FORT WORTH, Texas — A national animal rights group is alleging violations of the Animal Welfare Act by a research organization contracted by University of North Texas Health Science Center led to the deaths of four rabbits in a since-suspended research project.
The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) sent a letter to University of North Texas Health Science Center President Sylvia Trent-Adams that pointed to a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection report that found, “significant changes were made to contracted research organization protocol…without Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) review and approval, resulting in the death of 4 rabbits.”
According to the inspection report and letter from SAEN, the experiment induced diabetes in rabbits. After the administration of the drug meant to induce diabetes, the rabbits were given “high doses of sub-cutaneous glucose” multiple times, according to the inspection report and the group.
The protocol required that after the drug was given, the rabbits “would be monitored twice daily with blood glucose checks for 5 days, and insulin administered as needed based on results,” the report says. However, “no glucose checks were performed,” according to the report.
Between April 10 and 16 this year, four rabbits involved in the experiment were found dead, and the presumptive cause of death for all the rabbits was found to be diabetic shock, according to the report.
The University of North Texas Health Science Center took action against the contract laboratory that carried out the project, including suspending the protocol, and the remaining five rabbits were stabilized with IV fluids and insulin, according to the group and report.
The report found “several unapproved significant changes likely contributed to the death of the 4 rabbits.”
The report alleges those changes were:
- The induction medication was administered by a different route than approved (IV instead of IP).
- Twice daily monitoring of blood glucose for five days after induction was not done as indicated in the protocol.
- Glucose administration was not approved in the protocol.
- Insulin was never given as indicated in the protocol.
The group called for the center to sever ties with the contract laboratory that carried out the research project in the letter.
“The University of North Texas Health Science Center must immediately terminate the relationship with this bungling laboratory whose employees are clearly incapable of even following a basic project which involves administration of drugs and monitoring of animals,” the letter from SAEN to the center reads. “It is important to note that this project was botched, even if the animals had not died because the approved protocol was not followed.”
University of North Texas Health Science Center officials responded to the allegations with the following statement, saying they "severed the relationship" with the lab contractor:
The University of North Texas Health Science Center’s Animal Care and Use Program is committed to managing an exemplary environment for animals in biomedical research, with a primary focus on the animals’ welfare. The program was first accredited by AAALAC, the voluntary international accreditation program committed to the humane treatment of research animals, in 1985. After the most recent accreditation visit in March 2023, the Council for Accreditation commended the program for “providing and maintaining an exemplary program of laboratory animal care and use.” HSC’s program has also achieved 27 consecutive visits with zero non-compliant findings from the USDA.
In 2020, the Health Science Center, in conjunction with the North Texas Eye Research Institute, began collaborating with Experimentica LTD, a Finland-based Contract Research Organization specializing in vision research. The Health Science Center’s role in the collaboration was to manage the facility, care for the animals and provide an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The IACUC operated from late 2020 to August 2024 and was in place to approve protocols and inspect laboratories to ensure compliance.
In March 2024, Experimentica personnel made significant changes to an approved protocol without mandatory IACUC review and approval, resulting in the demise of four of Experimentica’s rabbits. Upon discovering the unauthorized change, the Department of Lab Animal Medicine and the IACUC immediately suspended the protocol and provided supportive care for the remaining animals. The administration of the altered protocol which led to the death of the animals involved no Health Science Center personnel, animals, or funding.
The Health Science Center promptly reported the matter to the USDA, resulting in the first critical citation in the history of the program. Following an internal investigation of the occurrence, HSC severed the relationship with Experimentica.
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