This responds to Eric Sandgren’s April 23 guest column quarreling with suggestions that the UW-Madison is “deliberately secretive” regarding its use of animals in research. As a reporter who has covered this issue for Isthmus, I would like to bring a few facts to your readers’ attention.
Until August 2003, members of the public were able to attend the meetings of UW-Madison committees at which the protocols of animal experiments are reviewed, in accordance with federal law. This policy was abruptly changed, and now the public is excluded from this portion of the meetings.