HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston State University is the subject of a federal complaint lodged with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture by a national research watchdog after a FOIA report showed that SHSU confessed to the negligent deaths of 10 cows, a press release states.
SAEN, an Ohio-based national watchdog that monitors the nation's research facilities for illegal activities, has filed a federal complaint with USDA alleging that the cow deaths violated the federal Animal Welfare Act, which regulates laboratories, colleges, and universities who use animals “for research, tests, experiments, or teaching.”
The SHSU report states: “ten beef bulls died in the field due to no water.” The research administration at SHSU suspended the project, and the individual responsible for the project has been replaced.
SAEN alleges that the animal deaths, and the botched/suspended protocol, violate multiple federal regulations for watering, reporting, and protocol supervision by an Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee.
The federal complaint filed with the USDA calls for a full investigation and a federal fine of $10,000 per infraction/per animal, or $100,000.
“What kind of an example does this incident give the students of the Animal Science program at Sam Houston State University,” said SAEN Executive Director Michael A. Budkie, A.H.T. “Negligence like this must be punished.”