NORFOLK, Va. — The United States Department of Agriculture sent an official warning letter to Eastern Virginia Medical School for what it called alleged violations of handling animals used in testing.
The allegations, outlined in a letter dated March 11, 2025, describe violations of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) regarding EVMS' treatment of chinchillas, rhesus macaques, and female olive baboons.
The first alleged violations discussed in the report occurred in 2020, when, according to the USDA, EVMS continued to work with chinchillas on a study "despite reaching and passing humane endpoints."
Four chinchillas involved in studies lost more weight than the protocol limit of 20% — three of which were euthanized, and one died, the USDA said.
In 2022, studies involving about 18 rhesus macaques, also known as an "Old World monkey", did not properly monitor blood glucose levels, which led to "excessive" recovery times from anesthesia, the USDA said.
In one instance, a macaque under anesthesia became hypoglycemic and did not receive medical attention for more than seven hours, the USDA said, leading to its euthanization.
In 2023, the report says EVMS failed to properly document blood draws on female olive baboons involved in testing to ensure they remain under the protocol's monthly limit of 10ml/kg. The monthly or weekly weighing of the baboons (depending on procedure) was also required, but the USDA said EVMS failed to properly document the baboons' weights.
Old Dominion University, which merged its medical training centers with EVMS in 2024, sent WTKR News 3 a letter from the USDA also dated March 11.
Watch related: ODU, EVMS merge to form Virginia's largest academic health science center
The letter notifies EVMS of the warning for alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act, but stops short of issuing any sanctions.
"Although we have the authority to pursue sanctions for the type of alleged violation(s) described in this Official Warning, we have decided not to pursue sanctions in this instance so long as you comply with the AWA and regulations," the letter reads, adding that future violations may be met with criminal penalties and sanctions.
A spokesman for ODU's Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences — the new, ODU-EVMS partner school — noted that the alleged violations occurred prior to the merger.
"The institution is fully committed to complying with the Animal Welfare Act and has taken corrective steps and enhanced measures to ensure that occurs now and well into the future," wrote Doug Gardner, ODU's director of news for the center.
Watch related: PETA protests outside EVMS for animal testing
Norfolk-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which organized a protest outside EVMS in 2024 for baboon experimentation, issued a statement outlining their concerns over the warning letter.
“Anyone not wearing a lab coat would face criminal cruelty to animals charges for starving chinchillas for months on end, ignoring a paralyzed monkey barely clinging to life or using baboons as bleeding pin cushions,” said PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “Taxpayers should not foot the bill for this deeply troubling pattern of mistreatment of animals, and PETA calls on the National Institutes of Health to cut funding immediately.”
