Unity Rally for Professor Hussein in Reno – Saturday, May 10
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Corner of 9th and Virginia Streets
Please come out to show your support for Professor Hussein, who was recently fired from UNR for blowing the whistle on the neglect of UNR’s research animals.
• The rally is also to show UNR that this will not go away, that people are
unhappy with the way UNR has handled this. UNR NEVER apologized for the animal neglect or publicly admitted to it!
• The rally is also to show UNR and local government that whistle blowers should be honored, not punished!
• We are rallying in honor of Professor Hussein for his bravery and heroism in
standing up for animals even though it cost him his job!
The U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the University of Nevada, Reno, for 46 animal welfare violations occurring between May 2004 and March 2005, including “repeatedly leaving 10 research pigs with inadequate water and housing, poor sanitation at animal care facilities, lack of veterinary care, and failure to investigate complaints of neglect. The USDA began an investigation after (Professor Hussein) complained to the USDA in the summer of 2004 about abuse of research animals.†(Associated Press, May 29, 2005)
For more information on the rally, please email Heather at poochpal74@yahoo.com or call 677-9797 and leave a message which will be returned shortly.
Articles to check out…
UNR whistle-blower accused of plagiarism
USDA fines university for animal neglect
Ex-UNR Professor Hussein Suing for Reinstatement
Univ. of Nevada, Reno Accused of Animal Abuse, Whistleblower Retaliation
Anonymous
May 8, 2008 -
I’m not sure what to think of this. According to the sagebrush, Dr Hussein was fired for listing $900.000 as gifts rather than research grants, so UNR missed out on 40.5% fringe benefits.
I’m unsure how this was a retaliation for reporting animal care violations or not.
If you look at dr Husseins’ research it seems to focus on improving the “production” capabilities of animals. http://www.cabnr.unr.edu/hussein/Research.htm
In one of his papers: http://jas.fass.org/cgi/reprint/73/12/3503.pdf
168 steers were killed just for a study on how to increase the meat production.
I understand that if animals produce more meat eventually less animals have to suffer. But this research also has a cost and aren’t we all better off reducing the need for meat?
This rally feels to me like your turning someone who’s investigating making Hummers more fuel efficient into a saint, who’s driving a hummer himself.
If you are against animal abuse in research then why use animals for research yourself? There are plenty of alternatives for doing research that avoids the use of animals such as using bacteria or computer simulations.
I do support animals and I am against using animals for research but I can’t really support this rally for these reasons.
Heather
May 9, 2008 -
Thank you for posting this!! – Heather
Joe Reno
May 13, 2008 -
I agree with your comments above, anonymous. I also do not think that animals should be used for research of any kind, and that sentient creatures, those who can feel pain and suffer, should not be exposed to unnecessary harm.
I think that the bottom line in this case is that Hussein blew the whistle on fellow researchers who were violating animal welfare laws. Now, of course animal welfare is much different than animal rights or animal liberation, but he saw what believed was not right, and blew the whistle on it.
Hussein has since that time been unfairly dealt with because he blew the whistle on his colleagues. It seems as if the College of Ag over there at UNR don’t like to get told on when they treat animals unfairly and the USDA fines them.
Now, of course I don’t condone the research that Hussein has performed on innocent creatures, but I also want to stand up for people who do advocate for the rights of animals when they see injustices taking place. I think that what Hussein did by speaking up for the animals was noble, and I posted the information for his support rally on this blog. I actually didn’t go to the rally either because I cannot support animal research of any kind. Thanks a lot for your comment!