Animal Crushed to Death, Others Maimed in UC-Berkeley Laboratory: PETA Says Shut It Down

For Immediate Release:
May 10, 2024

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from Berkeley alum and PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo regarding new U.S. Department of Agriculture citations for two critical violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act just issued against the University of California–Berkeley, where numerous voles have escaped—some were later found dead—and staffers crushed a vole to death under a cage lid. In addition, staff have inflicted serious injuries on other animals, including a monkey whose tail was crushed so severely that it required partial amputation. UC-Berkeley laboratories have a long history of violations, including, most recently, in May 2022, March 2023, and September 2023.

Incompetent staffers at the University of California–Berkeley kill and maim animals during day-to-day handling, adding to the violence already inherent in experimentation. These recent incidents and the dozens that came earlier continue to make an airtight case for revoking every single penny of taxpayer money these laboratories gobble up. It’s wasted money for death and dismemberment with no demonstrable human benefit.

The lights need to be shut off, and the money should be redirected toward modern, non-animal research methods that will actually help humans. We urge university officials to adopt PETA’s Research Modernization Deal.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.