On Campus: UW-Madison fined $35,000 for violations of animals in research

Included are incidents that involved the deaths of a research dog in 2009, a research gerbil in 2009 and a pregnant research monkey in 2012. In another incident, from 2012, a research cat suffered burns during anesthesia but recovered fully, according to the university. In each incident, the actual deaths or injury to animals did not trigger the citations but rather the university’s handling of the cases, which was found to violate the federal Animal Welfare Act.

The dog’s death was not communicated properly to a supervising veterinarian, the USDA found. The gerbil’s death was related to inadequate daily observations. The monkey’s death did not lead to adequate retraining of the veterinarian who oversaw the surgery. The cat’s burns resulted from improper handling.

Two other violations related to inadequately maintained facilities. Another was for inadequate veterinary care because of expired or improperly labeled medications.

The USDA did not respond to a request for comment left Monday.

The new fine comes in the wake of repeated high-profile allegations of animal abuse by animal-rights groups against the university in recent years. UW-Madison has a vast animal program, with more than 7,000 people certified to work with animals in more than 50 facilities. Critics seized on the new fines.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture has now confirmed what UW-Madison has long denied: that its laboratories are a mess and that animal welfare is lacking,” said Justin Goodman, director of laboratory investigations for the animal rights group PETA, a frequent critic of the university’s research practices with animals.

Another group, Stop Animal Exploitation Now, in January asked for a new federal investigation of UW-Madison, claiming it has evidence of further animal welfare abuses by researchers.

The university said it accepted the fine and has taken steps to prevent further violations.

“We believe the corrective actions made by UW-Madison in response to these events and the fact that most of the citable events did not directly affect animal welfare resulted in a relatively small fine,” the university said in a statement.Chancellor Rebecca Blank defended the university’s treatment of research animals in a blog post.

“Our researchers are aware of their responsibility to the animals and understand that such research must have high scientific value to humans and other animals,” she wrote.