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TheirCaIIings Defendingats,YetThese olks ren'tLawyers

AnimalLoversGo o Bat forLabRodenr.s;KarenBorgaHasSomethingUp Her Sleeve

BYDIoMr'E SFTARCEY

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In her fiEht for the riShts ofsomeof the smallest creaturetStephanieEmst otrersa video ofaftolicking, fluffy mammal snw-SlinAup with a pet cat.'Rats dont get a fair shake,,,she wntes in an introduction tothe video on her animal-dghtsblos. "This one s quite adonbleand nuy leadyouto seemts a tit,tle autrercntly.,,UnJortDutly, stripped alonsthe botton of the video is an adfor an erterminator antomati..cally generatedby the YouTub.com service hosting th onlinedrp."Innediate .at solutionsl,, it

reads. "Free inspectior the daysaysMs. Ilmst ilt,s hodbl.,Ms. Emst, a residentof St.Louis, is nosr concmedabourthe welfareoflab rcdents.Aninmladvocates ay ats andmicenakeup 90% of animal testins con-ducted n univerci!, labontodesandother researchacilities ntheU.S. n 2002, the Animal WelfareAct was amended o exclude odents rom protctio$ offered oblqger abanimals ncludingdogs,

monleys and evensuineapigs."Rats and mice tend to get abad rap" that influencespeopletrom the tine they are c}ildrc&saysMs. Ernst. ,'We ust havethesebiasesbuilt in that are notrcal]y representativeof who they

Animal-rights advocates inthe U.S.havescorcd coups n rc-

Front Page Wall Street Journal May 16, 2009

8/14/2019 Rats on the Wall Street Journal, front page, May 16, 2009

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TheirCallings Defendirryats,YetTheseContinued rcm PageOnecuddly anilnals. A new law rc_quiresbiSgercagesor ee8-layingchickens n califomia. FoieSrat adelicacymade tom the lives offattenedgeeseand ducks,hasbenbanishedtom some estau-

But public sympathy for ratsand mice hasnt srcwn much inthree decadessincethe animal'rights movenent first organizedin the U.s. Viewed as pests andgreetd wiih shrieks, Iats demuch ss ilely to attract lublicslmpathythan,say, he urybun-nies that sell/eas he postercrit_ters for cutting back on animalresDng.so, rat love$ havea ouh ob.Researchers ho use fderattunds are askedo adhere o basicguidelinesor rodents,suchasavoidingovercrowdedcages.Butprivately undd csearchabsarelegally boundby no Iules iI theirtesting ofIats and mic.'"(ou seepeopleshut dorvn fyou talk abouthow a rat can sul:fer," saysChadSanduslq,dlectoroftoxicology andresearchat thePhysicialsComittee for Respon'sjbleMedicine,agroup hat fightsfor animal rights and advocatesYearsa!p, during his doctor_ate rcsearcho! allergicreactionsin humans, vlr.Sanduslr erpef

mentd on and euthnizd manyrodents.The61 year-oldpharmacologist and toxicologist nowworks to persuadechemicaiandpesticideconpanies to carry outeffective elperimentsusing conputerized tests or othel measthat dont involve animals."I'm wotkins off my badMr. Sandusky'stransforma

tion cane graduallyas he re_viewedstudies nvolvine rodentsandother animsls or theEnviron

mentalProtectronAAency. concludedaninai studieswere oo ex-pensiveand itne-consumin8, ndthe results drdn'tmerit the sacri"I used o see rats and thinl,

"w,' " Mr. Sandusky aid."NowIsee rats and thin-k, 'Those mts.haveprobabiygot a family someMi. Sandusky ndother acnv_ists have succeededn gettingconparies to listen to thej-r conce s aboutsing mdents in expriments. But rarely does any_one actually stop using rats andmic altogether So activists arleft to seeka better quality of lifefor the rats andmice n the lab."Theseaninals de in tul view24 Zand hey don'thavany abjl_ity io do anwhing other thandrink water and eat peUetsand,well, you can magine," saysMrSandusky.Activists atPeopleor theEthical Treatment of Animals, who

saythey want "empty cagesnotbiger cages,"neve(helesshavecomeup t/llth a iist of guidelinestheyshop o privatecompaniesnhopes of changing their treat_nnt of cagedmice and rats.The 15page "envifonmentalenrlchment" document calls fornesting matdals that rodentscanshed for stress eliei lt alsoadvocatesush beddirg (but nottoo fresh because omenule ro-dents like the faniliar snell ofhome), and elevatedwire lids, asort of cathedral ceiling, for

Some activists point to re-searchdetailinghowtoys suchasthe Translucen! Small Animalshoe, he Toob-a_loop d theMouse gioo cax keep he animalshappy.Opaque lasticstructuresprovide "a modicumof pnvacy,"for the rodents, as described n

"lnsidemyshirt hey eelseure...hat's owtheygetreally sed o theirhuman."-KarenBorga

"l usratsfamilWhen Jessica Sddler, direc_tor of PETA'Scerrlatorytestingdi_visio& engages compa es topush or better treatment oflabo-ratory rodents, she talts about"animals"hstead of "rodents.""I certainly donl empha5ize

the fat that they are mice andrats," Ms. Sandlersays. A lot ofthese ests are also doneon rab-bits and guinea !igs, so I lumpthem n. I know a ot ofpeoplewillempathizemorewith a cule rab-bit.'At aneeting a muple ofyeesago with rcPrcsentativesat General Electric Co., which con_tracted with companies hat usercdents for safety tests in GE'splasticsdivisio4 actirsts laid outthet simple requst a soud sut

face or rodent cages. hander"To a layperson like me and somepyou, you may thinl! '!Vell, do we eylashrcaly need o do something ite teetb Mthat for these animals?' But our "It5;scientistscertaiilythouShtitwas are," shimlotant and relatively easily fewtimedone," said Cary sheffet a GE enoughspokesnan. lt wasn't sonthing huns' awe drsmhsed as beinS ndicu- Mr. Ilous." fordozGEcompliedwith the request. in her eIt hassincesold off its plasticsdi- Avision. adopteAmber Alliger is sriting her "hoodedissetationforadoctorateinpsy they locholoeyatHunte!ColtegeinNew lackhYork on the benefits o science bodiestuom mprovins animsl welfare n bluepoIaboratories. outfitleiOnce hey get to loow iheil aschwe

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ingRnts,YetThcse olks ren'tLawyer

demy shirt hey eelsecure...hat! howgetreally sedo theirhuman."renBorga"l usedo see atsand hink Ew.'Now seeratsand hink Thoseatshave robablyotafamily omewhere."'ChadSandusky

Fn JessicaSande! dircc?ETA rcgulatorytestinediI engagescompanies ob. beiter treaiment oflabo' rodents, she talks aboutals" i$tead of "rodents."cerlainly don't emphasizect that they are mice andMs. Sandlersays. A lot oftests are also done on rabnd guineapigs,so I lumph. I know a ot ofpoplewilniz more with a cute rab'h meetinsa coupleofyearsith representativesat cntlectric Co., which con'F with companies hat useis for safetv tests in cEtfsdivisio4 actMsts laid outlinple reques! a solid sur-

face br rcdent cages."To a lawerson like me andtou, you may thinl, 'WeI, do werealy needto do somethins lit(ethat for theseanilnais?' ut ourscienUsts ertainly hought t wasimpotant and relatively easilydone," said Gary sheffer, a cEspokesnan. It wasn't somethingwe dismissedas being ridicu-GEconplied with the request.It hassincesold offits plasticsdi-Amber Alliger is writina herdissenation or a dolltoratenpsy-choloSyat Huter Colege n NewYork on the benefits to sciencetrom improvins animalwelfare nOnce ney get to lnow tleir

handers, rats are sogentle thatsomepeople let them lick theireyelashes lean and even theirteeth, Ms. Aniser says."Itb amazinshov/gende heyare," she says. "rou gei nipped afew imesand fyou say'Ow'loudenough, heyle like, 'Oh, thathurts' andwill siop biting."r!,Ir.Aliger has found homesfor dozens irodentsshehasNedA friend, kren Borga,adopted sevenof them-bhck"hooded"rats so namedbecausethey look like they're weanngblackhoodedcoatson heir whitebodies.Ms.Borga otes then in ablue portable cat carder she hasoutfitted with a rat hamnock dda Schwepps ingerAlebox o cre

atean extra bedoom-Assheexplainedhe acmmodations, hree of the mts, namedSeven,Eight and Eleven(Ms.Borsa kept their laboratorynames) cuftledacross couch.sevenhoppd ovr a hurdle cre'atedout of plastic ubing, hencrawled up Ms- Bo4at sleeve."Inside my shift they feel secure... hat3how heyAet eally

used o their hunaq" shesays-

o{u[6lODAYt seehowAnb$ Allinger ins to linidioife or ab6tt at