As required for enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, veterinary medical officers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture regularly conduct unannounced inspections of facilities that house animals for research. In November of 2023, USDA inspectors conducted a review of animals, facilities and associated records on the UW–Madison campus.
After completing their review, USDA inspectors issued one citation for the following incident. In this case, according to USDA’s inspection report, UW–Madison’s teams of specialized veterinarians and animal care staff reported the incident to federal agencies and appropriate oversight committees and had already taken corrective actions in an effort to prevent future occurrences.
1.9 C.F.R. §2.33(b)(2)
In September 2023, a pig in a study of pulmonary hypertension — a life-threatening condition caused by failure of the left side of the heart, which contributes to one of every nine deaths in the United States — was euthanized. The animal was undergoing a surgical procedure as part of the study when it experienced an increase in heart rate. The researchers performing the surgery administered a medication meant to correct the heart rate, but the dose was incorrect. They were unable to stabilize the pig and, unfortunately, the most appropriate action was to humanely euthanize the animal. To prevent incidents like this from happening in the future, surgical plans for these procedures now include medications and their proper doses, and the information is reviewed before a procedure begins.