× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Texas A&M University was cited twice by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for infractions regarding the Animal Welfare Act in July, and now a national animal watchdog organization has filed a complaint against the university, saying negligence by a research lab led to the unnecessary death of a pig.

Officials from the USDA, which enforces the federal Animal Welfare Act, will now determine whether the university will be investigated for noncompliance, a spokesperson said by email Friday.

During a routine inspection by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in July, Texas A&M was cited for using an unapproved amount of a chemotherapeutic drug on a pig. According to the federal report dated July 31,"this animal subsequently died and it is not definitely known if the unapproved amount of drug administered was related to the death."

According to the documents, the pig was given 10 milligrams of the chemotherapeutic drug, though the maximum dose approved was 6 milligrams.

The research lab was also cited for using four animals in a pilot study to determine appropriate drug doses. According to the federal documents, only two animals had been approved for use.