Campaign Updates: Dogs Starved, Pigs Given Heart Attacks in UMass Chan Labs
Insider reports from laboratories at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School reveal that dogs were kept emaciated, apparently so they’d fit in small kennels; animals languished without appropriate treatment for surgical complications and other ailments; and baby pigs developed dead, blue-black tissue on their ears, tails, and feet.
This suffering is on top of the workaday cruelty animals endure in the school’s experiments, which include inducing heart attacks in baby pigs, breeding cats and sheep to suffer from debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, and creating fake aneurysms by re-routing dogs’ blood vessels.
Social Media Ads Call On Insiders to Expose Cruelty
March 19, 2026
PETA launched social media ads urging insiders at UMass Chan to report animal abuse they witness in the school’s laboratories.
PETA Complaint Prompts Federal Citations at UMass Chan
February 23, 2026
Following PETA’s complaint, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited UMass Chan for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act in experimenter Matthew Gounis’ laboratory. Violations included allowing Gounis to cut into the blood vessels of dogs in multiple invasive procedures without a plan to treat foreseeable and painful complications. Inspectors also found repeat violations for careless handling of animals, including incidents in which a dog swallowed a catheter left behind after surgery and rabbits were overdosed with anesthesia.
Experimenter Abuses Dogs, Heads Committee Meant to Hold Him Accountable; PETA Urges Chancellor to Act
February 17, 2026
PETA urged UMass Chan Chancellor Michael Collins to remove experimenter Matthew Gounis from his position as head of the school’s animal oversight committee and instruct the panel to revoke approval of his invasive, painful, and deadly experiments on dogs. Gounis’ experiments must be approved by the committee he chairs, and he has violated the animal welfare standards the panel is meant to enforce, a glaring conflict of interest.
UMass Med School Veterinarians Complicit in Animal Suffering Cover-Up, Insiders Tell PETA
January 15, 2026
PETA revealed the apparent culpability of two veterinarians, George DeMarco and Joan Cadillac, in the chronic neglect and suffering of animals used in experiments at UMass Chan in a detailed and graphic complaint filed with the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine’s Division of Occupational Licensure.
The complaint alleges that under DeMarco and Cadillac’s supervision, suffering animals received delayed or inappropriate treatment for surgical complications and other ailments, while DeMarco repeatedly conspired to conceal serious animal care failures by rewriting protocols after procedures had occurred. The complaint also alleges that systemic failures by the school’s animal oversight committee, on which DeMarco serves, led to avoidable pain and distress beyond the experiments themselves.
Boston Globe Amplifies Plight of UMass Chan’s Victims
December 29, 2025
The Boston Globe reported on the disturbing allegations of neglect and abuse of dogs, pigs, rabbits, and other animals in UMass Chan laboratories. The story follows coverage by NPR affiliate WGBH, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the Worcester Patch, The Worcester Guardian, and other outlets.
Starvation of Dogs, Agonizing Animal Deaths Exposed at UMass Med School; Feds and State Investigating After PETA Plea
December 16, 2025
Dogs used in deadly experiments at UMass Chan are deliberately starved so the school doesn’t have to buy bigger cages, while other animals suffer open and necrotic wounds and endure prolonged, agonizing deaths, according to an insider who provided documents and disturbing photos to PETA. In complaints filed with state and federal authorities, PETA strongly urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to investigate. All three agencies launched probes. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette broke the story.
