Watchdog calls UF research 'barbaric' after rats dosed with herbicide, exposed to heat die

A national watchdog group, that in May wrote a letter to University of Florida President Ben Sasse calling for an end to a research project that resulted in animal deaths, is again calling on him to end a different project it calls "nothing short of barbaric."

Stop Animal Exploitation Now! calls for ban

Stop Animal Exploitation Now!, or SAEN, a nonprofit watchdog group that monitors U.S. research facilities for fraud and illegal activities, is also calling on Sasse to ban all UF staff involved with the project from working with animals in the future.

The research in question dates back to June 12, when 14 rats were dosed with glyphosate — an herbicide — and then subjected to 95-degree heat for eight hours. After the study, six of the rats were found dead.

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Lab failed to "monitor the real-time temperature" of 3 of 6 dead animals

A letter dated July 20, from David Norton, UF's vice president of research, to Axel Wolff, director of the Division of Compliance Oversight for the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, part of the National Institutes of Health, states the lab failed to "monitor the real-time temperature" of three of the six dead animals as required under UF's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocol.

"This botched project clearly demonstrates the incompetence of UF’s lab staff which the animals have paid for with their lives," wrote SAEN Executive Director Michael Budkie in his letter to Sasse. "Glyphosate is a serious environmental problem, but that will not be solved by poisoning animals under artificial conditions in a laboratory setting."

Committee initiates 3 corrective actions

The IACUC full committee initiated three corrective actions as a result of the deaths, including administering a lower dose of glyphosate and less heat exposure, working with the software manufacturer on continuous monitoring access, and creating a checklist to ensure protocols are followed.

UF committed to "ethical use of animals" in medical research

As in past responses to The Sun regarding animal research complaints, Steve Orlando, UF spokesman and associate vice president of communications, said in an email that UF "is committed to the ethical use of animals in its pursuit of medical advances that benefit both humans and animals."

"Almost every drug, treatment, medical device, diagnostic tool or cure we have today was developed with the help of laboratory animals," the statement continued. "Animal research at UF is governed by a federally mandated Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee that reviews all requests for approval to use vertebrate animals and inspects all areas where animals are housed and used."

UF's Animal Care and Use program fully accredited

University officials say its Animal Care and Use program has received full and continued accreditation from AAALAC International, a nonprofit that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science.

Past complaints

SAEN's past complaints about animal research at UF include the deaths of two dogs that were part of a Duchenne muscular dystrophy study in mid-2022, and a dosing error that led to eight rats either dying or being euthanized.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: SAEN says UF research on rats is 'barbaric,' demands end to project