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About SAEN | About Michael Budkie Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN) was founded in 1996 to force an end to the abuse of animals in laboratories. Our first major event was a news conference that revealed the suffering endured by dogs, rabbits, and primates in 9 laboratories across the United States. Documents obtained by SAEN had revealed severe abuses within the laboratories of Michigan State University, University of Southern California, University of Washington, Stolle Research and Development, University of South Florida, Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center (associated with Emory University), University of Florida, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Toledo. The USDA fined several of these laboratories, and abusive primate experiments within the laboratories of the University of Toledo were terminated subsequent to the SAEN news conference. Since our inception, SAEN staff and the tireless volunteers who support our campaigns on the local level have allowed us to make a real difference for the animals. With the help of grassroots activists, SAEN has ended pound seizure (the sale of former pets from animal shelters to labs) in Nashville (TN), and we have also ended abusive experiments on primates in San Diego (CA). Our investigations have revealed abuses within laboratories from Boston to California and from Florida to Washington. Facilities that torture animals in Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, and North Carolina have been exposed. SAEN has been able to bring the truth about animal experimentation to the public through dozens of newspapers, magazines, and television & radio stations. Literally millions of people have seen the results of SAEN investigations. But Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! is probably the best kept secret within the animal rights movement. In 2001 SAEN filed the largest Official Complaint in history with the United States Department of Agriculture. Our complaint uncovered abuses in nationally known laboratories like UCLA, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Yale, Harvard, The Salk Institute, MIT, and dozens of other laboratories. In April of 2002, SAEN released the results of an investigation into the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the bankrolling of U.S. animal experimentation. The SAEN report asked for a General Accounting Office audit of the NIH to examine the issues of duplication and redundancy. Media coverage of the SAEN report reached over one million people. In June of 2002, SAEN again filed a milestone complaint with the USDA revealing that Harvard and Yale had lied to the USDA about the number of primates experimented on in university laboratories. In our brief history SAEN has made a concrete difference for the animals, and we will continue to fight for their freedom until all the laboratory cages are empty.
By Don Elroy I first came into contact with Michael Budkie 15-plus years ago through phone contact. I was impressed by his knowledge and his ability to search out necessary information to work on a level playing field with the research community. I decided that this was the route to take for this movement, or at least for me personally. Michael was holding seminars around the country teaching activists how to research information through Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The closest seminar to me was approximately a ten-hour drive to Alabama. I decided I had to go there. And I am forever grateful that I did. The tools I learned from Michael set me on a path that gave me a better understanding of dealing with the issues that faced us here and a way to solve the problems on a different level. We brought Michael to Knoxville, TN, in the early 1990s to speak on vivisection issues. The forum was open to the public and as such, Michael dealt with questions from many researchers. He dealt with their questions and confrontations in a calm and knowledgeable manner. Michael began his interest in animal research issues working as an Animal Health Technician( ATH) and refused to accept the practices he witnessed. He began working with a group in Cincinnati, OH, and was spearheading a campaign to stop "head injury" research on cats at the University of Cincinnati. The gruesome experiments were ended in 1988, and gave way to a tissue culture model. He worked for In Defense of Animals for several years in research and on the campaign against Procter & Gamble's animal testing. He has also worked for Last Chance for Animals, and was co-founder of the National Activists Network. Currently, Michael spearheads Stop Animal Exploitation Now! (SAEN), which he also founded, focusing on animal research issues. Michael has had articles commissioned by the National Anti-Vivisection Society, the American Anti-Vivisection Society, the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, Animals Agenda Magazine, and The Animals Voice. He has also done consulting work for the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, The Humane Society of the United States, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. In the late 1990s, I contacted Michael again regarding experimentation being conducted on cats from the Nashville Metro Pound at Vanderbilt University. The research involved cats used in brain-mapping/vision experiments. Together we were able to bring about the end of pound seizure in Nashville, TN. Michael also brought about the end of pound seizure in Dayton, OH, working with local activists. Michael exposed a research project at the University of Toledo through news conferences showing numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act. He launched a campaign in Dayton conjunctively with the People/Animals Network against Wright-Patterson Air Force Base using primates in endotracheal intubation (Wright-Patterson currently lists no usage of primates). The work he did on exposing problems at Wright-Patterson was included in bringing about congressional hearings into the use of animals by the military. Michael's work, combined with the work of others for In Defense of Animals (IDA), brought about two federal hearings on animal experimentation by the U.S. military. He also coordinated World Laboratory Animal Week for IDA, and directed its campaign against Procter & Gamble for three years. Currently he coordinates SAEN's National Primate Liberation Week. Michael has participated in protests at primate centers, and was a part of the Coalition to End Primate Experimentation. He has worked on both Primate Freedom Tours. In short: get to know Michael Budkie. He is a valuable resource in our movement. He has always been willing to share knowledge with activists and assist in any way he can with local issues. One of the most important things he has done is to teach other activists the ways to find and use their own information. Michael wants to help you end animal research projects in your area. You may email him directly. |
