Animal Rights Group Files Lawsuit In Death Of Mayo Clinic Research Pup – Reuters
Media Coverage About SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation Now

ACTION ALERT:

Contact:

Dr. Robert Gibbens
Director, Animal Welfare Operations, USDA-APHIS
[email protected]  
[email protected]  

SAMPLE MESSAGE:
Please LEVY the MAXIMUM FINE against the Mayo Clinic for their blatant disregard of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) when their negligence resulted in the death of a puppy. Their behavior must NOT be tolerated and MUST be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

 

Animal Rights Group Files Lawsuit In Death Of Mayo Clinic Research Pup – Reuters

From Cheryl R. Costello, StitchingATAR.com, January 18, 2022

An animal rights group is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Director of Animal Welfare Operations to impose a $10,000 fine on the Mayo Clinic after an inspection found a lab research failed to provide adequate veterinary care to a 9-month-old puppy that eventually died.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now filed an animal welfare complaint on Monday, January 17, 2022 with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

A routine inspection conducted on September 24, 2021 revealed a “critical” non-compliant incident at the SC Johnson Research Center. The inspection report, signed by a USDA veterinarian on Dec. 17, 2021, cited the hospital’s research center after discovering an animal health issue that had not been reported to an attending veterinarian.

“On June 23, 2020, a 9-month-old dog was found dead two days after surgery to place a tracheostomy tube,” the inspection report said.

An autopsy was performed on the dog, which discovered “a large mucous plug” under the tracheostomy tube that was blocking the pup’s airway and causing asphyxiation, the report said.

“Daily observations of the animal from the evening of June 21, 2020 show that mucus was detected by a member of the research team and not reported to the attending veterinarian,” the report said.

In SAEN’s complaint, the organization states that the clinic “must be severely punished for demonstrating that the USDA has no tolerance for animal abuse/death/injury that results from incompetence.”

A Mayo Clinic spokesperson wrote in an email to the Post newsletter that the research project where the “unfortunate death of a study dog” was no longer active, but staff “carefully reviewed the incident immediately after it occurs to identify opportunities to further improve our care. process.”

“Mayo Clinic makes every effort to ensure the safety and welfare of animals and meets or exceeds all federal and state laws and regulations regarding the use of animals in research. Mayo uses animals in research only when required. is necessary and always for the purpose of providing improved treatment or therapies for patients,” the statement read.

This is the second time since August 2014 that Mayo Clinic has suffered a critical incident of non-compliance at one of its sites, according to inspection reports readily available on the Mayo Clinic Inspection Service website. USDA Animal and Plant Health. In January 2014, an anesthetized rhesus macaque suffered thermal burns during an imaging procedure.

An annual report for fiscal year 2020 noted that the Mayo Clinic has over 1,100 animals. According to the report, the vast majority of animals are used in experiments, teaching, research, surgery or testing involving animal pain or distress and for which appropriate anesthetic, analgesic or tranquilizing drugs have been used.

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