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By MIKE BAKER
RALEIGH, N.C.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals believes workers at a North Carolina research lab abused dogs, cats and rabbits, and the activists released what they said was undercover video of caretakers handling the animals violently.
A local prosecutor and the company's president are now taking a close look.
In one scene of the video released Wednesday by Norfolk-based PETA, a beagle cowers in the corner of its cage as a person approaches, derisively describing the dog's condition before snatching it by the back of the neck: "They act like they've been abused."
Another clip shows an employee at Professional Laboratory and Research Services Inc. purposely letting a cat grasp a fence with its claw before yanking it in an apparent attempt to rip off its nails, according to PETA's account of the video. In another portion, a caretaker drops a dog back to the ground before pushing it into the cage with a foot. Another scene shows a dog squirming through a tooth removal as workers acknowledge that the sedation drug is a couple years past its expiration and may not be working very well.
Helen Sonenshine, the company president who is not involved in day-to-day operations, confirmed that the video was taken at the company's facility and included footage of company employees. Officials were reviewing the footage, and Sonenshine said the company will fire anyone if they have done anything contrary to protocols on how to treat animals.
"I am disgusted. I am appalled," she said after viewing the clips. "This is not what we're about. We're about the health of the animals."
USDA inspections show no sign of recent violations.
PETA referred videos, photos and a narrative to local prosecutors. District Attorney Frank Parrish said his office is reviewing the report and will follow up with further investigation to determine whether or not criminal charges should be filed.
"We will certainly be very thorough about looking at these issues," he said.
The company, with a facility in Corapeake, N.C., near the Virginia border, is hired by pharmaceutical firms to test animal care products such as flea preventatives. PETA said that one of its investigators was hired as an animal caretaker and worked from December 2009 until this month.
The worker and video depict squalid conditions of animals living in their own excrement. PETA contends that workers sprayed the animals with harsh chemicals, lifted rabbits by their ears and puppies by their throats, and violently threw cats into their cages.
PETA believes the company violated several parts of The Animal Welfare act, including improper veterinary care, improper handling of animals and improper cleaning procedures. It has filed or plans to file complaints with both regulatory agencies and law enforcement.
"Violence seems to be the guiding principle at this laboratory," said Kathy Guillermo, vice president of laboratory investigations at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "The only time the animals get some attention is when something painful or invasive is done to them."
The animal rights group also complained about the testing procedures used at the site. Workers at the facility grew ticks on the rabbits even though PETA says there are non-animal methods that have been in use for years.
"There's simply no excuse," Guillermo said.
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PETA video: http://bit.ly/cCi2GW
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Bravo and thank you PETA!
Animals in laboratories are being burned, cut up, poisoned, hit, and jammed into filthy cramped cages every single day and PETA is the only entity who routinely exposes the hideous abuse.
Anyone with a shred of human decency will condemn animal vivisection.
Please, buy only products not tested on animals -- there are loads available. Speak out against the myth that performing invasive, painful tests on animals can help human health. The National Institutes of Health and other taxpayer supported behemoths continue to rake in billions to keep the gravy train going, but countless animals are living and dying in misery.
Really Dennis?
I love animals, but your post illuminates the lunacy of the "animal rights" activists. I have to ask, have you ever been vaccinated? Have you ever had polio?
God forbid if you develop diabetes...
Where is the lunacy...
...in believing that these animals deserve to be treated with compassion?
The fact is, they did not choose to be part of the testing to which they are subjected. Animals used in labs will more than likely die in those labs after they are of no use to the companies who profit from their lives. They may be humanely euthanized, but their lives will end there. The testing is torture enough, without blatant cruelty heaped upon it.
There are many alternatives to products tested on animals. Voting for compassion with one's wallet is a rational, intelligent choice for those who care about animals. It is a choice that not everyone will make, but certainly not one that warrants derision.
How did the comments turn to
How did the comments turn to PETA? Regardless of what people think of PETA, they were pointing out unnecessary animal abuse at a laboratory. The focus should be on that lab, not the messenger.
abuse through animal testing
When I first read the article, I was not overly concerned, as it did not describe the horror these animals are going through. However, after I saw the video, my heart sank at the thought of those helpless animals and how they are currently being treated and abused. What ever happened to empathy and compassion to a helpless animal. Unfortunately, these animals have no control on where they end up, or the treatment they receive, or the lack of. When I watched the video, I became very mad at the kennel personnel and their attitudes. After being in the health care industry for many years, I can understand how you separate yourself from the victim or patient, but never would I blame the victim, patient, or animal for what is about to happen. The udder hatred these personnel displayed towards these animals was a way to take the hurt from themselves and place it on the helpless animals. It was their own way to find absolution on what they were doing. Consequently, these animals are placed in extreme conditions and are suffering greatly because of the personnel handling them and their attitudes. Not only should the personnel be fired, but also the manager, for not caring enough to take an
If you REALLY knew
These people have no idea what REALLY goes on in this laboratory. Does it really take a rocket scientist to figure out that PETA is the group of psychopaths and that this video WAS doctored!!!
Funny how everyone always claims video proof is doctored
and witnesses are all lying and medical reports are doctored and the government is involved in the conspiracy and so is liberal media... yup, nobody ever does anything wrong and corporations are so persecuted.
Get your facts right
They did not kill hundreds of animals.
I think you may need to get your facts straight...
They may not have been charged for hundreds, but their slaughter rampage went on for quite for several weeks, maybe more, before they were caught. Several hundred is very probable.
It is really sad that the situation at hand is watered down by the fact that a group of hypocritical sociopaths are the ones reporting it. PETA needs to jump off a cliff so that groups with less blood on their hands can actually do some good.
Does peta have any credibility left?
This is the same organization that slaughtered hundreds of HEALTHY kittens and puppies in a van parked behind a grocery store and then illegally threw their bodies in a dumpster beside the store? Is this also the same organization that recruits young naive people (mostly girls) to go nude in public with only a sick banner to hide behind? Is this the same organization that terrorizes young children by showing them gory bloody pictures of animals? Is this the same organization whose CEO and most higher officers are foreigners? Is this the same organization that has been known to throw buckets of blood on people walking down the street? Are you sure you want to listen to these people at all? I don't want them anywhere near my children, my wife or myself. As far as I'm concerned, most of PETA should be in prison for either child abuse, going nude in public, assault or causing a public disturbance. Ask them how they keep the wharf rats and other pest out of their WATERFRONT offices.