USDA Fines University $25,000 for Violations Following PETA Complaint

January 2012

After PETA filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding a 2010 incident in which two baboons escaped from their cages at Texas Biomedical Research Institute (then known as the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research) and attacked a caretaker, the facility was cited and fined $25,714 for several violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including failure to handle or house animals safely. The fine also addresses a 2009 incident in which a young monkey escaped from the facility and then spent the night in below-freezing temperatures. He suffered from severe hypothermia and had to be euthanized.