PETA Files Complaint After Gruesome Animal Deaths at UT Medical Branch at Galveston

For Immediate Release:
August 24, 2023

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna regarding the critical citations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture against the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston after the gruesome deaths of two animals:

If the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston cannot prevent animals from being scalded to death or hanging to death in their cages, it certainly shouldn’t be entitled to another red cent of taxpayer money.

Staffers twice failed to count past 10—once after they received 11 guinea pigs into the facility and again when the animals were transferred. Staff failed to see that one guinea pig ended up in a high-temperature cage sterilizer, in which the animal was steamed to death by temperatures up to 180 degrees. Staff also failed to prevent the asphyxiation death of a macaque found hanging from the top of a cage. The monkey’s head was trapped in the cage bars. In still another incident, staffers failed to follow procedure and 13 monkeys didn’t receive their required medication, according to a just-posted inspection report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

PETA has filed a complaint with the National Institutes of Health, urging the agency to withdraw funding from the university, which cannot—or will not—maintain even basic standards of care for the animals it cages.

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