USDA And New Iberia Research Center Settle Two Infractions

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New Iberia Research Center have agreed to a settlement in the deaths of three Rhesus Macaques in May of 2011 and an injury to a chimpanzee in 2012.

Penalties have been levied for both incidents, totaling $38,571.

In the first incident, The NIRC immediately self reported the death of the three Macaques in May of 2011 after they were found in a chute that connected two cages.  The animals were accidentally blocked in the chute for some time.  Our newspartners at KATC TV-3 say that officials came to the conclusion that regulations were violated requiring daily observation of all animals on the site.  The NIRC took steps to make appropriate changes at that time.

In the second incident, which happened in April 2012, a chimpanzee reached through a drain opening that connected with another cage.  It's hand and arm were injured by other chimps.  The NIRC also self reported this incident.  Officials also concluded  that regulations were violated in this case and the NIRC made changes to the enclosures.

Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, interim vice president for Research at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, said,

In the spirit of continuous improvement, we will conduct ongoing evaluations of our standard operating procedures and practices to ensure the safety and welfare of our primates