A West Virginia University animal experimenter has been ordered to stop all current and future work on animals in an internal report

According to the nonprofit Stop Animal Exploitation Now, the university had multiple violations of federal regulations, involving inadequate veterinarian care. The group says they believe the violations led to the illnesses and deaths of multiple goats in university care. They also state that WVU performed "multiple unapproved - and therefore illegal - procedures on the goats."

SAEN filed a report with the United States Department of Agriculture, asking for a maximum fine of $10,000 per infraction/per animal.

In a statement, West Virginia University Vice President for Research Fred King says that the university "adheres to the highest standards with respect to our responsibilities for animals in our care. " King said that the issue was self-reported to the National Institutes of Health Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare and that OLAW responded acknowledging that WVU is making changes to correct the problem.

You can read King's full statement below.

This is not the first time West Virginia University has come under fire for animal care. In 2016, the university was criticized over the deaths of 11 sheep. In June, SAEN called on the university for an independent investigation involving multiple incidents. However, officials at the university said they have a committee to oversee this and hired a private inspector.

STATEMENT BY FRED KING

"West Virginia University adheres to the highest standards with respect to our responsibilities for animals in our care. This incident was self-reported to the National Institutes of Health Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare as noted by SAEN. We received a response from that office noting “OLAW understands that measures have been implemented to correct and prevent the recurrence of this problem. OLAW concurs with the actions taken by the institution to comply with the PHS policy."