WINSTON-SALEM (AP) — Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has been cited for violating animal welfare laws after the escape of a research animal.
The hospital said Wednesday it would appeal the findings issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Agriculture Department cited the hospital for not complying with the Animal Welfare Act. In June, an 8-pound macaque opened a latch on her cage and opened a chain link fence to escape the Wake Forest Primate Center. The animal was captured by Lexington police 11 days later.
The university uses monkeys for medical testing of some of the major causes of death in the U.S.
It wasn’t clear what, if any, punishment the hospital could face. Federal inspectors say a latch problem has been corrected.