Important Update! Iams Funds Cruel Researcher From Wright State University

Iams is scrambling to put a positive spin on the inhumane Iams-funded study that is currently being conducted by Dr. Larry Arlian at Wright State University (WSU). But the evidence doesn’t lie!

Iams’ claim #1: “We … currently have studies [at Wright State University] relating to allergens in pet food that do not involve animals” (our emphasis).

This is completely false. In Arlian’s current research protocol (which has Iams’ funding through November 30, 2005), Arlian states the following on page 7: “Tyrophagus putrescentiae (TP) (the most common stored product mite) and either Acarus siro (AS) or Lepidoglyphus destructor (LD) antisera will be produced in rabbits by [WSU’s] standard methods in place in [WSU’s] Laboratory Animal Resources facility” (our emphasis).

The last time we checked, rabbits are animals! As far back as 1992, Arlian conducted a similar experiment, in which he grew scabies mites in rabbits (and dogs), causing these animals to suffer in immense pain needlessly.

Iams’ claim #2: “Dr. Arlian … has never been sanctioned by the USDA and was not involved in the 1992 studies cited by PETA.”

Again, Iams is blatantly lying here. On July 12, 1993, the USDA filed a formal complaint against WSU citing Dr. Arlian by name, charging WSU with willful violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Item number 9 of the USDA’s complaint states: “From approximately May 1990 through July 2, 1990, respondent Wright State, through its employee Dr. Larry Arlian, willfully violated section 2.31(d) (8) of the Regulations, 9 C.F.R. § 2.31(d) (8), by engaging in activities involving the care and use of animals before the [Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee] had approved those activities” (our emphasis).

Arlian was able to escape formal “sanctions” by the USDA because in March 1995, WSU paid a fine of $25,000 to avoid going to court.

Furthermore, references to Arlian’s scabies experiments are frequently cited in the USDA’s complaint, proving that Arlian was indeed involved with these cruel 1992 studies.

Clearly, Iams’ response to Arlian’s current experiment is full of blatant lies! Please e-mail Iams, inform the company of this evidence, and demand that this cruel study be stopped immediately.

Now, we've learned that Arlian is currently being paid by Iams through November 2005 to conduct a cruel study that uses rabbits to develop antiserum to mites. At 15 to 20 sites in the rabbits' backs, Arlian is injecting an "antigen-FCA mixture." FCA (Freund's complete adjuvant) is an antigen solution that is forbidden for use in humans because it is so toxic and painful. Arlian's own immunization protocol for rabbits states, "Ulcerations and granulation tissue [healthy tissue that is generated to replace wounded tissue] at the site of the intradermal FCA injections are universally present ..." And, according to Arlian's animal disposition records, 12 rabbits have been killed in his "research."

Our investigation of Arlian's experiments revealed dogs and rabbits so infected with scabies mites that they would scratch their scab-encrusted skin raw. Dogs with oozing sores lost most of their hair and were unable to rest as a result of their torment. Rabbits were dying in their cages of organ failure as advanced scabies infections went untreated. The dogs in Arlian's experiment were named after beers except for a little sheltie they called Dizzy because she couldn't stop spinning in her cage. Photos of Dizzy show her shortly after Arlian injected mites into her skin through punch holes and six weeks later when almost her entire body was ravaged by mites.

Experts in dermatology called Arlian's experiments worthless and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) came down hard on the university for allowing the experiments to cause so much unrelieved suffering. NIH wrote, "The system of recordkeeping (e.g., medical records, necropsy reports, diagnostic testing records, animal euthanasia and disposition records) in the [Laboratory Animal Resources] was unacceptable and failed to document that an appropriate level of veterinary care was being provided."

As a result of Arlian's scabies experiments, WSU was charged with dozens of federal violations by the USDA, and in March 1995 the university paid the USDA a fine of $25,000 to avoid going to court.

Yet Iams sees fit to enrich Larry Arlian—just one more example of the company's indifference to ethics and good science.

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