Monkeys Dying of TB and Polio at TX Animal Dealer (SNBL) Become 'National Health Issue' Charges Watchdog Group; Federal Investigations Demanded

Press Release
From Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!
S. A. E. N.
"Exposing the truth to wipe out animal experimentation"


Please contact Dr. Gibbens and demand that he take immediate action against SNBL laboratories for the deaths of primates due to tuberculosis and polio.

Dr. Robert Gibbens
Director, Western Region
USDA/APHIS/A
2150 Center Ave.
Building B, Mailstop 3W11
Fort Collins, CO 80526-8117
(970) 494-7478
[email protected] 


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 23, 2012
Contact: Michael Budkie, SAEN www.saenonline.org, [email protected], (513) 703-9865

Attn: Assignment Desk

Monkeys Dying of TB and Polio at TX Animal Dealer (SNBL) Become 'National Health Issue' Charges Watchdog Group; Federal Investigations Demanded

CORPUS CHRISTI/ALICE, TX – SNBL-  a primate dealer/lab with a branch located in Alice (TX) - is the target of multiple Official Complaints filed with the USDA, USFWS, Texas Department of Health, and the CDC by Research Watchdog Group SAEN, (Stop Animal Exploitation Now) following the deaths of several primates by tuberculosis and polio.
 
SAEN said it is a "national health issue."
 
“We believe that this SNBL facility has endangered public health and potentially violated the Animal Welfare Act,” said Michael A. Budkie, A.H.T., Executive Director, SAEN.  “We are concerned for the safety of the people of Alice, TX and across the U.S.”
 
The SNBL facility is part of a large corporation headquartered in Everett, WA (outside Seattle).  “It is possible that contaminated primates may have been shipped outside of Texas,” added Budkie.  “This is clearly a national public health concern.”
 
SAEN has obtained the post-mortem records for several SNBL primates, which show the causes of death as “Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex” and “polioencephalomalacia.”   These pathogens are responsible for causing tuberculosis in people and ‘goat polio’ a contagious disease of ruminants.
 
Official complaints have been filed with the USDA relevant to potential violations of the Animal Welfare Act for inadequate veterinary care, etc.  Additional requests for investigations have been filed with the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the CDC, and the Texas State Department of Health regarding obvious public health concerns.
 
The primate records and complaint documents are available upon request from SAEN.

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