In addition to demanding the university release the names of committee members who review and approve laboratory experiments on animals, the lawsuits ask the court to order UMass to cover attorney fees. PETA says it took legal action because as public universities funded partially by federal money, people have a right to know who is on the committees and what actions they take at monthly meetings. Federal rules require such committees at research institutions.
AMHERST BULLETIN: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [PETA] has sued the University of Massachusetts in Suffolk Superior Court, seeking the names of those who serve on campus panels that review and approve laboratory experiments on animals.
The lawsuits, filed Tuesday under the state public records law against UMass Amherst and UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, contend that the university is intentionally withholding the names and activities of members of its Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. Federal rules require such committees at research institutions.
The lawsuits come after an April 2025 settlement agreement between UMass Amherst and PETA in an earlier lawsuit in the same court. Under that agreement, PETA was to receive all videos, photos and other documentation associated with experiments on marmoset monkeys in a UMass laboratory, and UMass officials indicated the identities of committee members would be provided.
In addition to demanding the university release the names of committee members, the lawsuits ask the court to order UMass to honor the settlement agreement and cover attorney fees. PETA says it took legal action because as public universities funded partially by federal money, people have a right to know who is on the committees and what actions they take at monthly meetings…
“Committee members are public employees at public universities, and the law is clear that the people paying the bills have a right to know who’s making decisions about animals’ lives behind laboratory doors,” PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said in a statement. “PETA is going to court to drag these committees out of the shadows and hold UMass to the same transparency standard the law demands of every taxpayer-funded institution”…
PETA has been active for several years in protesting menopause experiments on marmoset monkeys that had been taking place in a UMass Amherst laboratory, with the first concerns in 2016 after the death of a marmoset that was severely burned by a heating pad while recovering from a vasectomy. SOURCE
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