USDA Files Official Warning Against Dartmouth College After Vole Deaths: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
September 20, 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 Dartmouth College for its violation of federal animal welfare regulations:

This official warning from the feds won’t undo the excruciating pain endured by three voles who starved to death, but it shows that Dartmouth College shouldn’t be trusted with even one more penny of taxpayer funding for experiments on animals. Earlier this year, a cage was sent to the cage washer room with three voles still trapped inside. Left without food or water, the voles were discovered four days later, dead in the cage.

This critical violation, originally documented in a July inspection report, was so serious that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors referred it 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. Dartmouth has the dubious distinction of being one of the few facilities singled out for its failures.

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