UTMB hit with animal welfare complaint

Rights group accuses researchers of doing procedure on wrong sheep

GALVESTON — An animal rights group has filed a complaint alleging violations of the Animal Welfare Act by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Stop Animal Exploi- tation Now! lodged the complaint last week with the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging that UTMB researchers mixed up tags on sheep, causing a procedure to be done on the wrong sheep and invalidating the research. The alleged mistake violated the U.S. Animal Wel- fare Act, the animal rights group said.

UTMB questioned the accuracy of the claim, saying no surgeries were performed on sheep as alleged.

“We are not going to comment until they clarify or retract this news release because it’s not accurate,” UTMB spokesman Raul Reyes said.

The complaint seeks the maximum fine of $10,000 for every violation of the Animal Welfare Act because UTMB is currently under investigation by the USDA for allegedly allowing monkeys to die painful deaths.

The alleged mistreatment was revealed in an audit last year that accused researchers of botching research by using improper standards.

Michael Budkie, executive director of Stop Animal Exploitation Now!, conceded that the procedures performed on the sheep may not have been surgeries, as stated in the group’s news release, but stands by its claim that the procedures had been performed on the wrong sheep.

“Whether it was a surgical procedure or an invasive procedure is not really relevant,” Budkie said.

The animal rights group sent letters to the Universi- ty of Texas vice chancellor for research and development, Patricia Hurn, to investigate UTMB researchers for allegedly bungling its research. The group also asked the executive editor of the Journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science to investigate the veracity of an article it published based on the research.