Gruesome Photos of Mutilated Cat in UW Laboratory Prompt Federal Complaints

PETA's Lawsuit Uncovers Orange Tabby Cut Into, Deafened, and Decapitated in Cruel Taxpayer-Funded Study

For Immediate Release:
September 12, 2012

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Madison, Wis. -- Following a three-year legal battle with the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW), PETA has obtained documents showing that crude taxpayer-funded brain experiments were conducted on dozens of cats, along with disturbing never-before-seen photos detailing a months-long abusive experiment on an orange tabby cat named Double Trouble. PETA has filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Institutes of Health alleging numerous violations of federal animal welfare regulations and calling for federal funding of the ongoing study to be halted.

"It took PETA more than three years to pry photographs of Double Trouble out of UW. Anyone who sees them will understand why the university tried to keep her miserable life and death a secret," says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. "This study should never have begun and needs to end today, before even one more cat dies."

UW records show that Double Trouble—like other cats used in this experiment—had steel coils implanted in her eyes, a steel post screwed to her skull, and electrodes inserted in her brain and was intentionally deafened by having a chemical applied to her inner ear. In more than one instance, she was either conscious or woke up during surgery because of the improper administration of anesthetics. She was then deprived of food for days at a time in order to force her to cooperate in experiments. Double Trouble developed infections, and she exhibited lethargy and depression for months. She started to twitch, and half of her face became paralyzed, but UW continued to subject her to experiments. After UW deemed the project a failure, she was killed and decapitated.

While researchers at other universities study how the brain processes sound in human volunteers, UW experimenters use 30 cats a year in experiments because they need to "keep up a productive publication record that ensures our constant funding."

UW is currently the subject of an ongoing USDA investigation after being cited for almost 50 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act over the past five years.

Copies of PETA's federal complaints are available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org/DoubleTrouble.