Former Animal Experimenter Decries Cruelty at Covance

When Dr. Barbara Orlans criticizes conditions in a laboratory, she knows of what she speaks. The founder of the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare, a nonprofit organization aimed at educating biomedical researchers about animal welfare issues, Dr. Orlans holds a Ph.D. in physiology, has conducted medical research at Johns Hopkins University, and animal research investigations at the National Institutes of Health. She is a former Senior Research Fellow, and currently a University Affiliate at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. Dr. Orlans has authored and edited several books on the ethics of animal experimentation, including In the Name of Science: Issues in Responsible Animal Experimentation, Scientific Perspectives on Animal Welfare, and Applied Ethics in Animal Research: Philosophy, Regulation, and Laboratory Applications.

When shown the video taken undercover at Covance Laboratories, Dr. Orlans expressed "shock" at the treatment of the monkeys, noting that the animals were treated as though they were "non-sentient 'items,' not live animals capable of pain, distress, and mental anguish." Dr. Orlans commented on the violent behavior of Covance employees and the tragic "stereotypical behavior" of the monkeys "involving futile, repetitive circling or pacing," resulting from "barren environments that frustrate expression of normal behavior."

Read Dr. Orlans' full statement on Covance.