As protestors gathered on a busy street corner to decry “Ivy League Animal Abusers,” they took aim not just at Yale as an institution, but at its professors, by name.
A dozen members of the newly formed Connecticut Animal Rights Network stood on the corner of College and North Frontage Streets near the on-ramp to Route 34 Wednesday, holding signs that read “Shut Down Yale Animal Labs” and “End Ivy League Animal Abuse.” They distributed leaflets with the names, e‑mail addresses, and phone numbers of scientists and doctors whose published research relies on what the group considers the mistreatment of animals.
In anticipation of the event, Yale issued a statement Tuesday defending the humane use of animals in its research: “Yale takes seriously its responsibility for the humane care of animals; our laboratories comply with or exceed all federal regulations and independent accreditation standards,” it said.
(Read the entire statement here.)
Ian Smith, organizer of the protest and a full-time researcher for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said that the university has over 150,000 animals in captivity including primates, dogs, cats, pigs, ferrets, rats, and mice that it regularly subjects to “tremendous suffering.” The goal of the protest was to share this fact with the people of New Haven – “something they might not be aware of,” Smith said.
Several drivers beeped their horns as they passed, which Smith interpreted as a sign of support.
Of Yale’s statement, he said: “It seems to be the standard statement that people who torture animals use; it’s really quite meaningless.” Smith had begun planning Wednesday’s rally two weeks ago, he said.
Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery Dr. Robert Duckrow quickly moved through the crowd in lab attire, his Yale ID visible. Of animal testing, he said, “I think if it’s done properly, it’s a necessary compromise.”
The protestors’ own press release, also issued Tuesday, alleges that Yale was recently cited with violating the Animal Welfare Act, a federal law passed in 1966. The violations were clerical errors, Smith said. The real problem is the “every day, legally sanctioned operations that truly threaten the well being and the lives of animals.”
Yale maintains an Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee, whose role is to ensure, among other things, “the refinement of studies to alleviate or minimize potential pain and maximize the comfort and welfare of the animals, and the possible reduction in the number of animals necessary to obtain valid scientific data,” according to its website.
Yale’s animal labs drew national attention last year, in the wake of the murder of Yale grad student Annie Le.
Raymond Clark III, a former Yale employee who was charged in Le’s murder, worked in laboratories at 10 Amistad St. as an animal lab technician. Le herself had conducted experiments on mice and rats inside the building. A popular theory is that Clark’s rage at the mistreatment of mice motivated his alleged attack.
Protesters said their action was a response to published studies and in no way related to the murder .
“We’re here to be the voice for those who have no voice,” said Roz Downing, a history teacher at East Lyme High School who took part in the protest.
“This isn’t fun. It’s confrontational,” she said, “but it has to be done.”
There is one thing that these animal rights extremists and I can agree on, and that is the importance for the New Haven (and national) community to understand the scientific studies going on in Yale laboratories. In these labs, some of the first HIV treatments were discovered (d4T, specifically), innovative approaches for the management of narcotic dependence were designed and tested and new explanations for how genes and the environment shape child development emerged. Each of these projects required basic scientists to utilize animals for their discovery efforts. Without these contributions (and vastly more that cannot be listed here), the welfare of humans and animals alike would have been compromised.
With that in mind, I believe its reasonable to question the ethics of those who personally attack scientists, tell mis-truths about research and researchers and - in the process - deny hope to those with currently untreatable diseases. Fortunately, the scientists in Yale labs are resolute and determined to focus their attentions on conquering disease; we owe them profound thanks, not protests and lies.