The University of Utah just got slapped with an official warning from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for repeatedly violating the federal Animal Welfare Act by failing to properly review and oversee experiments on animals. If the university is caught violating this law again, it could face up to $10,000 in fines per incident.

The USDA's action was based in part on violations that were uncovered following PETA's 2009 undercover investigation that brought to light the terrible suffering of the dogs, cats, monkeys, rabbits, and other animals experimented on there. We documented that monkeys were deprived of water so that they would cooperate with experimenters in exchange for a sip of water, that a kitten died from dehydration, and that other sick and injured animals were denied veterinary care and left to languish and eventually die. You may recall that many of the animals the school was using in experiments were homeless cats and dogs it had purchased from local animal shelters until an intense year-long PETA campaign put an end to pound seizure in Utah. Since this landmark victory, several animal experiments at the U have been completely halted. 

You can help animals suffering at the University of Utah and in other horrendous laboratories by clicking here to ask the federal government to divert tax dollars away from cruel animal experiments and put them toward modern and humane non-animal research methods.

 
Today marks the start of World Week for Animals in Laboratories. People frequently ask PETA what they can do to help stop the abuse of animals used in experiments. Of course, we always suggest taking action in our current campaigns against animal testing and only supporting companies that are cruelty-free. But there are many other easy ways to make a difference. Here are five more steps you can take:

1. Go vegan. Not only does eating meat cost billions of animals their lives, it also makes us sick. Experimenters then use these largely preventable diseases, such as obesity and heart disease, as an excuse to conduct cruel and deadly experiments on animals. Companies and the government also fund experiments to find ways to make factory-farmed animals grow larger faster. When you order your free vegetarian/vegan starter kit, you'll learn how to fight cruelty on farms and in laboratories every day.   
2. Quit smoking. It may shock you, but companies like R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard, and Philip Morris continue to force rats to undergo nasty experiments in order to develop new cigarettes. Experimenters at universities also pump cigarette smoke into dogs' lungs and addict pregnant monkeys and their babies to nicotine in order to study smoking-related diseases.
3. Spay, neuter, and adopt. Heartless vivisectors exploit the animal overpopulation crisis by purchasing homeless animals from shelters to torment and kill in their laboratories. Spaying and neutering your animal companions and promoting animal adoptions help to cut off this supply of cheap laboratory "equipment." PETA's recent success in stopping pound seizure in Utah saved countless animals from a painful death in a laboratory.
4. Donate your body to science. You can help animals in laboratories even from beyond the grave. Donate your body to science through a program like the Anatomy Gifts Registry, and it will be used at medical training and research facilities around the world to advance science and replace the use of animals.
5. Only donate to cruelty-free charities. Sadly, some charities—including the March of Dimes and the American Cancer Society—fund  cruel and ineffective experiments that harm animals and divert resources that could be spent on modern and relevant non-animal research.  
     

Please also be sure to share this information with friends and family and encourage them to make the same compassionate decisions.  
 

Written by Jeremy Beckham