PETA Puts GMU on Notice for Its Failure to Produce Records Related to Federal Animal Welfare Violations
For Immediate Release:
November 1, 2024
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
In a letter sent today, PETA put George Mason University on notice of potential legal action after the school failed to produce public records related to an experimental protocol on animals eight months after the group requested and paid for them.
The school cashed PETA’s check on March 21 to pay the $700 cost of a state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents relating to experimental surgeries during which staff administered expired antibiotics and pain medication to animals. But the school still hasn’t fulfilled its obligation or given PETA an indication about when—or if—it intends to do so. Virginia’s FOIA law requires that public institutions respond to requests within 12 working days.
“For months, George Mason University used expired antibiotics and painkillers on animals undergoing invasive surgeries as part of an experiment, and now it’s evading its legal obligation of minimal transparency,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “Its apparent attempt to keep from the public information about what these animals endured flies in the face of the Freedom of Information Act and basic decency to the very Virginians who fund the school.”
A George Mason experimenter gave expired antibiotics and pain relievers to rats during numerous surgeries and recoveries over a four-month period. The attending veterinarian purportedly “did not believe” that the animals were in pain, but the university itself called the problem a “serious deviation” from its own policies and federal requirements.
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.
