Sneak Peek: UConn experiments terminated in wake of violations

After more than a year of demonstrations, letter writing, pleas to the administration and a half dozen USDA inspections, monkey experiments at U Conn have been terminated.

From an article in TheScientist:

Waitzman's trouble with the USDA began in the fall of 2005 when one of his macaques died unexpectedly after an electrode was removed from his brain, leading to uncontrollable seizures. When UConn graduate student and animal rights activist Justin Goodman found out about the incident (after submitting a Freedom of Information Act request), he sent the agency a letter demanding the lab be investigated. Goodman and other activists have protested and pushed the administration for over a year to shut the lab down.

The USDA has since visited UConn nearly a half dozen times on random inspections. In March, 2006, the USDA demanded that Waitzman update his protocol and prove that his methods were within regulations. Waitzman responded with a 15-page treatise, which was accepted by the USDA.

See the full story in TheScientist: A scientist suspends his ocular motor system research after numerous USDA citations

The animal advocates who worked on this issue documented the process on the web, noting demonstration, letters written, etc. You can check it out at their website. The group is still working to have the one surviving monkey from the experiment placed in sanctuary.