Oregon Supreme Court to Hear PETA’s Case Against Oregon Health & Science University

For Immediate Release:
May 28, 2026

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA General Counsel Asher Smith regarding the Oregon Supreme Court’s decision to hear PETA’s appeal to reinstate an order by a Multnomah County trial court requiring Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to pay PETA more than $400,000 in a case involving an infamous sex experiment with drunken, tethered voles, which the Oregon Court of Appeals vacated. Oral arguments are scheduled for October 15:

PETA welcomes the Oregon Supreme Court’s decision to hear our arguments. OHSU is trying to avoid paying PETA more than $400,000 after a court said the school violated state public records law by trying to keep videos of the experiments from PETA, committed sanctionable misconduct, and illegally surveilled PETA. OHSU has already wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to hide these indefensible experiments from the public eye while flushing millions down the drain on other equally cruel and pointless experiments on animals. We’re eager for our day in court.

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.