KU Med Center cited by USDA for goat death in lab

? The Kansas University Medical Center has been cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the death of a goat and other deficiencies in its animal research area, two years after the center paid a fine and spent thousands of dollars to make improvements to the facilities.

A routine USDA animal and plant health inspection in January also cited the medical center for inadequate veterinary care, improper reporting and improper supervision of experimentation.

The USDA said the goat died of respiratory failure after a paralyzing drug may not have been sufficiently reversed before the goat recovered from anesthesia, The Kansas City Star reported.

Spokeswoman C.J. Janovy said the medical center’s attending veterinarian thought the drugs had been administered properly and appealed the citation. The appeal was denied, and the USDA has not contacted the medical center about further investigation, Janovy said.

Some citations are corrected quickly and do not require more investigation, said David Sacks, a USDA spokesman.

An Ohio-based animal rights group, Stop Animal Exploitation Now, asked the USDA to investigate the goat’s death.

The USDA is conducting another investigation not connected to the January 2012 inspection. That investigation involves failure to provide adequate veterinary care and adequate oversight of the lab, federal officials told The Star.

Janovy said that probe “involves four relatively minor issues found during the May and August 2010 routine inspections of our facility. The USDA has told us that the issue is still considered open solely due to a backlog at the USDA’s Investigative and Enforcement Services.”

The medical center was cited in 2010 for 160 violations for negligence that caused lab monkeys to die of dehydration.

The university paid a $62,000 fine for 63 of the violations and said it had spent $700,000 to renovate its facility, hired more staff and brought in experienced veterinarians to supervise.