European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 26, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Using animals for scientific research a photo Congress estimates that 17 to 22 million animals a year Are used in . Scientific tests. Christine Stephens the Grande Dame of animal welfare lobbyists. Settled the Case in 1983 by paying a $500 Fine without admitting guilt. Much criticism also was levelled at the University of Pennsylvania where technicians were shown on videotapes casually bashing primates Heads to remove helmets glued on for a study of head injuries. The tapes had been pirated by an underground animal rights group the animal liberation front and led last year to a $4,000 Fine against the University. But those who use animals say most researchers Are conscientious and Don t abuse their charges. I d say it s like any other business says Jim Hansen a spokesman for the . Department of agriculture s animal and Plant health inspection service the Agency charged with enforcing the animal welfare act. The vast majority of people do a Good  in some cases researchers have found they can do without animals. For example the cosmetics Industry stung by Public criticism Learned that products can be tested through test tube methods instead of using the traditional procedure squirting substances in rabbits eyes to see whether they Blister or Blind the animals. For most of its history Laboratory animal use has gone relatively unregulated in the United states. Private groups have their own standards and government agencies like the National institutes of health have policies governing research done under Federal contracts. But it was not until 1966 that Congress gave such standards the Force of Law designating the us a As the watchdog for treatment of warm blooded animals in laboratories Breeding facilities pet shops and zoos. That Law the animal welfare act governs Only the housekeeping of those who use animals. It specifies Cage sizes ventilation sanitation and feeding requirements but leaves decisions about whether to use animals or How to use them up to the scientists. As currently administered it excludes rats and mice from Protection. We re saying you can do anything you can think of to an animal in this country so Long As it is fed and kept in a clean Cage says Patricia Forkan of the humane society. Even those standards she says Are poorly enforced. The act has been amended three times. Animal advocates say last year s changes Are the most significant yet because for the first time they will require animal users to set up care committees that include one member with no ties to the institution. The revisions also include a requirement that institutions provide for the psychological Well being of primates and for regular exercise for caged dogs both changes which worry researchers because of the expense of carrying them out. There Are no scientific data which say any minimum exercise per Day or per week is physiologically better says Frankie Trull director of the National association for biomedical research. You just sleep Nyji Drinkard associated press a after a cease fire prompted by protests Pentagon doctors Are again shooting at pigs and goats to study How bullets and shrapnel affect human tissue. At another government Agency scientists Are inducing a condition much like Parkinson s disease in monkeys to try to learn More about How people get the debilitating illness and How to treat it. In other laboratories research animals Are subjected to shocks isolation or drug dependence to gain insight into human behaviour. Such diverse scientific experiments and tests make up the Broad spectrum of .animal research. On some of the tests ride much of Mankind s Hope for Progress against suffering and disease. Others hold the prospects for billions of dollars Worth of current and future commercial products. But much of the animal research is under fire the subject of vehement debate Over whether there is justification for the suffering or deaths of animals that scientists contend hold keys to knowledge. Animal welfare advocates who have accused researchers in some instances of running concentration Camps for animals Are stepping up pressure on the Federal government to require humane care for Laboratory animals. They say Many researchers have what Christine Stephens the Grande Dame of animal welfare lobbyists Calls a Peculiar philosophy based on the belief that animal suffering is less or at least less important than that of people. Scientists counter that horror stories about the treatment of Laboratory animals Are the exception rather than the Rule. They Are concerned that emerging Federal rules will tie their hands or Price vital research out of reach. We certainly recognize there Are some problems says Melissa Brown of the association of american medical colleges. We just differ Over the extent to which there Are problems out there. Our feeling is that the research is beneficial and it s helping Mankind and animals. That s the Price we have to  both sides Are closely watching developments in Washington As officials translate into Concrete regulations the provisions of a new Law. It s designed to strengthen the 20-year-old animal welfare act which governs the treatment of Laboratory animals. It s taken a terribly Long time Stephens says of the new provisions which were included in 1985 farm legislation. But i think the changes will make a tremendous difference. This is a very important  the use of animals in laboratories is so diverse that no one has precise figures on How Many creatures Are sacrificed each year in the name of science. Congress office of technology assessment estimates that 17 million to 22 million animals Are used in . Scientific experiments and testing each year. Animal advocates put the figure far higher at 70 million or More. Because the nation lacked a comprehensive mechanism to regulate such activities the actual figure is anyone s guess. What is certain is that the favourites of researchers Are rats and mice their annual use in laboratories numbers in the millions. Research rabbits Guinea pigs and hamsters total perhaps a half million each congressional researchers believe. Use of dogs and cats is substantially lower and the number of primates is in the tens of thousands. Animals Are used in three Basic ways for research ranging from investigations of cancer and aids to behavioural studies of aggression and addiction for testing products like drugs and cosmetics before they Are released for human use and to a much lesser extent in education particularly of medical and veterinary students. Those who advocate strict limits and standards use occasional horror stories As ammunition like a 1981 incident at Ohio state University. There Kittens in a Laboratory were Given identification tags on chains around their necks. As the Kittens grew the chains became embedded in the animals flesh. The University a photo better at night because you think if exercise is Good for you it must be Good for the  she says scientists agree in principle with animal welfare groups about the need for adequate care. Mistreated animals those under abnormal stress make for bad research and dubious results Trull says and that is one reason research institutions have developed their own voluntary care guidelines. But does every rat have the right to its own House what is the Trade off to the american Public if we lose animal research what do we lose in the process it could put us 10 years farther away from an answer to juvenile  open houses at some labs to explain to local animal activists the nature and value of their work have fallen on deaf ears says Brown of the american association of medical colleges. At one Western school a scientist spent an entire Day with animal advocates explaining potential benefits of research there. They were not willing to listen and finally he called the meeting off in total frustration Brown says. Philosophy underlying the Issue covers a Broad spectrum from those who have no qualms about wholesale animal use to those who accuse the rest of society of species ism an offence they insist is Akin to racism and sexism. Just How much the new Law will affect actual use May be known As Early As june when agriculture department officials Hope to have a first draft of the new regulations. In the meantime there will be hearings and a Public comment period. Other new features of the Law require scientists to be trained in animal care for animals to receive aesthetics Tranquili Zers and pain relievers where possible for a new Central information service to record experimental results and make them available to prevent needless duplication of animal experiments and for annual inspections and stiffer fines for violators. Hansen of the us a says the changes represent a striking Confluence of opinions among moderates on both sides of the Issue but that the task of translating the Law into regulations remains half the Battle. It s a very emotional Issue too he says. I Don t know who on this Earth does t feel for an animal that s  How thorough enforcement can be remains a question. The agriculture department has just 450 veterinarians and technicians nationwide to keep an Eye on the More than 6,000 institutions covered under the act. Those employees have Many responsibilities and spend Only about 6 percent of their time on animal welfare act enforcement the department says. Moderates on both sides agree that some animal experimentation is justified but should be conducted under rigorous supervision. Patricia Forkan of the humane society of the United states in her Washington office with photographs of lab situations and graphics for their Campaign. 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