Animal rights activists want access to research labs at KU Med

Now that the campaign to save the deer in Shawnee Mission Park has run its course, activists with Bite Club of KC are turning their outrage on the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Last month, PETA called attention to KU Med’s track record with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates animal research. Between August 2008 and June 2009, the agency cited KU Med for more than 160 violations of federal animal protections laws. PETA blasted the institution for subjecting monkeys to painful surgeries and allowing them to suffer “extreme weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, and neurological disorders that caused them to tremble constantly and lose control of their hands.”

Activists from Bite Club of KC already had KU Med in their crosshairs. In October, they held a sidewalk protest outside the institution during National Primate Liberation Week. With the revelation about the USDA violations, they’re protesting again. But this time, they want to get inside, too.