U.S. Fines City of Hope for Animal Treatment

The City of Hope has been fined $11,000 for failing to comply with federal standards governing the treatment of animals used in laboratory research, officials at the prestigious medical facility in Duarte reported Friday.

Three months ago, the National Institutes of Health, responding to evidence found by an animal rights group during a break-in last December, launched an investigation of possible animal mistreatment at the center and froze several million dollars a year in federal funds.

A preliminary probe requested by the NIH turned up “at least 10 major deficiencies and 13 minor deficiencies” in the way research animals were being cared for at the facility, according to the health agency’s deputy director, Charles MacKay.

Violations Cited

In a letter mailed last week--but not made public until Friday--the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which sets the standards for animal care at research facilities and which joined in the investigation at the City of Hope, imposed the fine after finding that the facility had violated provisions of the Animal Welfare Act.

The violations reportedly included failure to establish adequate veterinary care, failure to consult a veterinarian regarding the use of anesthetic and analgesic drugs, failure to keep adequate records, failure to maintain sanitary conditions in surgical areas and failure to provide adequate shelter for some dogs and cats used in research.

Eleven months ago, members of the secret Animal Liberation Front scaled a fence outside the research facility, stealing 36 dogs, 12 cats, 12 rabbits, 28 mice and 18 rats and leaving spray-painted slogans on the walls and floors.

In the days that followed, representatives of a Washington-based organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, reported that the raiders had found that the animals at the laboratory were being kept in “filthy, inhumane, immoral conditions.”

In its initial investigation last August, the National Institutes of Health complained that it had “found no adequate response” to the group’s allegations.

The NIH ordered a full-scale investigation and announced that it was freezing “several million dollars” used for animal research, out of the approximately $5 million the City of Hope receives annually in U.S. Public Health Service funds.

Veterinarian Hired

City of Hope officials said Friday that the center has hired a full-time veterinarian and has spent $350,000 in renovations designed to bring the animal research facility into compliance with federal guidelines.

Charles Mathews, a City of Hope spokesman, said the center expects NIH inspectors to find that all deficiencies have been corrected when their follow-up inspection is made some time next month. Mathews said he expects that the NIH will restore all grants, including money to cover expenses incurred by the research facility during the period when its federal funds were frozen.