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Activists seek change in animal testing at Wayne State
It's not the welcome that Dr. Kimberly Espy was expecting as the new president of Wayne State University, but her first days of leadership have partly come with an introduction to animal rights activists upset with the school's program that supports experiments on dogs.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - It wasn't the welcome mat that Wayne State's new president was expecting, but animal rights activists hoped to send a message to the university's new leader in hopes of ending the schools animal testing program.
Outside administrative buildings Wednesday, protesters held signs that read "President Espy: Stop the Dead-End Dog Experiments."
"We know you’re new. We know you have a lot on your plate, but we are hopeful you will do the right thing," said Ryan Merkley.
Merkley is the director of Research, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit that has continually pushed the school to end "these cruel unproductive dog experiments" that activists say have been going on for 32 years.
The testing is for heart failure and hypertension.
Merkley said that during the experiments, "all of the dogs will die."
"They either die during surgery or they die during the experiments. Their death is the end of the experiment. That’s the only end point."
The university has maintained it is "committed to the responsible and ethical use of animals in research, but also recognizes the benefits of research involving animals." It has also acknowledged that heart disease is the number one killer of citizens in America and that their research is vital to saving lives.
On Wednesday, protesters delivered petitions from 104,000 people across the state to Dr. Kimberly Espy's office. She was not in at the time of the delivery.
Espy was elevated to the seat on June 30.
Merkley hopes a new president will mean change.
"She’ll see what all these people have been asking her predecessor for years to end these experiments and hopefully she’ll do the right thing and end them herself," said Merkley.
State lawmakers have previously joined protests organized by the Merkley's nonprofit.
Last year, several sent a letter inquiring about whether the university's animal testing was humane. A request in 2022 sent to the state Attorney General's office asked Michigan's top prosecutor how it regulates experiments done on animals.
Statement from Wayne State:
"Although use of animals other than mice or rats is uncommon at Wayne State, we do have one federally funded research project involving dogs that is working on new strategies for the treatment of congestive heart failure and hypertension. Heart disease is the number one killer in America, so the odds are this research is going to benefit your health or the lives of your loved ones.Every winter we hear about someone having a heart attack while shoveling snow. Certain types of exercise trigger a type of feedback loop in people with high blood pressure or modest heart failure. How this feedback loop is triggered and why it escalates to a heart attack under certain conditions, like shoveling snow, is not well understood. Research at Wayne State is making progress uncovering the factors that contribute to this deadly cycle.
"The world’s most eminent experts in clinical and translational cardiovascular sciences sitting on National Institutes of Health panels rate the research as highly important. The NIH continues to fund this research because its scientists view Wayne State’s research data and peer-reviewed journal articles as valuable contributions to cardiovascular research. Only the top 10 percent of all NIH grants in this field are funded, so if the research was not productive and valuable it would not continually receive competitive funding.Scientific research advances by building upon the existing data and literature, and the work being done in the Wayne State labs is doing that.Wayne State is committed to the responsible and ethical use of animals in research, but also recognizes the benefits of research involving animals.
"Animal research has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century – for both human and animal health. From antibiotics to blood transfusions, from dialysis to chemotherapy, bypass surgery and joint replacement, practically every present-day therapy for the prevention, treatment, cure and control of disease, pain and suffering is based on knowledge attained through research with animals.The university has the highest level of ethical standards in conducting biomedical research, as well as the highest level of care for animals used in research and has been accredited by AAALAC International since its inception.The university strictly adheres to the policy of using only as many animals as reasonably necessary, minimizing discomfort and distress, and using alternatives whenever feasible."