PETA Statement: Animals Dying of Thirst at CU-Boulder

For Immediate Release:
May 21, 2021

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo concerning U.S. Department of Agriculture documents showing that the University of Colorado–Boulder was cited for critical violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. A meadow vole was found dead with his or her head pinned between a PVC tube and the cage’s metal grid containing food and water. According to a federal report, up to six days passed before staff realized that the vole was dead. In another incident, two prairie voles died of thirst when water was not accessible to them because of a water bottle malfunction.

The University of Colorado–Boulder needs to get out of the animal-experimentation business. Just-released government documents obtained by PETA reveal that the university was cited for two critical violations of federal animal welfare laws for obscene neglect resulting in the death of small animals from thirst, one with his or her head caught, unable to get to food and water. Workers didn’t even notice this for nearly a week. Voles are known to be intelligent, sensitive, and empathetic, but the same cannot be said about the workers in CU-Boulder’s laboratory.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.