Washington State University’s Plan to Kill Healthy, Adoptable Animals Must Stop: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
March 12, 2026

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Vice President of International Laboratory Methods Shalin Gala regarding Washington State University’s plan to kill eight healthy, adoptable horses and 60 goats in its College of Veterinary Medicine’s Junior Surgery laboratory, where third-year veterinary students use the animals as living dummies to practice surgeries before the animals are killed:

It’s sickening that Washington State University wants to kill eight healthy, adoptable horses and 60 goats in pointless practice surgeries over the strong objections of alumni and veterinarians, even though sanctuaries are standing by to provide homes. Killing healthy animals in this way goes against the school’s own animal use policy, raising serious questions about the university’s oversight committee. Veterinary schools across the country use humane simulation models or work alongside practicing veterinarians to learn skills and avoid barbaric, archaic training methods, making the university’s cruel Junior Surgery laboratory indefensible. PETA stands with the compassionate veterinarian group Our Honor and calls for the immediate halt to the university’s bloody plans.

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.