We, the Undersigned, endorse the following petition:

Help STOP "Cruelty 101"

Target: Karen Holbrook, President, Ohio State University
Sponsor: Kristie Stoick, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
  • Signatures: 3,644
  • Goal: 100,000
  • Deadline: 6-24-2006
Ohio State University is offering a course that some have termed "Cruelty 101." Help PCRM tell OSU that it MUST invest in alternative methods!

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Number Date Name
3,650 9:59 am PDT, May 13 Anonymous
3,649 7:13 am PDT, May 6 Eileen Hennessy
3,648 11:18 am PDT, May 5 Cindy Kovax
3,647 2:59 pm PDT, Apr 28 Saul Markowitz
3,646 4:03 pm PDT, Apr 20 Virginia Gourley
3,645 8:22 am PDT, Apr 20 Barbara Lynch
3,644 1:17 am PDT, Apr 16 Marie Kazanes
3,642 4:07 pm PDT, Apr 15 katherine brown
3,641 7:14 am PDT, Apr 15 Anonymous
3,640 4:57 pm PDT, Apr 14 Suzanne M. Barkyoumb
3,639 8:06 pm PDT, Apr 5 Jenny Vegan
3,638 1:21 pm PDT, Apr 3 Peggy Brennan
3,637 12:41 pm PDT, Apr 3 Kathy Powers
3,636 11:27 am PDT, Apr 3 Lee Ann Reinfeldt
3,635 2:39 pm PDT, Mar 25 Danielle Creager
3,634 9:17 am PDT, Mar 23 Anonymous
3,633 8:39 pm PDT, Mar 22 James Vance
3,632 11:43 am PDT, Mar 22 Denise Thomas
3,631 11:12 pm PDT, Mar 21 Debbie Keller
3,630 7:59 pm PDT, Mar 17 Donna Kirk
3,629 10:17 pm PDT, Mar 16 Kate Broad
3,628 1:17 pm PDT, Mar 16 Jaclyn Lock
3,627 2:24 pm PDT, Mar 13 Meranda nissley
3,626 12:26 pm PDT, Mar 13 Person who cares !!
3,625 9:37 am PDT, Mar 11 Christina Tiffany
3,624 11:02 am PST, Mar 8 elle vegan
3,623 5:48 am PST, Mar 5 Anonymous
3,622 4:35 pm PST, Feb 28 Patricia Weyman
3,621 9:09 pm PST, Feb 26 Vanessa Mathews
3,620 5:59 pm PST, Feb 26 David and Audrey Funk
3,619 11:22 am PST, Feb 22 Terri Green
3,618 3:13 pm PST, Feb 1 Jennifer Sellers
3,617 2:22 pm PST, Jan 31 Jason Neves
3,616 8:04 pm PST, Jan 30 Julia Sousa
3,615 3:23 am PST, Jan 29 Muriel JOSSERAND
3,614 12:12 pm PST, Jan 27 Jenna Reynolds
3,613 6:40 am PST, Jan 15 LORI BALTICH
3,612 1:36 pm PST, Jan 12 Anonymous
3,611 3:18 pm PST, Jan 6 kerri mill
3,610 2:41 pm PST, Jan 4 A. Setear
3,609 9:05 am PST, Jan 3 Jill K. Tew
3,608 11:29 am PST, Dec 29 rachel enkey
3,607 11:39 am PST, Dec 21 Anonymous
3,606 4:27 pm PST, Dec 18 Lisa Salazar
3,605 2:40 pm PST, Dec 18 Linda Molvik
3,604 5:42 am PST, Dec 17 Aparna Shukla
3,603 8:40 pm PST, Dec 16 Vasumathi Krishnasami
3,602 7:27 pm PST, Dec 16 laika james
3,601 12:17 pm PST, Dec 16 Rochelle Suri

Help STOP "Cruelty 101"

Ohio State University (OSU) is hosting a course that many physicians are calling a pointless exercise in cruelty. Nicknamed "Cruelty 101," the course attempts to instruct students in spinal cord injury research methods. Unfortunately, students will not be focusing on the newest in vitro cell and tissue biology, neural cell imaging, and clinical research techniques. Throughout the course, students will be taught how to break or otherwise injure the spinal cords of nearly 270 mice and rats and perform other diagnostic, behavioral, and invasive procedures. The students are trained to use an impactor device specifically designed for breaking the spinal cords of small animals. After the animals' skin, muscle tissue, and bone surrounding the spinal cord are peeled away, the impactor drops a weight on the animals' spinal cord that, to a human, is the equivalent of a seven-pound weight. The force of impact varies with each experiment.

impactorPost-procedure pain, as you can imagine, could be unbearable for the injured animals. Some have even been known to develop a condition called autophagia: peripheral muscle pain so severe that they have been observed chewing through their own skin and muscle. Due to their small size, lack of facial expressions, and high-frequency pain and distress calls, the animals' pain could go unnoticed. The animals are only checked for pain every 12 hours.

What's more, this course will do nothing to help spinal cord injury patients. Top PCRM neurologists and neurosurgeons agree that the most effective--and efficient--avenue to discover ways to prevent and treat spinal cord injury is to do research at the cellular level. This cruel and outdated animal injury technique has no place in the future of spinal injury research.

What alternatives?OSU has forced PCRM to go to the Ohio State Supreme Court in an attempt to get videos of the procedure from the university--and the school was chastised for doing so by its own student paper, The Lantern.

By signing this petition, you agree with PCRM that:

1. The course should be halted immediately. This would give PCRM physicians time to meet with OSU administrators and discuss alternative research strategies.

2. OSU must teach students how to implement non-animal research methods in the study of spinal cord injury. Neurologists and patients alike agree that more animal experiments are not the answer.

3. OSU must implement more transparent research procedures. The public has a right to view procedures that are being performed on rats and mice using federal grant money.

PCRM is calling for a financial boycott of OSU until these conditions are met.
If you are an alumnus of Ohio State University, please officially sign your name to the boycott by contacting PCRM at research@pcrm.org or 202-686-2210.

You can also be of special help to the campaign if you are a neurological health professional, a member of the spinal cord injury community, or otherwise associated with Ohio State University. Please contact PCRM to learn more.

For more information about the campaign, visit www.pcrm.org/osu.

Note: This Help STOP "Cruelty 101" petition was submitted by Kristie Stoick. ThePetitionSite.com is a free service provided to help concerned citizens rally support for issues they believe in. The opinions expressed by this petition do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of ThePetitionSite.com or Care2.com. There is no express or implied endorsement of this petition nor any newsletter offers (except those from Care2.com) by Care2.com, Inc, ThePetitionSite.com, or our sponsors. If you believe this system is being abused, please contact customer support.

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