Feds Cite University of Virginia for Critical Animal Welfare Violation: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
April 15, 2025

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna regarding a recent citation—just posted on April 11—issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the University of Virginia (UVA) for a critical violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act. The citation was issued in a February 10 Inspection Report—which UVA still has not posted on its own web site, as required by § 3.2-6593.2. Animal testing facilities; public notification—which notes “Primary enclosure fencing housing sparrows failed to protect the birds from injury, resulting in the death of 40 birds.” 

One can only imagine the sheer terror of dozens of sparrows trapped in a cage, frantically attempting to flee from the predator who invaded their enclosure and annihilated 40 of them as they watched each other fight and perish. More than two months since the February 11 USDA citation, the school still has not met its legal requirement to post this critical violation on its own web site. UVA has violated animal welfare laws and regulations 50 times in the past decade, yet the school is one of several institutions opposing efforts to increase transparency in publicly funded animal testing facilities. With the FDA taking steps to phase out animal testing in favor of human-relevant methods, the future of science is clear. It’s past time for UVA to modernize its laboratories and embrace approaches that are both ethical and effective for advancing human health.

In 2023, UVA received over $354 million for research and development in federal funding, and over $13 million in state funding.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.