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A Republican lawmaker is calling on the University of Iowa to examine its use of animals in medical research, consider alternatives and release a public report.
State Representative Taylor Collins of Mediapolis said he finds one experiment “particularly grotesque.” Beagles with a fatal infection were euthanized, then blood and tissue samples from the dogs were studied.
“These are really concerning research practices that are occurring at the University of Iowa and we’re simply asking for a review of these practices because we shouldn’t be simply only looking at dollar signs when we’re conducting research,” Collins said. “We also need to be thinking about the ethical use of these animals.”
University of Iowa officials say the 25 dogs were infected with the disease when the owners of the beagles donated the animals for the research a decade ago and no dogs have been used in the university’s research since 2019. A written statement from university says faculty have “an unwavering commitment to the health and well being of research animals” and “strongly support development of non-animal alternatives” for research.
“As usual we have received no commitments to make any improvements, conduct any kind of review or even admit any wrongdoing ever occurred. The only thing we have gotten back is a boilerplate FAQ to simply answer questions about the study,” Collins said. “The university and the Board of Regents can’t just continue to ignore issues that legislators bring to their attention. They either need to address this or we’ll do it for them like many other things.”
Collins led efforts in the legislature this year to cut the budgets for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs at Iowa, Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa. Two years ago the legislature passed a law that requires university researchers to set up adoption programs for dogs and cats that are retired from research.
“We’ve sounded the alarm bell on it before,” Collins said, “but as usual the university has become increasingly out of touch with everyday Iowans and the legislature when it comes to research.”
The Iowa director of the Humane Society has raised the same concerns as Collins and the group has started an online petition calling for changes in animal testing practices at the University of Iowa. Officials at the University of Iowa say for the past 30 years the university has been accredited by an international nonprofit that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science.
