A recent report has again singled out violations in the University of Wisconsin’s research practices with animals.

Eric Sandgren, chair of the All Campus Animal Care and Use Committee, told The Badger Herald the United States Department of Agriculture recently performed follow-up tests on UW testing facilities, which were deemed to have multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act earlier this year.

Sandgren said the most common repeat violations USDA found in its report included the presence of cockroaches on walls, cracked light fixtures and expired drugs which had not been properly disposed.

“They found several things that had been corrected but didn’t stay corrected,” Sandgren said. “The vast majority have been taken care of, but that’s no excuse, we should have taken care of all of them.”

He added UW disputes some of the violations listed in the USDA report.

There is still an ongoing investigation to determine if any UW employees were at fault for the violations. If the violations appear to be reckless or deliberate, Sandgren said UW will likely take disciplinary actions.

Approximately 500 researchers are certified to work with animals at UW.

The last year has been a difficult one for UW’s relations with the animal welfare community

In May, a letter surfaced in Isthmus, a weekly Madison newspaper, citing physiology professor Michele Basso’s improper sanitation and research recording methods.

Additionally, Basso’s controversial testing on primates led to the revocation of her testing privileges in 2009. She was allowed to begin testing again this year under strict new regulations.

Sandgren said the violations are not uncommon among universities of UW’s size, and UW could receive a fine or, in serious cases, have animal testing privileges revoked as a consequence of negligible practices.

Rick Bogle, spokesperson for the Madison-based animal welfare group Alliance for Animals, said the new violations are the latest in a string of welfare mishaps he has seen in his 15 years following UW.

Bogle said the violations listed in the USDA report have been recurring among UW researchers for an extended time. He specifically mentioned the expired medication problem as a “routine” violation.

He added UW researchers have a history of not searching enough for alternatives to research methods that could be harmful or painful to animals, which he said is a requirement of the Animal Welfare Act.

“[UW researchers] don’t seem to be trying to police themselves with much vigor,” Bogle said.

Bogle also said the restrictions of the Animal Welfare Act, which he said he believes are too relaxed, combined with UW’s financial clout, do not give researchers enough motivation to control animal welfare violations. He added this lack of motivation has even led to the violation of state statutes regulating animal testing.

“It’s going to continue; there’s no reason for it not to continue,” Bogle added. “One researcher brings in $1 million a year. If the university is penalized $10,000 for multiple violations, you don’t have to be smart to see it’s not very effective.”