Baby Pigs Suffer Agonizing Death, Lack of Veterinary Care at Johns Hopkins University: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
July 23, 2026

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna regarding the deaths of baby pigs at Johns Hopkins University, in which ill-trained staff, without veterinary oversight or intervention, infected piglets with bacteria that cause a severe intestinal disease characterized by inflammation and tissue death. The piglets became gravely ill almost immediately, received no veterinary care, and all died or were killed within two days. Today, PETA filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling for an investigation into possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act:

Allowing piglets to suffer internal infections so painful that some died within two days—without veterinary care—is a grotesque perversion of science. The animals’ agonizing deaths at Johns Hopkins University were the result of poorly-trained, unsupervised staff with no oversight. The university’s animal care committee took the rare step of suspending the experiment. PETA calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate the institution immediately for possible violations of federal law and urges the university to divert its nearly $1 billion in annual federal grants toward superior, non-animal research methods that are more likely to help human patients who deserve swift treatment.

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.