Feds Slap University of Alabama–Birmingham With Official Warning: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
April 23, 2024

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo’s statement regarding a rare official warning issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture against the University of Alabama–Birmingham for numerous violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including allowing three ferrets to suffocate to death, failing to provide several other animals with proper medical care, and failing to provide a ferret with water:

The laboratories at the University of Alabama–Birmingham (UAB) are incubators for cruelty and incompetence, and now the U.S. Department of Agriculture has slapped the school with an official warning, a rare move reserved for truly egregious violators.

The official warning was posted yesterday and came after UAB laboratory staff forced eight ferrets to inhale cigarette smoke while their supply of oxygen was obstructed due to a buildup of tar residue. Three died, and five others were sickened. The warning also cites inadequate veterinary care after inspectors found animals suffering from pervasive hair loss and other disturbing signs of extreme stress. In addition, UAB staffers let a ferret go without water for so long that the animal drank for three straight minutes after finally getting some.

The university should get out of the business of tormenting animals and redirect its resources toward modern, non-animal research methods that will actually help humans. We urge it 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.