After People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protested on campus and filed allegations of animal cruelty during research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the United States Department of Agriculture cleared the university of all charges Oct. 5.
The allegations originated when PETA accused UW-Madison of harming cats during research aimed at improving hearing by drilling holes into cats’ skulls and intentionally deafening the animals.
When the USDA visited the university during its investigation into the allegations, “no non-compliant items were found,” according to a report obtained by The Capital Times.
Following the investigation’s findings, PETA released a statement condemning the USDA for allowing the alleged animal cruelty to continue at UW-Madison, but also said it will continue to ask the National Institutes of Health, which provides the funding for the research, to cut all funding to the projects.
“This is not the first time that the USDA has failed to do its job and take action when presented with such clear evidence of violations of federal animal welfare laws,” PETA said in the statement. “So we are disappointed, but not surprised by the agency's callous inaction.”
Despite being cleared by the USDA, PETA said it will continue to protest the alleged animal cruelty during UW-Madison research.
“PETA's vigorous national campaign to end these deadly experiments on cats is unaffected by the USDA's decision and will continue,” the organization said.
