The lawsuit offers a rare look at the conditions laboratory animals endure in the course of medical research, and the enforcement of the federal law that requires the humane treatment of these animals.

For example, 16 of the rhesus monkeys in InVivo’s study were to undergo surgery at the Oregon facility in which their spinal cords would be severed, leaving portions of their lower body paralyzed. Researchers would then insert a polymer device developed by InVivo into the monkeys to see whether it helped them recover lower body motor skills.

InVivo said the Oregon school failed to provide the number of monkeys required, reducing the pool of animals available for the surgery. The procedure was performed on seven monkeys, all of which developed bladder complications soon after. Four of those were severe enough that researchers concluded the animals had to be euthanized."

...."

In 2005, the Agriculture Department’s Inspector General found stricter enforcement of the AWA was needed to reduce violations. Among problems: numerous instances of facilities misreporting the number of test animals they use. In one case, a New York facility reported having three nonhuman primates, when there were 42 additional monkeys. This kept 42 monkeys off the USDA’s radar."