WVU says it's fixed animal-welfare issues in labs

by The Associated Press Tuesday January 12, 2010

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia University says it has corrected several animal-welfare problems with its Health Sciences labs.

A 2009 U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection report was obtained by the watchdog group Stop Animal Exploitation Now and distributed this week.

WVU was criticized for unsanitary conditions in food-storage and cage-washing areas, leaving anesthetized animals unsupervised, and inadequately supervising animal experimentation.

Activist Michael Budkie says leaving drugged animals unattended is serious and inexcusable.

Jeffrey Wimsatt, WVU's director of laboratory animal resources, says all regulations are taken seriously.

He says when WVU finds a problem, it corrects it.

WVU has retrained some staff and is renovating some facilities.

See Also:
11 Jan 2010 - WVU Lab Negligence Kills Animal; Federal Citations Issued
West Virginia University

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