UF animal 'hotel' on probation

The center for research animals risks losing accreditation after an inspection team finds some creatures living in squalor.

By BETH KASSAB

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 28, 2000

GAINESVILLE -- The University of Florida department that functions as a "hotel" for more than 50,000 animals used for medical research each year has been placed on two-months' probation for mistreating some of the animals.

In a visit earlier this year, an accrediting agency found animals lived in filthy cages that hadn't been cleaned regularly. Some had old bedding. The agency found unsafe conditions, such as electrical cords in pools of water on laboratory floors.

The university has until Aug. 13 to make changes, or it will face losing its stamp of approval from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International. UF has held the accreditation from the private agency for more than 30 years.

Farol Tomson, interim director of Animal Care Services at UF's Health Science Center, said most of the problems cited in the report have been fixed since the agency's original inspection in February.

Tomson took over the department in March after the previous director was fired. The new director said many of the problems resulted from high turnover and lack of training among animal technicians.

"In the past too much reliance was put on part-time animal technicians, and that led to some complaints," he said. "Our goal is to make the job more career-oriented and provide these workers benefits."

In March about 70 percent of the workers hired to care for the animals were part-time employees, Tomson said. By July 1, he said he expects that number to be reduced to about 40 percent.

But Mary Beth Sweetland, director of research and investigations for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, called the probationary period a mere "slap on the wrist with a wet noodle."

"If you and I did this, we'd be arrested for animal cruelty. But because they wear the white coats and say, "It's for the good of this and for the good of that,' nothing happens," said Sweetland, who had written letters to UF about the conditions.

Tomson said Animal Care Services "is just like running a big hotel," although the animals are housed in several facilities on the UF campus and in Gainesville.

"There's all these spaces and all these animals, and people come down and pay rent for us to provide the care," Tomson said.

Professors conducting experiments typically use grant money to pay the department a fee for daily care of the animals.

The accreditor's June 13 report says many of the department's rats, swine, sheep, frogs, monkeys and other animals were not cared for properly. Some monkeys had not been tested for tuberculosis for up to two years, although standard protocol requires testing every six months.

At UF's 34th Street Farm west of the campus, there were "no procedures in place for evaluating the health status of swine" arriving at the farm, and there was no preventive health program for the animals.

In a different facility, records showed some groups of mice, rats and opossums went for days at a time without observation, in some cases with little food and water. For one group of frogs, there is no observation recorded since October 1999.

Mouse and rat cages are supposed to be cleaned twice a week, according to the report, but often were left for six to eight days before being cleaned. No cage cleanings were recorded for the entire month of February for rhesus monkeys in one room, although rules call for those cages to be cleaned once every two weeks.

Some animal food was stored in the same room as animal carcasses, chemicals and other supplies, according to the report. In one instance, bottles of cleanser and ammonia were stored on top of opossum cages, posing a threat to the animals, the report states.

Tomson said the majority of the violations have been corrected. He said he expects UF to remain fully accredited.

"We've been working on this since March 7 so putting together a response back to the agency should be relatively painless," he said.

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