 2007 investigation, Let the Animals Live says it found that researchers had:
• Drilled holes in animals’ skulls in order to expose their brains;
• Attached chambers and silicone disks to animals’ skulls;
• Subjected them to daily water deprivation;
• Immobilized animals in restraint chairs and inserting electrodes directly into their brains;
• Forcibly kept animals’ eyes open for hours while they watch patterns on screens.

The Israeli group also says that professor Amiram Grinvald and his colleagues in the department of neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, have conducted a series of invasive and punishing experiments on monkeys and cats over a period of 30 years.  An animal technician who had been employed in the department for a month tipped off the Israeli animal-rights group. For more details about investigation, click here.

In December, the Knesset unanimously approved a proposal to review Israel’s current laws regarding animal experimentation, according to Ynet. Animal-rights activists are waiting to see which committee will take up the debate.

Let the Animals Live led its own protest in front of the Weizmann Institute—which it calls a “‘Treblinka for monkeys”—on Jan. 2, calling for the release of the rhesus monkeys. The group posted the following account on its Web site:

“The rally was to protest the inhumane experiments carried out on monkeys at the institute. The protesters wanted to enter the institute, lay a wreath of flowers ‘In memory of morals at Weizmann Institute’ and present their request that the monkeys be released to the institute leaders.

“However, although the protesters were acting peacefully, they were met by security guards who, in part, acted quite violently and brutally. During the incident a clash erupted with the security team: Let the Animals Live spokeswoman Eti Altman fell hard onto the ground and hit her head. The institute’s medic was forced to give her first aid, following which Eti was evacuated by ambulance to the emergency room of Kaplan Hospital.

“Public personalities and artists who took part included Orna Banai, Eli Feinish, Meir Suissa, Michal Gavrielov, Shira Wilensky, Haim Tsinovitch, Peer Weisner, Benny Schlesinger, and Eti Altman.”

 

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