Does USC Abuse Animals For Research? Judge OKs Lawsuit Moving Ahead
From MyNewsLA.com, February 28, 2020
An organization that claims USC abuses animals in its research can move
forward for now with its lawsuit against the institution, a judge ruled.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dennis Landin overruled a motion by USC
lawyers, who argued that plaintiff Stop Animal Exploitation Now lacked
standing to bring the case and that it should be dismissed. He heard
arguments Wednesday and took the case under submission, then ruled on
Thursday.
Landin said that unlike in its previous pleadings, the plaintiff showed some
evidence of “economic injuries” in its most recently amended complaint.
In its suit brought last June 24, the organization alleges that documents it
obtained show USC routinely violates its mandatory research protocols, as
well as applicable animal welfare laws and regulations. The complaint
further alleges that USC “claims it achieves the highest ethical standards
in its research … but privately, USC has a pattern and practice of
subjecting animals to needless suffering and unnecessary cruelty."
USC researchers killed baby animals by placing them in a carcass-disposal
freezer while still alive, performed unauthorized surgeries and injections
on animals, withheld post-operative care and failed to euthanize in a timely
manner animals languishing with ulcerated tumors, according to the suit.