Monkey Boiled Alive at
Research Lab

We tried our best.

Deepest thanks to animal welfare attorney Adam Karp for using the law in the most creative way possible to defend the helpless.


Special thanks to KIRO-TV Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne and KIRO-'TV producer Bill Benson- who root out the most heinous of animal cruelty, and expose it to the light of public horror. This is not the first time they have done an exemplary job. And we hope, it will not be their last.

Published: Thursday, October 23, 2008

Activist wants criminal charges in monkey death

By Diana Hefley
Herald Writer

EVERETT -- In a rare move, a Monroe animal rights activist is petitioning to file criminal cruelty charges against three men in connection with the fatal scalding of a monkey last year at an Everett animal testing lab.

Susan Michaels, co-founder of Pasado's Safe Haven, is asking a judge's permission to bring a private criminal prosecution of three former workers at SNBL USA.

A cynomolgus monkey died after she wasn't removed from her cage before the cage went through a cleaning. Lab officials called the monkey's death an accident.

Michaels was concerned the case could slip through the cracks if she didn't pursue criminal charges herself, her attorney Adam Karp said.

The Bellingham attorney, who specializes in animal law, appeared Wednesday before Everett District Court Judge Roger Fisher. He petitioned to file misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. He alleged that the men caused the torturous death of the monkey.

Fisher delayed making a decision after learning that Everett police are continuing to investigate the incident. He said he was concerned about making any ruling while there is an ongoing felony investigation.

"I appreciate a citizen's complaint," Fisher said, adding that it appeared to him there was a lack of due diligence in pursuing the case.

Fisher ordered county prosecutors to follow up with Everett's city prosecutor and police. A misdemeanor case would most likely be filed by city prosecutors.

He also instructed prosecutors to review the materials provided by Karp.

The case hasn't been forwarded to any prosecutors because the investigation isn't complete, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.

Everett police have been investigating the incident since February, when they received the complaint, he said.

"Our investigator is committed to doing a thorough job," Goetz said. "The investigation is expected to be wrapped up in the next several days."

Michaels was concerned that the one-year statute of limitations to file a misdemeanor charge would run out before prosecutors made a decision, Karp said. The monkey died in November 2007.

"Prosecutors haven't come out formally and said they're not going to prosecute," Karp said. "We wanted to do it ourselves at the very least to get something filed."


Reporter Diana Hefley
 

Thursday, October 30, 2008 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

Everett judge won't hear case of lab monkey's death

By Jennifer Sullivan

Seattle Times staff reporter

EVERETT — A judge has ruled against an animal-rights group that sought to file a rarely used citizen's complaint against three former employees of an Everett animal-testing lab who sent a monkey through a cage washer, scalding the animal to death.

Everett District Court Judge Roger Fisher said Wednesday that a jury likely couldn't reach a guilty verdict in the case if it were to go to trial. Fisher refused to overrule Snohomish County prosecutors and the city attorney's office, which didn't find sufficient evidence to file charges in the case.

Invoking a rarely used law, Pasado's Safe Haven petitioned the court to bring a citizen's criminal prosecution of three former employees at Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories (SNBL). The Monroe animal-rights group was concerned that no charges had been filed nearly a year after the cynomolgus macaque monkey died.

But Fisher said he had no intention of "substituting my judgment" for the decisions made by Joan Cavagnaro, the county's chief criminal deputy prosecutor, and Everett City Attorney Mike Fisher (no relation).

Bellingham attorney Adam Karp, who is representing Pasado's Safe Haven, said employees at the lab failed to remove the monkey from its cage before the animal's cage was sent through a washer with scalding hot water on Nov. 1, 2007. Lab officials have said the animal's death was an accident.

Susan Michaels, founder of Pasado's Safe Haven, said Fisher's decision "is just disappointing."

"What we would have like to have seen is a decision that would have given the opportunity for a thorough investigation," Michaels said.

Karp said he may appeal Fisher's decision to Snohomish County Superior Court, in hopes that a judge there will agree that charges should be filed.

After Wednesday's hearing, Seattle attorney John Wolfe, who represents SNBL, said the company was pleased by Fisher's decision. He said the company "feels horrible" about the animal's death.

Fisher said that he was bothered by Karp's request, especially since the attorney has a separate case pending review by the state Supreme Court dealing with the constitutionality of citizens complaints.

"Mr. Karp is asking me is to wear two hats," Fisher said, referring to his role as a judge and the fact he was asked to step in and make a decision normally left to a prosecutor.

Explaining the citizen's complaint process, Cavagnaro said "a private citizen may petition a district court to allow them to file a complaint, which initiates a formal criminal procedure."

The judge, she said, has to be satisfied that probable cause exists to allow the complaint to go forward.

Once the complaint is filed, the prosecutor "has the authority and obligation to handle any criminal proceeding in the district," she added.

Lawyers in Snohomish and King counties say the process is so rarely used that they have heard of it being presented to a judge only twice in the past 30 years.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company


 

History of case:

USDA Ruling
USDA FInes Lab
 SBNL Response
 May, 21, 2008: No Federal Violations for Boiled Monkey Death
 February 13, 2008: Monkey Boiled Alive at Research Lab
 
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