Puppy Suffocates to Death in Mayo Clinic Lab: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
January 18, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo’s statement regarding a just-posted inspection report documenting a critical violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act at the Mayo Clinic:

The Mayo Clinic rakes in millions of dollars for experiments on animals but can’t manage to abide by minimal animal welfare regulations. A just-released government document obtained by PETA reveals that the clinic was cited for obscene neglect resulting in the suffocation death of a 9-month-old dog. Experimenters had cut a hole in the puppy’s windpipe and inserted a tube into his lungs. Although one experimenter noticed that mucus was accumulating below the tube on the night of the surgery, that person failed to inform the veterinarian, as required by law. Two days later, the puppy was found dead in his enclosure.

In 2020, the Mayo Clinic used 71 dogs in experiments. That same year, it received more than $276 million in taxpayer money from the National Institutes of Health, half of which is estimated to fund experiments on animals. Studies show that a staggering 90% of basic research—most of which involves animals, like the type of experiments conducted at the Mayo Clinic—fails to lead to treatments for humans. The Mayo Clinic should redirect its resources toward modern, non-animal research methodologies that will actually help humans, and we urge officials there to adopt PETA’s Research Modernization Deal.

For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.