Reports: Dogs, rabbits died during Loyola research

An animal rights group says federal documents show Loyola University's medical school in suburban Maywood runs one of the worst labs in Illinois.

U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection reports say untrained lab workers and inadequate care led to the deaths of five dogs and seven rabbits during experiments.

Michael Budkie is executive director of the Ohio-based Stop Animal Exploitation Now.

The group obtained recent reports on Illinois' 40 federally regulated labs.

Budkie says Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine lab stood out for an "excessive number" of violations. The lab was cited for 22 violations during three inspections from March 2006 through November 2007.

Loyola is preparing a response to the animal rights group's charges.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://www.all-creatures.org/saen/press-20080721.html">Loyola press release </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.all-creatures.org/saen/articles-il-lu-20080721.html">Letter to Loyola president </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>