Texas Biomedical Research Institute Penalized for Repeated Primate Escapes
For
Immediate Release:
January
17, 2012
Contact:
Kristin
Richards 202-483-7382
San Antonio --The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has fined Texas Biomedical Research Institute $25,714 for repeatedly allowing primates to escape from their cages and injure themselves and others, including humans. This penalty follows PETA's formal complaint regarding a 2010 incident in which two baboons escaped from their cages and attacked a caretaker—an incident that landed the laboratory, then known as the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, two violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including failure to safely handle or house animals. The fine also addresses a 2009 incident in which a young monkey escaped from a cage and got outside into the freezing cold. The animal suffered severe hypothermia and had to be euthanized.
"Texas Biomed puts the health and safety of primates and its staff at risk when it tries to lock up baboons and monkeys and subject them to painful, invasive experiments that they are clearly desperate to escape," says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "We are glad that the government is taking Texas Biomed's disregard for animal welfare and federal laws seriously."
Texas Biomed currently confines more than 1,600 primates—including more than 150 chimpanzees—in experiments in which they are infected with painful and debilitating diseases and subjected to invasive surgeries. Some primates at the institution are used in painful experiments and intentionally denied pain relief. Texas Biomed is one of the last laboratories in the world that still torments chimpanzees in experiments, a practice that the prestigious Institute of Medicine recently deemed largely unnecessary.
For more information, please visit PETA.org. Details about the USDA fine can be found here.