Columbia University Fined for Cruel Puppy Killings

In order to avoid an embarrassing hearing before an administrative law judge, Columbia University has paid a $2,000 fine to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for egregious violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including killing an entire litter of puppies by cardiac puncture, a method condemned by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). PETA alerted the USDA to the cruel killing methods used on the puppies in a complaint filed September 25, 2003.

Click here to read the complaint.

The USDA charges read, “Pups whelped from a dog being used in a research study were euthanized with outdated euthanasia solution; drug use logs indicate the pups were not properly sedated at the time as claimed by person administering euthanasia.” (Click here to see the USDA document.) Translation: If the puppies had been properly killed, the drug log would have indicated the use of a sedative as is required when animals’ hearts are punctured with a large syringe.

A prestigious university such as Columbia should know how to humanely kill puppies. After all, Columbia kills tens of thousands of animals every year in its experimental laboratories …

Take for example the experiments of Mehmet Oz, vice chair of surgery and professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University. DiscoveryChannel.com featured Dr. Oz in a series called “Second Opinion” in which Dr. Oz’s philosophies on health are discussed. Dr. Oz is also a frequent guest on Oprah’s show and is featured on Oprah.com. Dr. Oz practices yoga routinely, and he believes that “anger and stress management are keys to his wellness.” Reading the records of the tormented dogs used in Dr. Oz’s cruel heart experiments is enough to send anyone fleeing to the nearest anger-management group.

Click here to read dogs’ records.

Governmental Oversight

Mehmet Oz’s sloppy experiments on these suffering dogs were cited in a report produced by Columbia’s internal investigation into allegations of poor animal care made by Dr. Catherine Dell’Orto, a post-doctoral veterinarian working at Columbia. Because the Oz experiments were not federally funded, the documents received by PETA through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) were redacted of all information concerning the Oz animals referenced above. But someone sent PETA the information anyway.

Another of PETA’s FOIA requests to the National Institutes of Health revealed that Oz has filed applications for grants but all of them have been denied. We take this as a sign that although the government is doing its best to protect Columbia from being publicly castigated for its failures to treat animals in experiments humanely, it is perhaps less than enthusiastic about providing additional monies to Oz and his cronies, given the horrendous animal welfare violations that took place within their laboratories.

PETA has asked the USDA to reopen its investigation into Columbia’s use of animals in experiments, citing the agency’s failure to diligently pursue charges against the university for serious Animal Welfare Act violations that were identified by an internal committee.

Click here to read PETA’s November 30, 2004, letter to the USDA and its Office of the Inspector General.

Click here to see what you can do to help.