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friday, march 10, 1978 vol. 101 no. 84 lincoln, nebraska
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Photo by Bob Pearson
Being a rat may be hazardous to your health.
The herbivorous
v. the carnivorous
American Vegetarians, a 3,000-membei
national group protesting the killing of
laboratory animals, also opposes the live
stock industry, according to a group
spokesman.
Nellie Shriver, in a telephone inteVview
at the group's Washington, D.C., headquar
ters, said the group opposes all animal
death.
"We advocate the abolition of all
human-caused death to animals, including
those used for food, fur and medical re
search," she said.
The group does not concentrate on
human suffering because it is a result of an
imal suffering, Shriver said.
"The eating of animals causes the starv
ing of humans," she said. "Feeding grain to
animals takes food from the mouths of
people.
"We would rather help those who can't
help themselves. Humans can defend them
selves, but animals are voiceless."
Shriver recommended that no grain be
fed to animals and that all land be used for
human food production. When informed
that more than one-half of Nebraska is
grassland unsuitable for anything but live
stock grazing, Shriver said such areas
should be planted to fruit trees and ir
rigated by pipelines built by persons now
unemployed.
The water would come from "some
where," she said.
The large contribution of the livestock
industry to Nebraska's economy could be
compensated for by the federal govern
ment, she said, which would have to buy
the enormous crops of fruit produced.
Veterinarian claims rat death essential for research
By John Ortmann
"Rats have rignts!"
And another equal rights movement is
born. The message is that of a national
humane group, based in Washington, D.C.,
that has been mailing brochures protest
ing research mistreatment of animals.
The American Vegetarians, which coor
dinator Nellie Shriver said has 3,000 mem
bers, charges that animals are needlessly
being subjected to pain and death.
The group claims that alternate methods
such as tissue culture, computer modeling
and dissection of cadavers could provide
the same information without animal suf
fering. However, Norman Underdahl, a UNL
veterinary science professor, disagreed.
'They don't know what they are talk
ing about," he said. "Most of this research
has benefit for humans."
Underdahl explained that the veterinary
science department uses germ-free pigs and
calves obtained by Caesarean section for
use in disease research. The animals are
infected with a disease organism and later
State official opposes transfer
of computers to Elks building
By Tam Lee
The director of the Nebraska Depart
ment of Administrative Services, Stan
Matzke, said he does not want the state's
computers moved to the Elks building.
But, Appropriations Committee mem
ber Glenn Goodrich of Omaha would like
to move them there anyway. The state's
Data Processing Service Division is under
DAS.
Matzke said the distance between the
Elks Lodge and the state Capitol (six
blocks) would create electronic problems
and would be inconvenient.
"If we can't find space adjacent to the
Capitol, we will wait until other options
open up," Matzke said. The department is
"not anticipating asking for an appropria
tion" to purchase the Elks Lodge, he said.
0 iinsioe
Looking at lizard gizzards: UNL pro
fessor gets $60,000 to study re
productive development of
lizards page 6
UNL's answer to the Carter-Ford de
bates: The Daily Nebraskan and
Innocents Society give AS UN
presidential candidates a chance to
speak out page 7
Back to gory basics: Lven without
pea-green soup. Coma mes
merizes movie reviewer J. Marc
Mush kin page 8
The Appropriations Committee and
administrative services both were consider
ing buying the Midwest Life Nebraska in
surance building across from the capitol
for the computer center, but Goodrich
said, the committee rejected the building
because it cost too much.
Goodrich said the building and land
are worth $900,000, but the insurance
company is asking for $2.5 million for it.
The state's computers must move out of
the capitol to make room for expanding
the attorney general's office, Goodrich
said. The committee allocated $35,000 for
the attorney general to rent space outside
the building for the next year.
"Goodrich said he would like to begin
making payments on and moving into the
Elks building as soon as possible so the at
torney general's staff can move back into
the Capitol.
The committee will have to adjust the
proposed capital construction budget to
buy the building because all available state
funds are appropriated, he said.
The committee does not need a request
or authorization from the administrative
services department to recommend the
appropriation, Goodrich said. He probably
will ask the committee to recommend
about $600,000 to begin the project, he
said.
The NU administration also has been
eyeing the Elks Lodge as a possible site to
move its computer operations.
The Appropriations Committee thus far
has refused to recommend that the univer
sity get the estimated $2.4 million needed
to purchase and renovate the building.
However, Goodrich and NU admini
strators have mentioned the possibility of
the state and university sharing a computer
center.
killed and autopsied to determine disease
effects.
The animals are killed at one to three
weeks of age, Underdahl said, by being
chloroformed and bled to death while
unconscious. UNL has a Laboratory
Animal Committee which oversees animal
care, Underdahl said.
The committee uses guidelines of the
U.S. Department of Health, Education and
Welfare, said animal manager Ron Jones.
Jones is responsible for the care and feed
ing of the approximately 1,400 animals
kept by the UNL School of Life Sciences.
Jones said that although most of the ro
dents, chickens and rabbits in his care are
eventually killed, they are well treated in
the meantime. He said animals receive ster
ile bedding, and cages and have food and
water available continuously.
Most animals are used in genetic, hemo
tology and parisitology research, he said. A
typical experiment involves feeding chic
kens an iron -poor diet, he said, then killing
them to study the effects.
Jones said the school kills most of its
animals by an overdose of ether. Some rats
and mice are killed by a sharp blow to the
base of the skull because it is quicker and
cheaper he said. Jones admitted the me
thod does not always cause instant death,
but added that rabbits and other large ani
mals never are killed this way because they
take too long to die.
Use of laboratory animals is beneficial,
he said.
"If they didn't use animals," he said,
"they would have to use human beings in
stead." John Berssett, a veterinary assistant at
the University of Nebraska Medical Cen
ter, agreed the animals' deaths are neces
sary. "It is impossible to define 'unnecessary'
in medical research," he said. Medical his
tory is full of cases solved by work on
something else. We consider that no addi
tion to scientific knowledge is unneces
sary." Berssett said no unnecessary pain is in
flicted on animals at the medical center.
Pain research is regulated by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration.
The FDA must be informed why pain is
being inflicted, he said, adding that animals
are used only when there is no experiment
al alternative.
Karen Rosendahl and
Tim Creger, alias Su
gar Beet and Alfonzo
Rho Conehead, vice
presidential candi
dates for the A Real
Farce (ARF) party
were among the spec
tators at the Student
Alumni Board's Can
didate Fireside Thurs
day afternoon. For
more on the fireside,
see page 7.
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