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.

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 Ingrid E. Newkirk

“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?” READ MORE

— Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President and co-author of Animalkind