USDA Files Official Warning Against NCSU After Horse, Rabbit, and Ferret Deaths: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
July 18, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna regarding the official warning posted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture against North Carolina State University for its violations of federal animal welfare regulations:

This official warning from the feds won’t undo the trauma endured by animals, but it shows that North Carolina State University (NCSU) shouldn’t be trusted with even one more penny of taxpayer funding for experiments on animals. PETA has filed a complaint with the National Institutes of Health, calling on it to turn off the money spigot to the school. The university’s obscene incompetence and neglect have resulted in suffering and death: A horse who was repeatedly being bled by the university suffered from urinary incontinence and urine scalding on his legs but was denied adequate veterinary care. Eventually, he was found to have a large bladder stone and was euthanized. In two other incidents, veterinary students improperly handled animals, resulting in their deaths. A rabbit had to be euthanized after careless handling by a student resulted in a broken back, and a ferret had to be euthanized after a student conducted a prolonged surgery on the animal. According to the federal report, the university’s animal experimentation oversight body failed to investigate the deaths of these animals—as required by law—let alone to implement a plan to prevent future violations.

These critical violations, originally documented in an inspection report earlier this year, were so serious that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors referred them to its Investigative and Enforcement Services (IES) arm, which issued the rare warning. Last year, IES issued only 58 official warnings—even though the USDA’s inspection arm filed thousands of inspection reports documenting violations. NSCU has the distinction of being one of the few singled out for its failures.

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