January 2003

Palmer researchers deny PETA allegations of animal torture

Chiropractic research was dealt a media blow when a militant animal rights group launched an attack on Palmer College Center for Chiropractic Research for using cats in current studies. The director of the center in Davenport, Iowa, denied the allegation that scientists were “torturing animals,” stating that stringent federal regulations and frequent monitoring by outside agencies make any alleged torturing virtually impossible.

William C. Meeker, DC, vice president for research for the Palmer Chiropractic University System, characterized the accusation by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as “typical of the emotional tactics they have used to attack scientific research in university settings for decades.”

The PETA letter, written by research associate Peter Wood, said, “Killing animals to demonstrate or prove the value of human chiropractic medicine is a hideous indictment of your values. It is being done simply to obtain grants, the more is the shame.”

Palmer has been conducting ethical, legal and humane research using animals and human for more than 15 years, said Meeker. “The overarching goal of all this research is to improve the public’s health, not to defend the practice of chiropractic,” he said.

“In doing this research, the individual scientists and this institution itself adhere to the letter and the spirit of all federal and state laws, regulations and ethical norms concerning human and animal research. The federal rules and regulations are incredibly exacting, and we meet them all. We are intensely focused on preventing suffering and distress in laboratory animals when animals are part of investigations,” he said.

Meeker explained that lab rats, bred and purchased from reputable, federally licensed suppliers, are used in an ongoing, NIH-funded research project to develop a reversible model of the chiropractic subluxation. During a surgical procedure in a sterile operating room, specific segments of the rats’ spines are fixated using small, metal implants. During specific time periods, the effects of these vertebral fixations are observed and recorded.

Meeker stated that the PETA assertion that Palmer would extend this research to cats was inaccurate. Current research using cats, a different NIH-supported project, involves studying the effects of certain stimuli (including a chiropractic adjustment) on the cat’s nervous system. The animals in both projects are thoroughly anesthetized using humane, standardized protocols, Meeker said.

“There is simply no way to adequately test the central hypothesis of chiropractic other than through the use of animal models. For years, society has been clamoring for more basic science research to show why and how chiropractic benefits its millions of patients. Now, thanks to help and direction from the federal government, Palmer and other universities and colleges are able to provide invaluable information to benefit both human and animal healthcare practices,” said Meeker.

Sources: PETA (www.peta.org); Palmer College

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