Feds Corroborate PETA’s Findings of Dog and Cat Torment at Fort Collins Laboratory, Cite Multiple Violations of the Federal Animal Welfare Act

For Immediate Release:
May 2, 2025

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a damning inspection report confirming many of the findings from PETA’s undercover investigation showing that contract laboratory Red Beast Enterprises Inc., also known as High Quality Research, warehoused dogs and cats in bleak conditions, left animals to suffer from untreated ailments, and routinely subjected dogs to agonizing “debarking” mutilations without pain relief.

As an initial response to PETA’s complaint and evidence, three federal veterinarians inspected the facility on February 19 and 20 and cited High Quality Research for violating 11 federal Animal Welfare Act regulations. According to the report—which High Quality Research apparently appealed, leading to its delayed release—the feds found that the laboratory had failed to provide adequate veterinary care to cats with chronic eye discharge and dogs with hair loss, skin issues, apparent thyroid disease, and other ailments. One dog was denied any treatment for an ear infection for four days after the condition—which the feds noted could be “painful and distressing” and lead to permanent ear damage—was diagnosed. A dog with hair loss and red skin on his face—apparently the result of mange—was not examined by the lab’s veterinarian until nine days after his condition was reported and was not given any treatment for another 10 days.

The facility lacked records indicating that nearly 20 cats had been provided with any pain relief following neuter surgeries, as they should have been, and—as PETA’s investigator documented—that dogs had been provided with any pain relief following crude “debarking” surgeries. Dogs were denied routine monthly care—including cutting overgrown nails as well as body condition and dental assessments—for up to six months at a time. The laboratory similarly failed to document that such routine care had ever been provided to 18 cats. The feds also found dogs kept in kennels with jagged edges and sharp metal points and that dogs’ food bowls were contaminated with wood shavings and “a large amount” of excrement.

High Quality Research’s clients include Colorado State University, which pays the facility to experiment on cats. According to published papers, staff at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Kansas State University, and Bayer HealthCare have participated in or “overseen” experiments on animals at High Quality Research.

“This federal inspection report confirms that High Quality Research has denied cats and dogs basic care and veterinary attention to prevent and alleviate physical and psychological suffering,” says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Oversight and Special Cases Dr. Alka Chandna. “PETA calls on Colorado State Universityand all High Quality Research clients to reconsider their relationship with this crude operation, which should be shut down, and all the animals placed in good homes.”

PETA’s investigation revealed that High Quality Research’s veterinarian put gynecological forceps down the throats of dogs and cut their vocal cords without any pain relief, just so staff wouldn’t be bothered by “loud” or “shrill” barking. Bo and Docker, two elderly dogs described by staff as “falling apart,” suffered from painful physical conditions. Bo, who walked awkwardly with bowed front legs and stiff back legs, was medicated for neck pain, while Docker was missing many teeth; had red, inflamed gums; and had a recurring cyst. Yet High Quality Research warehoused them in bleak kennels with inadequate care, just in case a client needed more test subjects, refusing to allow them a chance at comfort or retirement. The feds cited the laboratory for these dogs’ neglect, among others.

Deprived of even a bed or any opportunity to leave the windowless rooms for a walk and fresh air, many beagles paced and circled endlessly inside the small chain-link kennels—signs of psychological distress caused by their constant intensive confinement and chronic deprivation.

The laboratory kept dozens of cats, some for more than a decade, in barren rooms that lacked soft surfaces and sufficient hiding places. Some were kept crated for experiments. High Quality Research’s president refused to allow anyone to adopt out sick cats and provide them with veterinary care because Colorado State University experimenters weren’t “done with them.”

Photos from PETA’s investigation are available here, and video footage is available here. 

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.