Lawmaker warns of legislative action over University of Iowa animal research

IOWA CITY — Responding to demands from a state lawmaker and Iowa’s Human Society director — made last week after “disturbing” Capitol Hill testimony about “painful” research involving dogs — the University of Iowa has reiterated its “unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of research animals.”

But the UI response falls short of meeting the demands, according to Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, who asked the university to review its institutional ethical animal use standards, including looking at shortcomings, and publish the findings.

“If they continue to sit on their hands and not do anything about the issues that we bring to their attention, I guess the Legislature will just need to continue to put things in (Iowa) code,” he said Thursday. “That's certainly not the solution I hope for. I hope that we can continue to have productive dialogue.”

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Preston Moore, the Iowa state director for The Humane Society of the United States, has called on the UI, among other things, to curtail “unnecessary animal testing” in favor of alternative research methods.

In a letter to Moore, UI Associate Vice President for Research Jennifer Lassner characterized research animals as “valuable resources in the effort to develop new treatments for a range of health conditions and diseases including cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, macular degeneration, and many others.”

“From over-the-counter medications to lifesaving treatments, this high-impact research helps people live longer, healthier lives,” Lassner wrote to Moore on June 12 — the day he went public with his concerns, but nearly three months after he made an email appeal to UI President Barbara Wilson. “We provide the highest level of care, which is grounded in respect, as well as the four R’s governing the ethical use of animals in research.”

Those “Rs” include replacement, swapping an animal with a non-living test subject when possible; reduction, using as few animals as possible; refinement, adapting procedures to minimize pain and suffering; and responsibility to the scientific community, the animals and humanity.

The university, Lassner wrote, also adheres to the rules of all governing bodies for U.S. animal research; is accredited; is a registered research facility with the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and has an “Animal Welfare Assurance” mandated by the National Institutes of Health.

Moore and Collins — airing concerns that atrocities similar to those reported during a hearing on Capitol Hill happen “in our own state” — made key demands of the UI: review and publish findings of institutional ethical animal use standards; audit and publish findings of current and pending research indicating which studies can be done without animals; and find — in its search for a vice president of research — someone supportive of reducing animal testing.

Addressing the call for reviews and audits, Lassner said the UI “regularly reviews our animal care program, implementing quality assurance measures and rigorous personnel training programs.”

‘Shut-up and give us some more money’

Collins and Moore this week demanded a more complete response.

“I would continue to urge the university and the Board of Regents to take real steps toward reducing unnecessary animal testing,” Moore said. “And I think an audit, as laid out by Rep. Collins, is a good first step.”

Collins expressed frustration. “As usual, we have received no commitments to make any improvements, conduct any kind of review, or admit any wrongdoing ever occurred,” he said. “This is par for the course for the University of Iowa and the Board of Regents: The Legislature be damned — now shut-up and give us some more money.”

Collins is among the lawmakers who’ve been highly critical of Iowa’s public universities for their diversity, equity and inclusion programming, spearheading legislation curtailing DEI spending and programming.

UI dog study

Among the UI research sparking concerns with the Humane Society and Collins is a study of “leishmaniasis,” a potentially fatal disease caused by a microscopic parasite, resulting in skin sores, fever and swelling organs.

Leishmaniasis spreads through sand flies, and dogs “often serve as a natural reservoir for the disease, meaning that human infections can occur when the parasite is passed from infected dogs to humans via sand fly bites,” according to the university.

Dog vaccines are licensed in Brazil and Europe but not in the United States. And there is no approved vaccine for humans.

In response to concerns from Collins and Moore that UI researchers experimented on “pet dogs” who were “euthanized and dissected, despite the available treatments,” the university reported the animals were previously diagnosed and then enrolled with informed consent by their caretakers. They were not infected as part of the study.

After the animals were euthanized, UI officials said, “blood, urine, and tissue samples were collected for analysis by the researchers in an effort to better understand the disease.”

Vice president search

With the university in the throes of a search for a new vice president of research, both Moore and Collins have called on the university to consider candidates “who not only possess the necessary expertise in their respective fields but also have demonstrated a commitment to utilizing non-animal testing methods whenever possible and supporting the development of new non-animal methods.”

Moore noted that “organs-on-chips, robotics, reconstructed human tissues, computer models and others are often more accurate, and these alternatives are improving all the time.

“We do not have to choose between saving human lives or animal lives,” he said.

The Humane Society launched an online petition Thursday to “allow Iowans to voice their support for the university moving a new direction with their research programs.”

Tom Barton of The Gazette Des Moines Bureau contributed.

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