PETA’s ‘10 Worst Laboratories’ List

4. The University of California-Davis
All is not well in sunny California. In 2005, the USDA leveled a nearly $5,000 fine against UC-Davis for animal care violations that resulted in the deaths of seven cynomalgus monkeys. According to the USDA, UC-Davis did not properly maintain the thermostat or temperature cutoff switch in the monkeys’ room, thus allowing the room to reach a scorching 115°F for many hours at a time.

UC-Davis is home to the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC), which houses approximately 5,000 primates. While many institutions are phasing out animal experiments, UC-Davis is expanding its primate facilities and is constructing a level-3 biocontainment lab for deadly viral infection studies on primates. UC-Davis also subjects more primates to painful and distressing experiments than any other U.S. university: More than 2,000 primates were used there in 2004. In addition to this unparalleled exploitation of primates, more than 500 dogs, 400 cats, 450 rabbits, and 250 horses were used in painful or distressing experiments at UC-Davis in 2004.

Foul experiments are conducted at the CNPRC Inhalation Facility at UC-Davis, in which primates are exposed to pesticides, ozone, smoke, drugs, asbestos, and other toxic inhalants. Unbelievably, the inhalation facility has specially designed chambers for the sole purpose of forcing pregnant and infant monkeys to inhale tobacco smoke. Meanwhile, human clinical observation has clearly shown that smoke exposure causes birth defects and developmental lung problems in human babies. UC-Davis experimenters wouldn’t be conducting these hideous experiments unless they brought in significant funding. Shame on them.

Please write, call, fax, or e-mail the head of the university and politely ask him to stop these atrocities:

Larry Vanderhoef, Chancellor
Mrak Hall, 5th Fl.
University of California, Davis
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616
530-752-4964
530-752-2400 (fax)
lnvanderhoef@ucdavis.edu