Me: Vegan

Please urge UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope to release information about UBC’s research on animals. Please send him a letter urging him to be honest about UBC’s Animal Torture chambers, or see below for sample letters to copy and paste. Be sure to personalize your letter or email. IMPORTANT: Please be polite and professional in your communication with UBC. Send any replies from UBC to stopubcanimalresearch@gmail.com

To contact UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope:
Email: presidents.office@ubc.ca
Phone: 604.822.8300
Fax: 604.822.5055

Snail mail:
Office of the President
The University of British Columbia
6328 Memorial Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 Canada

Dear UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope,

I understand UBC conducts extensive research on a variety of animals, including pigs, rats, non-human primates, cats, mice, rabbits, and other animals. Much of that research is funded by the public, through taxpayer dollars, student fees, alumni gifts, and private donations. Yet, few are aware UBC experiments on animals and that some of the procedures used are highly invasive and painful.

UBC – a public institution that promotes critical thinking, debate, transparency, and freedom of speech – has been less than forthcoming about its research on animals. But the public has the right to know about such research. Many, like me, vigorously oppose vivisection because we find it ethically at odds with our values of compassion and of highly questionable scientific merit.

Information about UBC’s animal research and decisions by its Animal Care Committee should be made widely available so that prospective students, current and potential donors, and the public can make informed choices about whether to support UBC. As you may know, the US has a far more transparent system. Information, data, and reports about animal research are posted at website databases through the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Agriculture. With that in mind, I urge UBC to post the following information online:

*Assessment reports of UBC by the Canadian Council on Animal Care from 2000-2009, including records of non-compliance and violations issued by the CCAC to UBC, as well as UBC’s responses to those assessment reports

*Veterinary care and necropsy reports on animals at UBC for 2000-2009

*Data on the number of animals used annually in research, teaching, and testing at UBC for 2000-2009. Data should include numbers of animals used by species, category of invasiveness, and purpose of use.

*Copies of animal use protocols by UBC animal researchers and instructors for 2000-2009

*Photos, videos, and other recordings of experiments conducted on animals by UBC researchers and instructors for 2000-2009

Finally, I urge UBC to pursue alternatives to research on animals as other universities have done and ultimately end all research on animals. I look forward to your response. Thank you.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION

For more information contact Stop UBC Animal Research at stopubcanimalresearch@gmai l.com or call 604.551.3324

It is easy to feel like the enormity of the issues that non-human animals face every day all over the world, and in fact, here in our own city of Vancouver.  For myself that becoming aware of these issues, educating myself, and those around me was a spring board that propelled me toward taking action for the animals.  It was an uphill battle to actually find groups that are working on some of these issues.  There will always be issues that no one is currently working on, and that’s where the Ghandi quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” comes in.  You are always strong enough, smart enough, capable enough and plenty motivated to start your own campaign against an issue that you are concerned about; indeed that is how all campaigns got started!

For those of us who are looking to lend their time, energy, creativity, or skills to an existing campaign (trust me, there are many!) here are a small number of local groups that are working in a wide variety of ways and on a wide variety of campaigns.  Do a little research, or go to some events, meet some people (they’re all lovely!) and see who you feel a good fit with.

And remember:  There is room for EVERYONE in the Animal Liberation movement!  Your skills, talents and efforts are absolutely valuable and someone in our great Animal Rights community will be happy to put you to work.

STOP UBC ANIMAL RESEACH is a campaign to abolish the use of animals for research inside the University of British Columbia.  Contact them at:  stopubcanimalresearch@gmail.com

The VANCOUVER ANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE is a grassroots group that organizes a variety of campaigns against local fur stores, restaurants that serve shark fin soup or foie gas, and many other issues.  Contact them at: vancouveranimaldefenseleague@live.ca

LIBERATION BC is a local group that focuses on education, outreach and advocacy.  Contact them at: www.Liberationbc.org

CATCA (Campaigns Against The Cruelty to Animals) is an invaluable group run by a long time, dedicated activist, that works diligently on a variety of issues especially marine animal issues.  Contact them at www.catcahelpanimals.org

AND, you can always direct any questions or requests for info to me in the comment section below, or to me personally at luciedamazon@gmail.com

anonymous report(taken from BITE BACK www.directaction.info):

June 4, 2010

“Passing a chicken farm and not leaving our mark just seemed so wrong… So we left our mark!
We gained access to the property and poured grit into the petrol tank of an expensive digger.
ANIMAL LIBERATION NOW!”

Excerpt from STOP UBC ANIMAL CRUELTY facebook page:

On January 25, 2008, the UBC student newspaper, the UBYSSEY, ran a cover story, “Cruel Intentions? Animal Testing at UBC,” that included some startling and disturbing findings. I’ve included excerpts from UBYSSEY reporter, Marc Serpa Francoeur’s 2008 piece. In his article, Francoeur wrote:

“UBC is one of the largest bio-medical campuses in the country. The ACC [Animal Care Center] distributes some 100,000 creatures, both large and small, to dozens of UBC affiliated research projects.”

“According to the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), the numbers of animals used in ‘science’ in Canada have increased significantly in the past decade, with over 2.5 million animals in 2006, up from less than 1.5 million in 1997. In fact, 2006 saw the highest number of animals used in research since 1975. As the home of a sizable and rapidly expanding industry of animal experimentation, UBC appears to be at the forefront of these trends.”

“…UBC maintains over thirty animal care facilities across its campus and throughout the rest of the city.”

“Harvey Clark describes a recent shift in Canadian research from the use of companion to farm animals and from larger to smaller animals in general; a process he characterizes as ‘refinement’ of research practices. ‘Pigs are probably the main large animal that’s used,’ says Harvey Clark. ‘We haven’t seen dogs used in research at UBC since 1992.’”

“While the wide majority of the animals used each year are rats, mice, and fish, there are over 5,000 subjects from other species like sheep, pigs, rabbits, cats, and non-human primates. Harvey Clark views the use of these animals in research as ‘consumptive use’ and equates it to the use of animals in food production.”

“According to the CCAC, experiments in Canada are divided into four different ‘Categories of Invasiveness.’ In 2006 while about one third or over 800,000 experiments caused ‘little to no discomfort or stress,’ another third caused ‘moderate to severe distress or discomfort.’ Additionally, over 7 percent, some 180,000 animals, were subjected to the highest level of invasiveness, ‘severe pain near, at, or above the pain tolerance threshold of unanaesthetized conscious animals.’ This quantity is more than double proportionately and well over three times in number than the mere 55,000 or 3 percent of animals used in this way in 1998…”

“As for the nature of the experiments, while some 30 percent were related to medical purposes in 2006, roughly 10 percent, some 238,000 animals were used in the ‘regulatory testing’ of non-medicinal products. While the number of animals consumed for this purpose has been relatively consistent over the past decade, the proportion subjected to the highest level of invasiveness has risen from less than 20 percent in 1998, for instance, to nearly 60 percent in 2006. All told, non-medicinal product testing represented well over 60 percent of the total number of animals subjected to the highest level of invasiveness in 2006.”

“Most notable perhaps, has been the continued use at UBC of non-human primates in neurological experiments. Recently, the rhesus macaque, an Asian species, has been used extensively in Parkinson’s disease research. The monkeys are typically subjected to brain damage which models the degenerative disease and then treated with various methaphetamine and electroconvulsive shock therapies.”

The VADL is in need of some extra support this fall/winter season.  They have an ongoing campaign against the Fairmont Hotels world wide and are demanding the fairmont remove the chain of fur stores in their lobbies.  The VADL also works to get local restaurants to cease selling foie gras and veal.  These guys are heros and work tirelessly to protect all life on our earth.  For their protest schedule and any other information, send them an email at: vancouveranimaldefenseleague@live.ca