From Bella Waters, The University Daily Kansan, December 16, 2024
An internal investigation found that researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center have mistreated their animal subjects.
A sloughed tail and hindlimb were found in researcher Long Zheng’s lab in October, according to a KUMC noncompliance report obtained by Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!, a national watchdog nonprofit that investigates animal abuse and illegal activities at U.S. research facilities.
Zheng is KUMC’s department chair for pathology and laboratory medicine.
According to the report, investigators also discovered a cohort of rats that had undergone multiple surgeries without approval. These surgeries included a “jugular vein cutdown.”
To work with animals, researchers have to go through a rigorous approval process with the KU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
These rats did not receive any pain relievers or appropriate surgical care.
One of the rats was found dead. 70 other rats are unaccounted for from June to October, according to the report.
According to the report, a compliance review found that this lab has the “highest rate of noncompliance on campus” regarding rat colony management.
Following these discoveries, three research projects from this lab have been suspended. They can be reinstated if researchers take a variety of corrective actions.
SAEN is asking Chancellor Douglas Girod to terminate these projects entirely and ban all involved staff from working with animals again.
The report revealed that KUMC administration and the IACUC have been working with the lab since March to bring it into compliance.