UCSF Researchers Face Claims of Animal Abuse

Federal regulators have accused UC San Francisco researchers of mistreating animals used in experiments over a three-year period.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued 60 allegations of animal-care violations in a complaint dated Aug. 31, which was made public Tuesday by an animal-rights group.

The USDA’s accusations stem from the university’s handling of animals between 2001 and 2003, and include charges that researchers experimented on a monkey’s brain without giving the animal adequate postoperative painkillers.

“The gravity of [UCSF’s] violations is great,” the complaint reads. USDA officials didn’t return telephone calls Wednesday.

If the allegations are proved by the USDA, the school faces punishment ranging from fines to the loss of its medical research license.

The complaint was distributed to reporters by In Defense of Animals, an organization that has been investigating and complaining about UCSF’s handling of laboratory animals.

Suzanne Roy, the organization’s program director, said the USDA’s clerk’s office faxed a copy of the complaint Friday after the group inquired about it. UCSF officials said they haven’t received an official copy.

“On preliminary review, this document appears to be a restatement, a compilation, of citations previously issued to UCSF,” Vice Chancellor Ara Tahmassian said in a prepared statement. “All of these previous citations were addressed at the time, with corrective actions reported back to the USDA inspector involved in UCSF oversight,” Tahmassian said.

He said the school would conduct an “in-depth review” once it receives the official USDA complaint.