The Reveille 3-27-19

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INVETSTIGATION LSU Vet School under investigation for allegedly purchasing animals in violation of the Animal Welfare Act BY BAILEY CHAUVIN @BaileyChauvin

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is under fire for allegedly violating the federal Animal Welfare Act. In a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February, PETA said the school unlawfully purchased live dogs from a Baton Rouge shelter that is not a USDA-licensed breeder or exhibitor. As of March 21, the USDA currently has an open investigation into the LSU vet school for potential violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. The USDA enforces the Animal Welfare Act, which includes laws that dictate the treatment of research animals. PETA accused the vet school of purchasing at least 70 live dogs from Companion Animal Alliance (CAA) in 2018. The complaint also said the vet school failed to maintain acquisition and disposition records for the 70 dogs, another violation of the Animal Welfare Act. In a statement issued by Commu-

nications Manager Ginger Guttner, the vet school said it uses euthanized animals from animal shelters for teaching purposes but does not violate the Animal Welfare Act in doing so. “The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine obtains euthanized animals from animal shelters; the cadavers are used to train veterinary students, whose life work is dedicated to serving and saving animals,” Guttner said in a statement. “In some cases, live animals are brought to the veterinary school for euthanasia. In all of these cases, the animals were already scheduled for euthanasia.” Guttner said the vet school has not been notified of investigations by either the USDA or East Baton Rouge DA as of March 20, and denies PETA’s allegations. LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard said the process used by the LSU Vet School to obtain animals is reviewed annually by the University’s institutional Animal

Care and Use Committee. The University is routinely found to be compliant during regular, unannounced inspections by animal care experts, Ballard said. “Obtaining animals from animal shelters for use in teaching does not violate the Federal Animal Welfare Act,” Ballard said. PETA began to investigate the vet school’s animal acquisition methods after receiving a complaint from former CAA Executive Director Desiree Bender. Shortly after Bender began working at CAA in May, she said she was asked to sign an invoice to transfer live dogs to the vet school for a lethal anatomy class. Bender refused to sign the invoice, which led to disputes involving vet school professors who used the euthanized animals for lethal anatomy courses. After attempting to bar the transfer of dogs to the vet school in August, she received a call from Veterinary Clinical Sciences as-

see VET SCHOOL, page 2

NEWS

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LSU Vet School improperly compensated a faculty member during a 38-month period in which he did not show up for work.

SPORTS

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LSU basketball uses memory of fallen teammate Wayde Sims to drive them through NCAA tournament.

ENTERTAINMENT

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The Simple Greek will open alongside Baton Rouge General Express Care at Nicholson Gateway.

OPINION

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“Conservatives need to fix their public image before this moral bankruptcy becomes permanent.”


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