WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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The IU School of Medicine is being implicated in the death of at least 116 animals and the injury of dozens more. The animal-rights group Stop Animal Exploitation Now, or SAEN, obtained 17 non-compliance reports sent from School of Medicine officials to the National Institute of Health’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare. According to the reports, the animals died due to starvation, dehydration, drowning, suffocation and botched medical procedures.
In a statement obtained by WFHB, the IU School of Medicine said the University is currently in ‘full compliance’ with national animal welfare guidelines and received clean reports in two recent reviews by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, or the IACUC.
In a letter to the Dean of the School of Medicine, SAEN alleges the oversight is pointless, as the IACUC is composed primarily of IU employees. The group also argues that the animals discussed in the non-compliance reports, rats and mice, are not actively regulated by the Department of Agriculture, so USDA approval means means very little.
The IU statement continues, stating every incident was self-reported, demonstrating University’s diligence in monitoring and taking ‘corrective actions’ when necessary.
