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32 Research Monkeys Die in Overheated Lab

Animals 'cooked to death' when heating system malfunctioned
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 8, 2008 6:15 AM CDT
32 Research Monkeys Die in Overheated Lab
A rhesus macaque monkey bearing identifying letters on its chest calls out on Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Thirty-two research monkeys at a Nevada laboratory died because their human handlers left the room fatally hot, said officials for the drug company that runs the facility. Charles River Laboratories representatives have met with USDA officials to discuss new measures to avoid a repeat of the accident that involved a faulty heating system, according to the company. The USDA reportedly cited the lab for dozens of violations of the Animal Welfare Act the last three years.

"Monkeys were literally cooked to death by a heating system failure, " said an incensed PETA spokeswoman, who said the facility "did not even have a simple alarm system in place to alert staff to the malfunction." (More PETA stories.)

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