UMass Med School Veterinarians Complicit in Animal Suffering Cover Up, Insiders Tell PETA

For Immediate Release:
January 15, 2026

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Worcester, Mass. –

A detailed and graphic new complaint filed by PETA reveals the apparent culpability of two veterinarians in the chronic neglect and suffering of animals used in experiments at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (UMass Chan).

The complaint was filed today with the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine’s Division of Occupational Licensure. In it, PETA reveals new allegations of violations by UMass Chan’s head veterinarian, Dr. George DeMarco, and his second-in-command, Dr. Joan Cadillac. They reportedly helped experimenters circumvent basic animal care standards, including falsifying records to cover up mistakes, without regard for the suffering of dogs, pigs, rabbits, and other animals used in invasive, painful experiments.

The complaint alleges that veterinarians sought to conceal serious animal care failures by rewriting protocols after surgeries had already occurred and masking deficiencies in pain relief and treatment rather than correcting them. The complaint also alleges that through their approvals and oversight, veterinarians failed to correct inadequate care and unsafe housing, while systemic failures by the school’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee—on which DeMarco serves—led to avoidable pain and distress beyond the experiments themselves.

1. Dogs used in invasive surgeries at UMass Chan were allegedly deliberately underfed to keep their body weight below thresholds that would require larger cages.
2. Experimenters placed a post-surgical collar on a rabbit but failed to monitor it, resulting in an open wound on the back of the rabbit’s neck.
3. The tissue on pigs’ ears, tails, and toes died after the animals were subjected to invasive cardiac procedures.

These images and other whistleblower photos from the UMass Chan Medical School laboratory are available here.

“Veterinarians are supposed to protect animals from pain and suffering, but withholding food from starving dogs, denying pain relief to suffering animals, and creating false records after botched surgeries deeply betray animals and public trust,” says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Dr. Alka Chandna. “PETA calls on state authorities to immediately investigate the veterinarians and, if appropriate, hold them accountable for violations of the Veterinary Code of Professional Conduct.”

Today’s new allegations follow PETA’s December 10 complaints to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Among the allegations in the initial complaints, insiders say dogs were deliberately starved to keep their weight low enough to be kept in small cages and still comply with federal regulations. All three agencies are investigating.

Despite claiming they comply with animal welfare laws, UMass Chan has a long history of animal welfare violations. This includes citations for critical violations of federal animal welfare laws and an official warning after experimenters continuously subjected a pig to multiple cardiac procedures for days, even after he was observed “lying down, lethargic,” and with purplish discoloration of his extremities, signaling poor circulation. He was later found dead in his cage.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.