Ohio Animal Rights Group Targets MPI Research
by Alex Nixon Michigan Live October 16, 2007
MATTAWAN, Michigan



An animal-rights group has asked the federal government to investigate the way Mattawan drug-testing company MPI Research treats the animals it uses.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now, or SAEN, says an employee of MPI Research contacted the Milford, Ohio-based organization with allegations that MPI's treatment of animals used in drug testing violates the federal Animal Welfare Act.

"Some of the violations revealed by the whistleblower include inadequate veterinary care and inadequate observation of the animals," Michael Budkie, SAEN executive director, said in a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal Care division.

Budkie refused to disclose the identity of the MPI employee because, he said, that person feared reprisal from other employees.

MPI Chairman and CEO William Parfet said the 1,500-employee company is highly regulated and "vigorously" inspected by both the USDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"We take it seriously," Parfet said, "but we don't believe that there's been any wrongdoing."

Parfet said MPI would cooperate fully with any inspection or investigation by regulators, but he said he didn't know if or when that would happen.

Comment from USDA and FDA officials was not immediately available.


Source: Michigan Live