A federal complaint has been filed against the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences by The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine following studies that resulted in the death of 52 piglets, according to a release and statements made by the committee.
An Oct. 13 release from the committee requests that the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service investigate one of the University's two studies, which tested baby formula on the piglets.
"These experiments are not ethical, they should have never been conducted in the first place and they should never have been approved," said Janine McCarthy, Science Policy Program Manager for the Physicians Committee.
The committee is also asking that the National Institutes of Health's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare investigate one of the two formula studies, due to funding specifics.
Leslie Taylor, UAMS Vice Chancellor of Communications and Marketing, said she hasn't been informed of a new complaint by the committee. She said statements made in the news release were already addressed during the complaint filed in the spring.
In the committee's latest complaint, they argue that, "The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' animal use is at odds with the standards of practice in infant formula research in the United States."
In the first study, the 30 piglets were fed different diets before being killed after three weeks, according to the new complaint. Experimenters then weighed different parts of the piglets and determined that soy formula does not alter male reproductive development.
The release says the first study violates the Animal Welfare Act, "because dozens of human studies had already reached this conclusion about both cow's milk-based and soy-based infant formulas."
In the University's second study, 22 piglets were fed either pasteurized human milk or dairy-based infant formula. Then, at 21 days old, researchers killed the piglets to "analyze the effect of the diets on their gut microbiomes," the release said.
The committee suggests "that inadequate oversight by University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' [Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee] is responsible for the improper approval and ongoing use of live animals for human nutrition research."
Similar complaints against UAMS were made by the committee earlier in the year in response to the formula studies.
In an email on Oct. 19, Taylor attached a response letter from UAMS to the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare -- dated May 5, 2022.
The university used this letter to provide the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare more information on how their studies were conducted.
UAMS officials told the Animal Welfare organization, "The [physicians committee's] letter claims inadequate review and oversight by the UAMS [Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee] and concludes that the project should not have been approved. We consider such allegations serious, and we investigated this complaint immediately."
The letter also states, "Regarding the assertion that the study was not "conducted ethically," the UAMS Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee deems such allegations by an outside group as a misinformed conclusion."
The last portion of the letter states, "UAMS is committed to protecting the welfare of animals used in research and to ensuring that animal research is conducted in accordance with all applicable regulations."
The Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare responded to the University's follow-up on May 31.
In its response, the organization thanked UAMS for its "cooperation and assistance."
The letter added, "We appreciate your open communication with the [Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare] and find no need for further action by this office regarding this matter. Thank you."
On Oct. 17, the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service informed the committee that the latest complaints are under investigation.
The notice of investigation -- sent to the committee -- states, "Please allow us enough time (30 to 60 days) to thoroughly look into your concerns."