Watchdog group files complaint after 3 bats killed at Colorado State University lab
Media Coverage About SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation Now

ACTION ALERT:

Contact:

Dr. Robert Gibbens
Director, Western Region, USDA
(970) 494-7478
[email protected] 
[email protected]

SAMPLE MESSAGE:

Please levy the MAXIMUM FINE against Colorado State University for their blatant disregard of the Animal Welfare Act when their negligence boiled three bats alive, while drowning another seven. Their behavior should NOT be tolerated and MUST be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

 

Watchdog group files complaint after 3 bats killed at Colorado State University lab

From Wilson Beese, 9News.com, February 27, 2020

Nonprofit Stop Animal Exploitation Now claims the bats were boiled alive. A USDA report says they died from being accidentally folded into a cloth.

Three bats were killed at Colorado State University (CSU), violating federal law, according to a watchdog group.

National nonprofit Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) said government documents made public on Wednesday show the bats were run through an equipment sterilizer and has filed a federal complaint against CSU for negligence.

Sterilization in research facilities is achieved by washing items in temperatures high enough to kill most bacteria, meaning the bats were boiled alive, SAEN said in a statement.

CSU was issued a "critical" citation for violating federal law governing the treatment of research animals after government inspectors reported the deaths in a Jan. 28, 2020 report, according to SAEN.

SAEN said a reported 2018 incident involving the deaths of seven bats when their enclosure flooded is also included in the complaint.

The complaint, which includes relevant federal reports and correspondence, can be found on SAEN's website.

CSU paid a $23,000 federal fine in 2011 for previous Animal Welfare Act violations, according to SAEN.

See also:

• Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

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