ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Animal advocacy groups have filed complaints with federal officials about the treatment of monkeys and other animals at a research facility in New Mexico.
The Ohio-based group Stop Animal Exploitation Now outlined its claims against the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in a letter sent Thursday to the U.S. Agriculture Department. The group accuses the lab of a pattern of negligence and carelessness that resulted in the deaths of monkeys.
The group is asking for U.S. regulators to investigate the lab and issue penalties for what it claims are violations of federal laws meant to ensure the humane and ethical treatment of lab animals.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent their own letter to the National Institutes of Health on Friday. The organization is asking that that lab’s public health service animal welfare assurance be withdrawn, which would mean it couldn’t receive federal contracts or grants.
Both animal advocacy groups pointed to a November 2019 inspection report that outlined inadequate veterinary care and improper animal handling.
The lab did not return a message seeking comment about the complaints.
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