Court Once Again Strikes Blow Against Anonymity for UW Animal Oversight Committee Members

The 9th Circuit Court issued a landmark decision holding that members of the University of Washington’s animal experimentation oversight committee have no constitutional right to keep their identities secret. The decision in favor of PETA and the Northwest Animal Rights Network reverses a preliminary injunction granted by a Seattle-based United States District Court. This marks the third time in three years that a lower court decision absolving the school from disclosing these names has been reversed. As PETA explained to the 9th Circuit, access to the identities of these members is vital in allowing the public to investigate serious concerns about potentially illegal conflicts of interest. This is vital because, if the oversight body is improperly constituted, it’s operating illegally and should have no authority to approve experiments on animals.