Harvard University has been fined $24,000 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for repeated animal welfare violations at its research facilities that resulted in the deaths of four experimental monkeys since 2011, Reuters reports.
The university announced plans this year to close the research facility located in Southborough, Mass. that the government has been investigating, only they are citing financial reasons and not animal mistreatment and welfare violations. Their other, smaller research facility in Boston that contains primates used boy experimentation will remain open.
In total, Harvard was cited for 11 separate incidents by the USDA that occurred between 2011 and 2012, including the February 2011 case of a labratory worker overdosing a monkey with too much anesthetic, causing it to die from liver failure. In another case, a monkey died from thirst after being deprived of water, and in another, a monkey choked on a chain attached to its toy that wrapped around its neck. Such incidents have already caused the university to make changes in its research procedures and staffing.
While Harvard Medical School reported that the designated fine from USDA is "appropriate," animal rights groups such as PETA feel that penalty is far too small.
"The leadership of the School cares deeply about upholding exemplary standards of care and attributes these outcomes to the excellent work of those members of our community who took aggressive action to institute rigorous quality improvements that benefit animal safety and welfare," the university said in a statement.
Meanwhile, PETA has released a statement claiming that the USDA's fine will have little effect on the treatment of the animals at Harvard's facilities.
"For an institution that receives $185 million annually in taxpayer funds alone, half of which is used for experiments on animals, a $24,000 fine for years of abusing and neglecting monkeys won't motivate Harvard to do better," PETA said.
