USDA Fines Wake Forest University

December 2012

In response to a complaint filed by PETA after a 16-year-old female monkey escaped from Wake Forest University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited the university for failing to house the monkey safely and securely, in violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Following this initial citation, the university was ordered to pay more than $35,000 for eight serious AWA violations, including the escape as well as failing to care for two primates who exhibited extreme psychological distress, to ensure that personnel involved in the experimental use of animals were qualified to perform their duties, and to ensure that experimenters searched for alternatives to painful procedures.