People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison Tuesday to protest the university’s alleged mistreatment of animals during research.
The protest group congregated at Library Mall at noon and grew to approximately 40 people who displayed signs and pictures of the cats involved in the research to alert students of the alleged animal cruelty.
PETA initially filed complaints with federal agencies last Wednesday, accusing UW-Madison of harming animals during research by drilling holes into their skulls and intentionally deafening the cats.
Following PETA’s complaint, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health launched a formal investigation into the allegations, according to a statement released by PETA.
PETA spokesperson Jeremy Beckham said supporters rallied Tuesday to inform UW-Madison students about the allegations as well as convince them to sign a petition to end the research.
“What these experimenters are doing to cats in this laboratory would be criminal abuse if it weren’t happening in a laboratory,” Beckham said. “And just because they have Ph.D.’s and wear lab coats doesn’t make their acts of cruelty any less deplorable.”
A group of research students including senior Sean Kelly, said PETA’s allegations against the university are completely false.
“I work in the labs that do experiments on animals,” Kelly said. “I’m the one who is responsible for making sure that they are anesthetized and they are. [PETA] really has no argument.”
PETA also believes the research taking place on campus is little more than “killing for cash,” according to Beckham. He also said that more than $3 million dollars has been “wasted on this cruel project.”
PETA volunteer Charlie Talbert said the protest is a way for the group to reach out to students and let them know what is going on at their university.
“I think right now the animal research operation here at the university is a really a stain on the reputation of a really great university,” Talbert said.
Juniors Hayley Pernsteiner and Sadie Olson said while UW-Madison’s experimentation with cats is “not a good thing,” the benefits outweigh the negatives.
“They’re obviously doing it to learn something,” Pernsteiner said.
