Animal testing at UHM minimizes suffering, professor says

By Andrew Affleck

A University of Hawai‘i at Manoa animal science professor has assured animal lovers that no animals used in research are deliberately harmed or sacrificed without reason at UHM.

Dr. Charles Weems is a professor and animal scientist at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. His research focuses on reproductive biology, and said any university or federal government sponsored research must meet an approved protocol set by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Joy Symons, an animal science major, said all programs at UHM follow strict guidelines, and researchers must follow the rules "to a tee."

"You must do all you can to minimize the level of pain or discomfort," Symons said. "If this can't be achieved, you may have to look for another method because the research may not be approved."

UHM students are also trained in animal handling before taking classes involving animals. If a student has not completed the training, he or she cannot be enrolled in classes.

Symons said she believes that most students and teachers who conduct research using animals are animal lovers who wouldn't deliberately harm an animal.

"Anyone who works here shows compassion towards animals," Symons said.

Symons also said rats should be treated with compassion. "It's not until you get into a lab that you realize that a rat is still a furry, living, breathing creature," she said.

"Anyone who doesn't show any compassion and gets caught will be kicked out of class," she said. This includes violations such as taunting sheep in pens.

Weems' research focuses on pregnancy loss. He said about 30 to 40 percent of cattle lose their offspring in the first third of pregnancy, which causes significant economic loss.

"There has been a lot of scientific work done for the benefit of animals and so we can understand them better," Weems said.

Relating his research on animals to humans, Weems said pregnancy loss can cause psychological and economic problems. In vitro fertilization can cost tens of thousands of dollars for each try, and has a success rate of only 20 to 30 percent.

Weems also said that reproductive research done on animals like sheep, cattle and pigs has been used to help reverse extinction trends throughout the world.

However, there are people who disagree with animal research based on ethical grounds.

Animal lover and UHM student Dena Quick said she finds it difficult to associate pain with productive research.

Quick says she understands why animals are used for medical testing, but would rather see it not happen.

Cosmetic testing is one thing that both Quick and Symons would like to see abolished.

"I can't understand why shampoo is still being tested on animals," Quick said. "We've known for a long time that shampoo will hurt if you get it in your eyes so there is no need to keep doing it to animals."

Quick doesn't consider herself an animal activist. Weems said he believes people who interfere with animal research are "stupid."

"If it wasn't for research, animal populations would be in big trouble, and humans would be in bigger trouble," Weems said. "So it is a tremendous benefit to both animal and human populations."

Weems said he believes that some animal activists are too young to realize the problems families have when a loved one develops cancer, suffers a stroke or suffers from reproductive problems.

He also vented his frustrations about animal rights activists who impede with research.

"Researchers aren't going to beat the hell out of their animals or they won't get good research or a good product to go to market."

"A lot of this got started with research at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School," Weems said. "The rightists were interested in two things, and one of these was spinal cord injuries. Now, how are you going to study spinal cord injuries if you don't sever the spinal cord?"

"They get very upset, so they go the political route, the demonstration route, and it has actually set back spinal cord research eons."

Weems said researchers at Pennsylvania Medical School were testing cats that were going to be put to sleep anyway.

"If you look at Christopher Reeve, who just died, he's been crying for a long time for stem cell research, and so, if you look at the number of physically disabled people in this country and other countries, if you don't do that (research), then these people have no hope," Weems said.

Weems said people don't use common sense and that they just "jump on the bandwagon," because it is popular to be an animal activist.

Weems gave an example on the UHM campus where fliers for a pre-vet club meeting were torn down.

"Now that is absolutely dumb. That is stupid idiocy," he said. "As long as they figure someone is going to work with animals they (animal rights activists) want to impede."

Weems said animal rights groups at other institutions had broken into labs and set fires and freed animals.

"Could you imagine a domesticated chicken in the wild?" Weems asked. "They would just be fodder for dogs and foxes."

Symons added that she believes that there are no other alternatives to animal testing.

"There are people who disagree with the methods used in animal research, but when these people get cancer, they are the first ones who want a cure, and the only way to develop medicine is through animal research and testing," Symons said.