Palmer College of Chiropractic

Chiropractic Research

Palmer’s Correspondence with PETA:
 

Palmer president’s e-mail tells PETA it has the facts wrong

From: [Palmer president’s secretary]
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 1:33 PM
To: 'info@peta-online.org'
Subject: Response to letter
PLEASE DELIVER TO:
MR. PETER WOOD, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE--

Dear Peter,

I'm in receipt of your letter dated February 13, 2002. (I assume you meant 2003.) The details of your second paragraph where you describe the "biped conversion surgery" is wrong, has never been done at Palmer, and will not be done on my watch.

I have asked the research people for details and will forward these to you next week.

I know we have differing view on our research but the discussions we have and what you send out should at least be accurate and factual. Therefore, I assume that you will not send out this most inaccurate information.

Sincerely,

Guy F. Riekeman, D.C.

President

Palmer Chiropractic University System
 

PETA says it didn’t get Palmer’s e-mail. PETA’s e-mail response says otherwise.

From: info [mailto:info@peta.org]
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 1:32 PM
To: [Palmer president’s secretary]
Subject: Thank you for e-mailing PETA

Thank you for contacting PETA. If this is an emergency and an animal is in imminent danger, please contact our office by telephone at 757-622-7382. Please listen to the recording for emergency instructions.

If you are inquiring about your membership status or monthly pledge, or if you have questions regarding your membership in general, you will receive a personal response from a staff member within two business days.

We read all letters and value your comments and suggestions. Your input is important to us and will be shared with the appropriate staff members. Due to the tremendous volume of mail we receive, we cannot respond personally to all inquiries. However, if you have requested information to be sent to you, and you provided a mailing address, please be assured that we will be sending the item(s) right away.

Suggestions and cruelty notifications will be passed along to the appropriate staffers. ...

Thanks again for your feedback and interest in animal rights.

Sincerely,

The PETA Staff
 

PETA Gets the Facts Wrong—Again

Responding to comments by a research associate for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Palmer Vice President for Research William Meeker, D.C., has written a letter defending and clarifying the research protocols being used on rats at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research.

February 18, 2003

Peter Wood
PETA
501 Front Street
Norfolk, VA 23510

Dear Mr. Wood,

Are you aware that your most recent attack on the research being done by the chiropractic profession at Palmer College had its facts wrong once again? Do you care about the facts at all, or has your bias convinced you the facts don't matter? Are you modest enough and honest enough to admit your mistakes? Are you willing to retract the misinformation you recklessly and maliciously spread?

Your letter of February 13 is a perfect example of how your bias distorts the truth. Furthermore, your tactics have created a situation where reasonable dialogue is impossible. You ignored the e-mail from President Guy Riekeman, D.C., of Friday, February 17, and despite the truth, you went on the radio to spread additional untruths. PETA is living up to its unsavory reputation.

We feel compelled again to point out that the biped conversion surgeries to which you refer are not being performed and have never been performed at this institution. A careful reading of the material sent to you as a consequence of the FOIA request makes this perfectly clear.

Rather than a surgical conversion to bipedalism, our scientists are using a simple non-invasive method to encourage more bipedal walking in rats, an activity they normally do. This is done simply by using tall cages and raising the level of food and water. The change from the original protocol was made in light of very recent publications that indicated that a behavioral model may be as effective as the surgical conversions used by investigators at other institutions in the past.

The change in protocol is documented in a letter from Dr. Henderson to Dr. Goertz at NIH, dated April 15, 2002, a copy of which was included in materials sent as a consequence of the FOIA request. The change is also documented in a letter from Dr. Henderson to Dr. Brian McMaster, Chair of Palmer's IACUC, dated, March 22, 2002, which is also a part of the materials sent in response to the FOIA request.

You have either deliberately ignored these facts and documents to further your own agenda or failed to accurately read the material in front of you. In any case, the points you make in your letter of February 13 are simply wrong. An honest person would retract false statements made to the media.

As you fully realize, your attack is not on Palmer College as much as it is on research being done in behalf of the entire chiropractic profession and the 25,000,000 patients it serves every year. Scientific progress is necessary to inform and improve not just chiropractic care but the public's health in general. Clearly, your organization has a higher priority than public health. The question, though, is how much value do you give to telling the truth?

Sincerely,

William Meeker, DC, MPH
Vice-President for Research
Palmer Chiropractic University System

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