Challenging Biotech Company’s Treatment of Animals in Research

In 2013, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a complaint on behalf of Stop Animal Exploitation Now against Santa Cruz Biotechnology in a groundbreaking lawsuit against an animal research facility under California’s state cruelty law and Unfair Competition Law.

The lawsuit was filed in the California Superior Court of Santa Cruz County against Santa Cruz Biotechnology for failing to properly care for animals according to numerous inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). We argued that this mistreatment of animals to reduce production costs violates state laws.

In 2016, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued an unprecedented fine of $3.5 million against Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. for its Animal Welfare Act violations.

APHIS filed complaints against Santa Cruz Biotechnology in 2012, and again in 2014 and 2015 after the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed our lawsuit, for allegedly failing to maintain the basic standards of the federal AWA on multiple occasions, including overdrawing blood from sick animals and denying veterinary treatment to critically ill animals suffering from bites and tumors.

Santa Cruz Biotechnology’s settlement with USDA also revoked the facility’s dealer license and canceled its registration as a research facility, meaning the company could no longer use animals regulated by the AWA. The AWA exempts mice, rats, birds, and cold-blooded animals such as reptiles and fish from its protections.