WVU Lab Negligence Kills Animal; Federal Citations Issued

MORGANTOWN, WV – Recently obtained federal reports reveal major violations of the Animal Welfare Act within the labs of the West Virginia University, according to the national research watchdog group SAEN.

During 2009 West Virginia University received 6 federal citations from the United States Department of Agriculture for violating the Animal Welfare Act. The violations involved issues of sanitation, veterinary care and inadequate supervision of animal experimentation by the WVU Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee.

An August 11, 2009 inspection report cites WVU for an incident in which several rabbits were left unattended after being anesthetized.

This follows a January 13, 2009 inspection in which other WVU staff were cited for leaving a hamster unattended during anesthesia. In this incident WVU staff left the animal unattended and “left to grab a bite to eat.” The animal was later found running around the lab and was euthanized. The project was suspended by WVU administration and reported to funding agencies.

“Negligence at WVU killed one animal and endangered others,” said Michael A. Budkie, A.H.T., Executive Director, SAEN. “This facility should face serious consequences for the death of this rabbit, but the USDA is literally allowing them to get away with murder,” he said.

“If WVU researchers can’t even stay in the room with anesthetized animals to insure their safety, then they should not be allowed to use animals. How can any of the research results from this facility be given any credence whatsoever?” said Budkie. “What else is going on that we don’t know about?”
The USDA inspection reports are available upon request from SAEN.

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See Also:
WVU says it's fixed animal-welfare issues in labs - 12 Jan 2010
West Virginia University

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