Harvard fined $24,000 after four research monkeys die

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Harvard Medical School has paid $24,036 for 11 animal-welfare violations involving primates used for research between February 2011 and July 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.

Four of the violations cited the death of a primate -- one animal was given too much anesthesia and another died when it became entangled in the chain from a toy. Dehydration in two others led to their euthanization.

“The leadership of the school cares deeply about upholding exemplary standards of care,” Harvard said in a statement.

Most of the violations took place at Harvard’s New England Primate Research Center, where scientists studied AIDS, colon cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other illnesses. The university said back in April that it would shut the facility down by 2015, citing lack of funding.

Justin Goodman, of People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals, said in a statement that the fine won't change Harvard's practices.

“For an institution that receives $185 million annually in taxpayer funds alone, half of which is spent on animal experiments, a $24,000 fine for years of abusing and neglecting monkeys won’t motivate Harvard to do better by animals,” he said.

“Thankfully, the school already recognizes that tormenting monkeys is not the future of science and made the laudable decision to completely shut down [the facility]," he added.

[The Boston Globe, Bloomberg]