The University of Connecticut paid $12,429 in fines last month for animal welfare violations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday.
The fines are for 10 violations observed during inspections between 2008 and 2010, mostly involving the treatment of rabbits at a research facility at the UConn Health Center.
In most cases, USDA officials stated that the researchers failed to carry out certain experiments as they were described in the approved protocols, which are detailed descriptions of the procedures to be used.
In one violation, for instance, USDA officials stated that an experiment that involved 12 to 14 needle insertions in each rabbit was not carried out according to the protocol. In another experiment, a researcher "deviated from the approved methods for inducing general anesthesia," resulting in the unexpected death of a rabbit.