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Special Prosecutor to look at U.W. research animal deaths

A special prosecutor has been named to look into whether animal cruelty charges should be filed against nine researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Circuit Judge Amy Smith appointed Madison attorney David Geier to decide if criminal charges or lesser citations should be issued against members of the U.W. Diving Physiology Lab.

The lab was using sheep in experiments with decompression sickness or “the bends” in deep-sea diving. The sheep were exposed to high-pressure air in a chamber then the pressure was decreased. A number of sheep died in the experiments since 1988. Wisconsin law prohibits killing animals by decompression, Judge Smith said she found probable cause that the people who carried out the experiments and the officials who approved them violated the law. The researchers believed their work was exempt from the law. The special prosecutor may also decide if an injunction should be issued to halt the experiments.

The judge’s action is in response to a petition from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Alliance for Animals which sought charges against 14 university employees. That petition was filed after the Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard stated the experiments were likely illegal but felt filing charges would not be a wise use of his limited resources.

Any legal action would only involve the deaths of four sheep as the other deaths occurred beyond the three-year statute of limitations.