Victory! Court Rules University of Washington Animal Oversight Committee Can’t Hide Members’ Names

For Immediate Release:
April 10, 2025

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

In another win for PETA, the U.S. District Court for the Western District just dealt a massive blow to the University of Washington (UW) animal experimentation oversight committee—whose members attempted to evade basic public oversight by keeping their identities secret—handing down a decision that removes any legal barrier to PETA and Northwest Animal Rights Network receiving records that would reveal committee members’ names.

Judge John Chun threw out a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by members of UW’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)—which is supposed to be the last line of defense for animals imprisoned in the school’s laboratories, yet has failed miserably, leading to animals killed by irradiation, starvation, dehydration, strangulation, scalding, blood loss, and more.

The plaintiffs claimed that disclosing their identities would violate their rights by exposing them to unwanted communications from members of the public. The court flatly rejected this, affirming that the plaintiffs’ arguments were not enough to allow public servants—including those making consequential decisions about the use and treatment of animals—to hide behind a veil of anonymity to avoid accountability.

“The taxpayers who are bankrolling UW’s cruel and deadly experiments on animals have every right to know whether these committees are anything more than a rubber stamp,” says PETA Foundation Director of Litigation Asher Smith. “PETA celebrates this win for transparency, which will make it harder for these committees to shroud themselves in secrecy and duck accountability.”

PETA previously secured three Ninth Circuit Court victories supporting its arguments that IACUC members have no right under the U.S. Constitution to keep their identities secret.

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.