Pitt Labs Abuse Animals In 'Extremely Negligent' Experiments: PETA

PITTSBURGH, PA — Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh abused animals with "recklessness and extreme negligence"during experiments that violated numerous federal guidelines, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) alleges in a report that details five years of research at the school's laboratories.

Monkeys were strangled and killed, other animals were thrown out while still alive, and insufficient food, water, and oxygen was provided to other animals, PETA said. All told, the group says Pitt committed 74 violations of federal animal welfare guidelines from 2017 to 2022.

"Pitt’s labs are cesspools of misery and death for the animals imprisoned within their walls,” PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said in a statement. "The feds should shut them down now before more animals are harmed and humans put in danger."

PETA has since filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture which argues that Pitt's labs have violated the federal Animal Welfare Act.

PETA names a specific researcher, professor of pathology and medical doctor Ivona Pandrea, as a "repeat offender." Pandrea studies why primates typically do not develop AIDS, according to a biography on the university's website. Pandrea drew more than an approved level of blood from four monkeys, sparking severe anemia, PETA says. In a separate incident, six monkeys in one of Pandrea's experiments were infected with simian immunodeficiency virus, but no staff members were told. Humans were therby exposed to a serious biohazard, the investigation found.

In a response to Patch regarding the allegations, a spokesperson for the university did not directly address the allegations in the PETA report, and said the school is 'committed to the highest standards of care for research animals."

"In the event that a concern arises, it is promptly self-reported in accordance with regulations and swiftly addressed," the spokesperson told Patch. "We will continue to enforce rigorous safeguards to ensure all research animals receive humane and ethical care."

It's not the first time such allegations have surfaced against the school's treatment of animals in their labs. The university was the subject of a federal investigation in 2017 before they were cleared of legal wrongdoing.

The university spokesperson also defended the importance of the experiments undertaken in Pitt labs.

"Animal research is vital to scientists in their pursuit for better treatments — and perhaps, one day, cures — of some of the most devasting diseases and injuries facing us today. COVID-19 vaccines, deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease and new technologies to help paralyzed patients are just a few of the advances made possible by animal research."

PETA acknowledged the importance of research but pushed forward its Research Modernization Deal, a strategy they say avoids animal experimentation by replacing it with new technology.

Pitt recieved $600 million in public funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2021.