Investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), one of two federal agencies responsible for enforcement of the federal laws that regulate animal research, are reviewing the procedures and documentation for care of animals in research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
USDA veterinary medical officers visit UW–Madison and other university campuses several times a year for inspections of animal facilities and policies. Inspections at UW–Madison are often undertaken at the behest of animal rights organizations whose complaints to USDA are drawn from information UW–Madison veterinarians themselves report to the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare.
UW–Madison’s researchers, veterinarians and staff take their work and the welfare of research animals in their care very seriously, and are working with USDA officials to supply any information they need.