The national animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is claiming credit for closing a University of Wisconsin lab that conducted research on cats.
Officials at the UW-Madison campus said the claim is “patently false” and that the lab closed because the lead researcher is retiring.
PETA paid for graphic ads on the sides of public buses showing the cat research. The group also filed numerous complaints with federal officials.
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In 2013, UW-Madison posted federal regulatory findings which it said didn’t show the abuse PETA claimed.
UW-Madison didn’t announce the lab’s closing, but PETA’s Alka Chandna said the group noticed the lab was no longer getting federal funding.
“So that was sort of our first clue that maybe something was happening. And then we got more documents, including from UW, which indicated not only that the laboratory was closed but also that the four remaining cats at the laboratory were actually adopted out into private homes,” Chandna said.
Researchers had used the cats to learn more about hearing and cochlear implants.
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