BOAA celebrating Meatout 2004

BOAA is an ASUC-sponsored student organization on the UC Berkeley campus. We have weekly meetings to discuss animal rights issues, our events, and how to become better advocates for the other beings on this planet. We are currently working on a number of campaigns, including weekly letter writing, revising and relaunching our fight against on-campus animal research, and raising awareness of animal rights issues among students, faculty, and members of the local community.

All of our events and campaigns take a lot of hard work, and without the dedicated efforts and time of our members, there would be no voice for the animals on the Berkeley campus. We are constantly looking for more activists (new or old) to lend a helping hand! You don't have to be vegan or vegetarian to join, just bring your compassion for animals and an open mind. Even the smallest deed makes a difference.

Remember - "The greatest danger to our future is apathy." -Jane Goodall

BOAA tabling on Sproul for World Farm Animals Day, 2003

In the Fall of 1999, the Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy was founded in response to concerns about animal experimentation at UC Berkeley. The original members began collecting signatures on a petition that requested positive change from the UCB administration. In February 2000, students presented petitions containing more than two thousand signatures of support to the Berkeley City Council. The Council voted 7-0 to support BOAA's requests.

Interestingly, when students had originally submitted a request for a general population count of animals used in research, they received a letter from the UC Berkeley Animal Care and Use Committee stating that no such document existed. However, when the UC Berkeley administration learned of the City Council's interest, the Office of Community Relations sent a letter and 'factsheet' to the Council which stated that 40,000 animals are housed on the campus in addition to providing a general species breakdown.

BOAA continues to ask for a commitment to establishing more compassionate, cost-effective, and dependable alternatives, as well as more information regarding the care and use of lab animals. We believe that the issue of animal research at UC Berkeley easily transcends the scope of animal rights and ethics. We as a community can make an informed decision in supporting more cost effective, reliable, and humane research alternatives.

More recently, BOAA has branched out to support all animal rights issues. You'll frequently find us on Sproul, providing passers-by with information on the cruelty of foie gras, the boycott on Australian wool, and the many benefits of a vegan diet.

SF band The Mits play for the Vegan Thanksgiving, 2003

Protesters Call on UCB to End Animal Research

We have hard copies of the many Daily Cal issues that have mentioned BOAA. Unfortunately, these are no longer available online. Please contact us if you'd like to see some of our other press appearances.

While UC Berkeley has a long history of progressive innovation, it has also witnessed years of criticism from both animal advocates and increasingly, the regulatory infrastructure and scientific community. In 1984, a $12,000 fine was imposed on the University along with a cease-and-desist order from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These penalties were a result of a lawsuit filed by In Defense of Animals (IDA), a Bay Area-based nonprofit organization. IDA had responded to documentation issued by UC Berkeley veterinarians and the USDA that indicated a clear pattern of cruelty and disregard for the Animal Welfare Act in the actions of Dr. Russell DeValois, a psychology professor investigating color blindness in langur monkeys and cats. UC Berkeley responded by instituting superficial changes, tightening security around the labs, and removing University employees who had provided evidence to the USDA, including the Director of the Office of Laboratory Animal Care, Maxwell Redfearn. Dr. Redfearm had refused to authorize unsound research protocols and had criticized inhumane laboratory practices.

When the Northwest Animal Facility was built, administration planned its construction underground. This facility currently houses the bulk of the 40,000 animals and is located on the corner of Hearst and Oxford streets. The facility literally lies completely covered, save for a small door next to its loading dock on Hearst Street. However, the University was unable to suppress the criticism of animal rights advocates. During the years following DeValois’ exposure, several student groups formed to educate the public about animal experimentation at UC Berkeley and protest the lack of available information. During the construction of the Northwest Animal Facility, students occupied a construction crane for several days, and in 1998 a student blockaded himself at the top of the Camponile for three days. While students and members of the community attempted to voice their concerns regarding animal care at UC Berkeley, faculty and staff also began to criticize the relevance of animal research. Although most critics possessed concerns about the inhumane treatment of animals used in experimentation, academic faculty primarily addressed the invalidity of vivisection from a scientific perspective. One group was led by Dr. J.B Neilands, a professor of biochemistry, and gathered over 1,000 signatures of faculty, staff, and students.

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is the primary body on the UC Berkeley campus for the oversight of animal experimentation. The Chair of the IACUC is Richard C. Van Sluyters, a researcher who himself investigates sight in cats. While the Committee is comprised of seventeen members, including three "public members," the names of members and minutes from the meetings are not readily available to the public, and meetings are closed to non-members. Although the IACUC’s primary objective is " reviewing and approving all proposed uses of live vertebrate animals in teaching and research" (IACUC home page 2000), several institutional problems impede its effectiveness. First, since Berkeley is a publicly-funded institution, it is essential that both the public and student communities voices are included in the decision-making process. This is simply not happening since the IACUC provides no information to the public.

Additionally, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) conducted a study in 1998 involving a panel of former members of IACUC as well as veterinary experts to determine the effectiveness of IACUC. A former member of the UC Berkeley IACUC participated in the study. Among the study’s findings was that members attempted to prohibit others from casting a negative vote. Specifically at UC Berkeley, the chair of the IACUC "tried vigorously to prevent an unaffiliated member from casting a negative vote on many proposals." Furthermore, the UC Berkeley chair "deleted sections of an unaffiliated member’s minority report. After the member appealed to a top school official, the chairperson was ordered to discontinue censuring minority reports." In addition to this, the UC Berkeley member was "frequently criticized by other members of the committee, including the chairperson, for dissenting opinions." Other findings of the study included conflicts of interest on the IACUCs, exclusion of members from inspecting animal facilities, and little concern for the scientific merit of the proposed project. During the UC Berkeley panel member’s tenure on the IACUC, Dr. Richard C. Van Sluyters was the Chair of the IACUC.

In September of 1999, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual inspection report of the University of California at San Francisco exposed many of the worst fears of animal experimentation critics. The Veterinary Medical Officer reported that "The IACUC does not have an adequate program for the humane care and use of animals." Among the findings of the USDA inspector were inadequate cleaning and sanitation; surgical procedures being performed inappropriately or by untrained personnel; no monitoring of anesthesia; utilization of infected animals; and animals dying during surgical procedures. Perhaps most telling, the report also cited a "fear of reprisal for reporting violations of any regulations or standards under the [Animal Welfare] Act" (USDA 1999). Since an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee also regulates UC San Francisco’s use of animals in experimentation; the failing of this body points an accusing finger at its analogous counterpart at UC Berkeley. While UC Berkeley is subject to the same annual USDA inspections, we do not yet possess an inspection report for the institution.

In a fact sheet released in February 2000, the UC Berkeley Public Affairs Office states that the "OLAC oversees about 40,000 animals on an average day. Fifty percent are mice and 40 percent are cold-blooded animals, such as amphibians, fish and reptiles. Nine percent are other rodents—rats, hamsters, guineas pigs and wild rodents--while the remaining one percent is comprised of rabbits, cats, non-human primates, ferrets, coyotes, hyenas, birds and invertebrates, such as sea slugs." According to the Public Affairs Office, the majority of primates disappeared from the UC Berkeley campus in March 1998, when a colony of fourteen langur monkeys was sent to a sanctuary in Texas. The university essentially gave up these monkeys due to a lack of funding for appropriate housing (Sanders 1998). While the monkeys lived in an outdoor enclosure, the university and USDA decided that the facilities were not enough to adequately provide a standard of care for the animals. While the university does still possess monkeys, to our knowledge the number of animals is negligible and the monkeys are kept in cages actually much smaller than the old enclosure. UC Berkeley simply does not possess appropriate primate study facilities.

Animal Care and Use Committee Page. World Wide Web.
http://www.acuc.berkeley.edu/jg/home.html. April 4, 2000.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Animal Care and Use Committees: Structural
Problems Impair Usefulness. October 27, 1998.

Sanders, Robert. Berkeley’s Monkey Colony is " Home on the Range" in Texas.

Berkeleyan. March 18, 1998.

Smith, Michael J. University of California San Francisco Inspection Report.

United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal
Care. September 8,1999.

UC Berkeley Public Affairs Office. Care & Use of Animals at UC Berkeley. February 14, 2000.