PETA Files NIH Complaint Against Lovelace Biomedical After USDA Citations

For Immediate Release:
July 11, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement by PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna regarding Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute’s continued failure to comply with minimum animal welfare regulations:

Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute is apparently incapable of complying with even the most basic federal animal care regulations. According to a just-posted federal inspection report obtained by PETA, 39 beagles were locked inside a kennel where temperatures soared to over 87.6 degrees and averaged 86.5 degrees for six hours. The federal report notes that the unmitigated heat could contribute to “discomfort, lethargy, or stress” in the dogs and cautions that “[d]ogs with medical problems or under study may be especially vulnerable to the effects of hot weather.” Lovelace posted revenues exceeding $76 million last year but can’t maintain a functioning cooling system for dogs imprisoned in its facilities. PETA has filed a complaint with the National Institutes of Health, urging it to suspend all funding to Lovelace until the laboratory-for-hire proves that it can abide by animal protection laws and regulations.

Lovelace has a long history of violating animal protection laws and has been cited for 29 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) since June 2014. Just last year, it was fined $6,200 for the deaths of two juvenile monkeys. One died during a procedure in which he was forced to inhale an experimental compound through a mask covering his mouth and nose—but was not properly monitored. The second died, apparently of either starvation or dehydration, after he was placed in a cage with five other monkeys, even though they were incompatible. In 2011, Lovelace was cited by U.S. authorities for six violations of the AWA—including the strangulation death of a monkey who became caught on an experimental jacket and the escape of an infant monkey—and was fined $21,750.

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