4 July 6-12, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ FLORIDA HOT MESS ANIMALS WERE ACCIDENTALLY “COOKED TO DEATH” IN A UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA LAB. BY JESSE FRAGA A n animal advocacy group is demanding that federal regu- lators issue a “maximum vio- lation” against the University of South Florida for mistak- enly burning a group of caged lab animals to death in a research facility. Stacy Ellison, research analyst for Stop Animal Exploitation Now, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), saying the agency should step in and investigate after the university took insuffi- cient action to address the deaths. “It’s not being monitored at all,” Ellison tells New Times. “These animals suffered, burned, and died. That should call for a maxi- mum violation.” University Comparative Medicine staff found the group of naked mole rats scorched in their metal cage on the morning of Febru- ary 5 next to a portable space heater that had been left on all night, according to a letter from University of South Florida (USF) Office of Research. A technician had moved the heater “too close to a rack when mopping [and] didn’t move it back,” the initial incident report states. “The cause of death was determined to be overheating...with no remote monitoring,” Sylvia Thomas, interim vice president for the office, stated in the letter addressed to the National Institutes of Health. During colder months, the heaters were used in the naked mole rat housing room to maintain a temperature above 80 degrees, as outlined by the Comparative Medicine depart- ment’s operating procedures. However, the lab procedures did not specify that the tempera- ture should be manually monitored overnight. Two procedures were revised a month af- ter the incident, one titled Animal Health and Environmental Surveillance, and another ti- tled, Naked Mole Rat Husbandry, to include the seemingly obvious requirement that space heaters need to be “sufficiently distant” from animal enclosures. The letter also noted that the university’s building management found that the thermo- stat in the room was faulty. Ellison filed the grievance against the Tampa university with the USDA on June 19 for what she believes are two violations of the Animal Welfare Act, which regulates the treatment of animals used for research and entertainment. The complaint argues the University of South Florida violated federal code on per- sonnel qualifications and animal handling in research facilities. Ellison hopes the agency will issue the maximum fine of $12,722 per violation, per animal. With five deaths and two possible vi- olations, USF could be fined up to $127,220 by the USDA if the investigation finds they were non-compliant with the act. “These animals suffered under excessive heat long enough that they were cooked to death,” Ellison says in the complaint. “I must insist that your office institute an immediate investigation and begin the process of issuing the maximum fine.” The University of South Florida provided a statement to New Times saying it “took the appropriate steps and immediately notified federal agencies regarding the incident.” “The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Laboratory Animal Wel- fare was satisfied with the corrective actions steps and has determined no further action is necessary,” the university says. “USF believes in the respectful and ethical treatment of ani- mals in research. We have a vigorous training and review process and will continue to abide by all state and federal laws and guidelines.” On February 6, a day after the five rats were found dead, Comparative Medicine outlined a plan to the university’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee to better safeguard lab animals. The department said it would dis- continue the overnight use of unmonitored space heaters, and that it had ordered Wi-Fi- enabled heaters that could be controlled re- motely and monitored in emergency situations. Two days after the deaths, Comparative Medicine “retrained the responsible staff member and associated staff in the use of space heaters, situational awareness and the importance of environmental monitoring to animal welfare,” Thomas stated in the letter. Another section of the letter advises that keeping temperature monitoring devices in the animals’ cages would not be feasible. “Since naked mole rats are extremely sen- sitive to disturbances inside the cage, place- ment and frequent assessment of temperature measuring devices inside the cage is not practical,” the letter reads. Ellison believes this contradicts the uni- versity’s new preventative plan. “They kind of do that very circular talk,” Ellison says. Space heater accidents are a common cause of damage and injury in the U.S., igniting an es- timated 1,700 fires annually. The devices emit high heat in a concentrated area, with the po- tential to scorch anything placed too close to their vents. Over a four-year monitoring pe- riod, the National Fire Protection Association found that space heaters were the cause of 80 percent of heating-related household deaths. | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS Naked mole rats, AKA “sand puppies,” are bred en masse for biomedical research. Photo by Tennessee Witney/Getty Images ▼ MIAMI BEACH FACEPALM FABIÁN BASABE FACE-SLAPPING ALLEGATION ENDS WITH A ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. BY ALEX DELUCA AND NAOMI FEINSTEIN I t was the alleged facial slap heard round Florida Capitol Hill. Legislative aide Nicolas Frevola said he was speaking with a lobbyist and two interns at a Tallahassee social gathering on January 3, when his boss, Florida House Rep. Fabián Bas- abe of Miami Beach, approached. According to Frevola, he and Basabe “exchanged words” be- fore Basabe slapped him across the face and forced him to stand in the corner of the room for ten seconds like a naughty child. Having completed a two-month probe into the dustup, a law firm enlisted by the Florida House of Representatives says the allegation of a facial slap could not be verified, though there was an apparent conflict and physical contact between the two men. “Basabe stated that...Frevola initiated un- wanted, non-violent physical contact with him,” the law firm of Allen, Norton & Blue writes in a June 28 report, recounting an interview with the state representative. “Basabe added that while he does not recall exactly what hap- pened, he does know that in response, he slapped away Frevola’s hand and may have made contact with him.” When the firm interviewed the lobbyist, she said she was at the party but did not witness the alleged smack to the face. Hired April 6 after Frevola’s allegations came to light, the firm was unable to track down the two interns who Frevola claimed were witnesses to the incident. Frevola said he did not know their names, while another person who had at- tended the party told the firm there were no in- terns in attendance, according to the report. “With respect to the specific allegation by Frevola that he was slapped in the face by Basabe, based upon conflicts in the factual accounts provided by the participants and a lack of corroborating witnesses, the finding is inconclusive,” reads the firm’s report, authored by attorney Michael Mattimore and addressed to the Florida House of Representatives, Office of the General Counsel. Basabe’s attorney, Robert Fernandez, tells New Times Bas- abe fully cooperated with the investiga- tion. “Not a single al- leged third-party wit- ness corroborated Mr. Frevola’s version of events on the evening of January 3, 2023. Representative Basabe would like to thank the Speaker’s Office for the thor- ough and prompt investigation that was con- ducted and looks forward to focusing his time and energy on the real issues facing his constitu- ents in House District 106,” Fernandez said in a statement. Frevola referred New Times to his attorney, who has not responded to an emailed request for comment. Basabe was elected last November, beating out Jordan Leonard in a tight race in which Bas- abe ran as a moderate Republican. The former reality TV show star was the subject of heated protests after he voted in favor of the “Don’t Say Gay” expansion bill and other culture-war mea- sures that targeted LGBTQ issues. Basabe was no stranger to controversy during his campaign, as his past tabloid antics, along with a 2020 incident in which he threw a woman’s phone during a pool party, came under scrutiny. CBS News reported that Frevola was involved in a separate probe this year in connection with Florida state Rep. Carolina Amesty’s claim that he drove a vehicle at her while Frevola’s mother, Janet Frevola, was running against Amesty in a 2022 Florida House primary. Frevola denied the claim, saying Amesty’s description of the driver’s car did not match his vehicle. [email protected] “HE SLAPPED AWAY FREVOLA’S HAND AND MAY HAVE MADE CONTACT WITH HIM.”
