University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Cited by USDA: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
June 3, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna regarding a federal inspection report obtained by PETA documenting serious animal welfare violations in the laboratories of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIC). According to the report, a female lamb—between 6 and 12 months of age—“died during a veterinary teaching class” as a result of “severe hemorrhage along the side of [her] neck” while students were practicing drawing blood from animals. In another incident, a 2-month-old rabbit apparently suffered with a leg fracture for at least a day before she was treated by a veterinarian. The rabbit was euthanized.

UIC’s veterinary school should be promoting compassion and empathy for animals. Instead, it uses sentient beings as pin cushions and testing tools. According to a federal inspection report, a lamb bled out after students incompetently attempted to restrain her as she struggled and pierced her repeatedly. It was determined that she had likely died from a “severe hemorrhage along the right side of [her] neck.” It’s difficult to imagine the lamb’s pain and terror in a cacophonous classroom as she was pinned to a cold procedure table and handled roughly while needles were plunged into her body—eventually causing her life to drain away. UIC would do well to modernize its classrooms using virtual programs and lifelike animal models and simulators, not only to train its students on veterinary methods but also to reinforce the Veterinarian’s Oath that skills and knowledge should be used for the benefit of animal health and welfare.

For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.