telangana-bio-lab-under-fire-for-animal-cruelty

A central government-appointed inspection committee has found that over 1,200 animals were being kept in distressing conditions at Palamur Biosciences, a contract research and beagle-breeding facility in Telangana’s Mahaboobnagar district. The findings were outlined in a report by the Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA), following a two-day inspection. It was conducted earlier this week after the FIR (first information report) was filed based on the complaint by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, which had cited revelations by whistleblowers in a report on  June 10 to allege large-scale animal abuse.

 

Inspectors documented that 1,232 animals were housed at the facility, including dogs, monkeys, pigs, cattle, sheep, rabbits, rats and mice. Notably, the laboratory had initially denied the presence of some species.

 

The committee, led by Dr Mukesh Kumar Gupta, CCSEA member and Director of the ICMR-National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research and Dr Vivek Tyagi, Senior Consultant with CCSEA and member of the Animal Welfare Board of India, reported severe and widespread violations of animal welfare standards.

 

The committee has recommended immediate regulatory action, including the removal and rehabilitation of animals to prevent further suffering. It has also called for a critical review of the facility’s registration and breeding licence, citing repeated and serious violations of regulatory norms.

 

The inspection revealed that Palamur Biosciences houses dogs (beagles), pigs, sheep, cattle including cows, monkeys, rats, mice and rabbits for experiments, despite initially denying that some of these species were present at the facility.

 

The inspectors also counted far more dogs than approved by CCSEA.

 

One of the most alarming findings was the facility’s complete failure to maintain an inventory of animals housed at the laboratory.

The inspectors noted that surplus animals are haphazardly stuffed into repurposed rooms adjacent to where experiments are taking place, without health screens or attention to biosecurity protocols.

 

Dogs are kept on hard, uncomfortable perforated floors without bedding, enrichment, outdoor access or suitable exercise opportunities. The breeding section forced dogs to languish in their own filth, with an insufficient small play area with hard flooring that exists only in name.

 

The report documented that 73 dogs are under so-called rehabilitation in a makeshift arrangement, facing the exact same bleak housing conditions as dogs used for breeding and experiments.

 

Animals across all species are reused in painful experiments, often within weeks of being used for other studies, which violates CCSEA guidelines.

Other species were similarly relegated to barren cages with no outdoor enclosures, even for non-human primates. Narrow metal platforms inside monkey cages made it difficult for them to sit or lie down comfortably.

 

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Twelve cows, all underweight, were kept without adequate protection from the elements and were found standing in wet mud.

 

Medical neglect and poor animal handling

The inspection revealed serious concerns about veterinary care and animal handling practices. Dogs were observed in poor condition, suffering from cherry eye and appearing underweight, yet there were no appropriate medical records of any kind and no evidence of treatments for sick animals.

 

The general body condition of minipigs and cows was also found to be poor.

 

The facility’s euthanasia procedures were found to be severely inadequate. Sedatives required for humane euthanasia are not used before killing dogs, and there is a lack of sufficient drugs indicating improper euthanasia procedures.

 

Dogs are fed only once daily, further demonstrating inadequate care standards.

 

Health and safety violations

The inspection uncovered serious biosecurity and public health risks at the facility. There was a complete absence of dedicated quarantine facilities across all animal housing units, posing significant risks to animal health, biosecurity and disease containment.

 

Animals were moved around the facility without due disease checks and health screens.

 

Particularly concerning was the finding that primates are wild-caught and the current screening protocol does not check for Kyasanur Forest Disease, which is transmissible from monkey to monkey and from monkeys to humans.

 

The inspection revealed a glaring absence of proper record-keeping systems at Palamur Biosciences, including failure to note the frequency of use of each animal in experiments.

 

The inspectors characterised this fragmented and superficial record-keeping as reflecting a seriously negligent approach to both regulatory compliance and animal welfare standards.

 

Only two veterinarians were present during the inspection, raising serious concerns about the availability of veterinary care at the facility.