Apparent Transfer of Animals From The Edmonton Pound To The University Of Alberta

The following is a description of what was observed by an ADL-Edmonton member in July 2007.

  In July of 2007 I was preparing to end my shift between 2 and 3 in the morning when I drove by the pound on my way to my office. As I passed the pound I noticed that a dark colored van was leaving the rear of the pound. I pulled in behind the van as it left the alley behind the pound and turned south on 127 Street. The van traveled south on 127 Street to 118 Avenue where it turned west on 118 Avenue and went through the traffic circle. The van then traveled south on Groat Road to the Hawrelek Park exit and proceeded up the hill to the University of Alberta.

At the top of the hill the van passed a marked security vehicle parked at the side of the road. As the van passed the security vehicle it pulled in behind the van. The van then turned onto a road behind the Biological Sciences Building while the security vehicle blocked the road that the van had gone down. The road the van turned down leads directly to the loading dock of the Biological Sciences Building. I pulled to the side of the road and did some paperwork while observing what was happening. After a short time a second security vehicle drove slowly past me but did not stop. The second security vehicle stopped beside the first one and the drivers appeared to speak to each other for a short time after which the first vehicle activated it's emergency lights. After approximately 15 minutes the van drove from the loading dock area towards the main road. The security vehicle moved to allow the van turn off of the secondary road and turned off it's emergency lights. The security vehicle then followed the van along the main road and left the area. After both vehicles had left the are I drove down the road the van had gone down to the Biological Sciences Building loading dock and it appeared to be deserted. The light over the license plate on the van was either broken or had been removed and the license plate appeared to have been obscured so that it was not readable.

If there is a plausible alternative explanation for what I witnessed I am at a loss as to what it would be. The use of an unmarked vehicle rather than a marked Animal Services/Bylaw vehicle is highly suspicious particularly at the hour of the night that this occurred. The actions of University security, who appeared to be expecting the van to arrive also added to the questionable nature of what occurred. The building where the van went, Biological Sciences, contains a number of animal research labs so it seems that the most plausible explanation for the events of that night was a transfer of animals to be used of experimentation took place.