OU’s year is not off to a good start. Between the fallout from getting drubbed in the Who the Hell Cares Bowl by Clemson and the persecution of its student newspaper for inciting Guac-gate, the school has received a degree of vitriol usually reserved for, like, animal abusers. Oh, yeah. They’ve been doing that too.
As Bloomberg reported last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited OU for “housing baboons in enclosures filled with grime and excrement,” as well as hosing down infant monkeys and putting them at risk for hypothermia, all at the school’s Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.
In case you forgot, this is what an infant monkey looks like:
This is OU’s 16th citation in two years, according to the report. Other violations include administering improper anesthesia or painkillers on certain animals, as well as — shit you not — electrocuting dogs as a means of euthanasia.
From Bloomberg:
“In August 2013, the USDA flogged the university for euthanizing dogs by electrocuting them with a 9-volt battery attached to their hearts while the animals were under anesthesia. An inspection four months later found that the laboratory staff was not administering painkillers—or was administering very small doses—to several dogs undergoing surgery.”
James Tomasek, vice president for research at the OU Health Sciences Center, said in an emailed statement that despite these repeated offenses, OU is just the greatest when it comes to animal safety.
“The University of Oklahoma takes seriously its obligation to comply with all federal and regulatory standards related to animal welfare,” Tomasek said.
In fairness, OU isn’t the only school doing such things — Washington, Oregon and UC-Davis were all recently cited for animal cruelty as well — though that doesn’t make it any less fucked up.
But hey, spring football’s right around the corner, you guys!
